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The Greek Review of Social Research
Vol 162 (2024)
162
Disengaging from political activism: A critical
review of the literature
Marilena Simiti
doi: 10.12681/grsr.36638
Copyright © 2024, Μαριλένα Σημίτη
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0.
To cite this article:
Simiti, M. (2024). Disengaging from political activism: A critical review of the literature. The Greek Review of Social
Research, 162, 3–28. https://doi.org/10.12681/grsr.36638
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The Greek Review of Social Research, 2024, 162
Print ISSN: 0013-9696 Online ISSN: 2241-8512
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Received: September 21, 2023 Accepted: October 19, 2023 Published: January 31, 2024
* Associate Professor of Political Sociology in the Department of International and Europe-
an Studies at the University of Piraeus, e-mail:
marilena.simiti@gmail.com
Marilena Simiti*
DISENGAGING FROM POLITICAL ACTIVISM:
A CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
ABSTRACT
The literature on political disengagement has proliferated since the global
upsurge of mobilizations in late 2010. Studies show that disengagement is a highly
dynamic process, shaped by the interaction of a multiplicity of factors at the
micro-, meso- and macro-levels. The article reviews the principal factors related
to disengagement, revealing their varied impact, the signicance of agential
factors and the context-specic nature of disengagement. Given the different forms
and degrees of disengagement, scholars have begun to challenge strictly dened
dichotomies such as engagement/disengagement. The article concludes by noting
some blind spots in the literature and providing suggestions for future research.
Keywords: political disengagement, social movements, activism,
demobilization
Μαριλένα Σημίτη*
ΕΓΚΑΤΑΛΕΙΠΟΝΤΑΣ ΤΟΝ ΠΟΛΙΤΙΚΟ
ΑΚΤΙΒΙΣΜΟ: ΜΙΑ ΚΡΙΤΙΚΗ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΗΣΗ
ΤΗΣ ΒΙΒΛΙΟΓΡΑΦΙΑΣ
ΠΕΡΙΛΗΨΗ
Στη βιβλιογραφία για την εγκατάλειψη του πολιτικού ακτιβισμού απο-
τυπώνεται ξεκάθαρα ότι η αποστασιοποίηση από τον πολιτικό ακτιβισμό
αποτελεί μία δυναμική και σχεσιακή διαδικασία, που συνδιαμορφώνεται
από τη συνεχή αλληλεπίδραση πολλαπλών παραγόντων στο μικρο-, μεσο-
και μακρο- επίπεδο. Η επιρροή των παραγόντων αυτών ποικίλλει σημαντι-
κά λόγω του κρίσιμου ρόλου των υποκειμένων, του σχεσιακού χαρακτήρα
της διαδικασίας αποστασιοποίησης και της επίδρασης του εκάστοτε πε-
ριβαλλοντικού πλαισίου. Επιπροσθέτως, πρόσφατες μελέτες αμφισβητούν
την εγκυρότητα αυστηρών διπόλων όπως πολιτική συμμετοχή/αποχή λόγω
σημαντικών αποκλίσεων όσον αφορά τη μορφολογία και την έκταση της
πολιτικής αποστασιοποίησης. Στα συμπεράσματα προσδιορίζονται αδυ-
ναμίες της βιβλιογραφίας και παρατίθενται προτάσεις για μελλοντικές
έρευνες.
Λέξεις-κλειδιά: πολιτική αποστράτευση, κοινωνικά κινήματα, ακτι-
βισμός, αποκινητοποίηση
*Αναπληρώτρια Καθηγήτρια Πολιτικής Κοινωνιολογίας στο Τμήμα Διεθνών και
Ευρωπαϊκών Σπουδών του Πανεπιστημίου Πειραιώς.
DISENGAGING FROM POLITICAL ACTIVISM 5
INTRODUCTION
Academic research on political disengagement was traditionally sparse
compared to the abundant literature on political participation and
mobilization. However, the global upsurge of mobilizations in late 2010
sparked substantial interest in the fate of the activists who participated
in those waves of protest. This led to a proliferation of new studies on
political disengagement (Beauchesne and Vairel, 2021; Menshawy and
Al-Anani, 2021; Nez, 2021; Prado Galán and Fersch, 2021; Vacchiano
and Afailal, 2021). Meanwhile, the literature on extremist organizations
and political violence saw numerous new studies exploring activists’
pathways to political disengagement (Bjørgo, 2011; Blee, 2016; Bosi,
2019; Della Porta, 2009; Horgan, 2009). The literature has since expanded
to encompass highly heterogeneous case studies of the forms of political
activism and repertoires of action (ranging from voluntary to clandestine
organizations), the political contexts (from democratic to authoritarian
regimes) and the countries involved (from the Global North to the Global
South). The present article is a critical review of the existing literature on
political disengagement; it focuses mainly on social movements but also
takes into account different manifestations of political activism. The rst
section presents the academic debate on individuals’ trajectories of political
activism and the varying patterns of disengagement. Emphasis is given to
the fact that a clear dividing line between engagement and disengagement
cannot be drawn, due to the processual nature of disengagement and the
varying degrees and forms of engagement. The second section presents the
main factors associated with political disengagement (at the micro-, meso-
and macro-levels) and elucidates their complex and often contradictory
impact on activism. The third section delineates some of the blind spots
in the literature and highlights new challenges that are posed by the
literature’s signicant expansion. The article concludes with suggestions
for future research.
TRAJECTORIES OF ACTIVISM – PATTERNS OF DISENGAGEMENT
Participation in political activism is neither a life-long nor a linear,
continuous process. Activists may be persistent in their engagement; they
may move in and out of contentious politics; or they may opt to break
irreversibly with political activism. Klandermans (1994), studying the
Dutch peace movement in its period of decline, distinguishes between (i)
6 MARILENA SIMITI
persisters, referring to those who stay, despite the decline of movements;
(ii) shifters, who opt to engage in other movements or causes; and (iii)
terminators, who give up political activism. Similarly, Corrigall-Brown
(2012) identies four trajectories of activism: (1) persistent participation;
(2) transfer, which refers to disengagement from the original organization
and engagement in others; (3) individual abeyance, i.e. temporary abstention
from protest politics and re-entry at a later stage; and (4) disengagement,
meaning a permanent exit from contentious politics. To describe the multiple
trajectories of activism and their evolution across time, Fillieule (2010) has
coined the term ‘activist career’. The term encompasses predispositions to
activism, various forms of engagement, as well as variations in commitment
across the entire life cycle of political activists.
Engagement and disengagement may signify, respectively, the beginning
and end (temporary or permanent) of political activism; however, the
two concepts should not be perceived as two distinct and opposite poles.
Disengagement is not a single act. It is a process, involving multiple steps
and a series of cognitive and emotional changes (Fillieule, 2015). This
process is illustrated in Leclercq’s (2011) analysis of the long path and
different phases a former member of the French Communist Party traversed
before leaving the Party. In a similar vein, White (2010, p. 351), analyzing
the trajectories of members of Provisional Sinn Féin, emphasizes that for
some activists “recruitment and exit were part of an ongoing social process
and a specic date for exit is not applicable”. Moreover, disengagement is
a process that does not end with the decision to exit. It may have severe
material and/or psychological repercussions. Thus, it often leads to the
redenition of one’s identity and the meanings attached to it (Ferree, 1994;
Mannarini and Fedi, 2012).
There are additional reasons why engagement and disengagement
should not be perceived as two distinct and opposite poles. Membership
status is not always as straightforward as many studies assume, while the
dividing line between engagement and disengagement is often obscure. For
instance, in unbounded groups (e.g. milieus) where boundaries are blurred,
it remains ambiguous who is inside or outside the group (Bjørgo, 2009).
Furthermore, individuals may relinquish a specic role but continue to be
engaged in other roles related to the same cause (Horgan, 2009). Especially
in authoritarian settings, activists frequently respond to state repression
by exiting from a specic role and reorienting activism towards different,
subtler forms of engagement or too low and sporadic involvement (Beinin
and Vairel, 2013; Davenport, 2005; Duboc, 2013). Lastly, an incongruence
DISENGAGING FROM POLITICAL ACTIVISM 7
may exist between a person’s actual involvement and her/his interpretations
of that involvement. Blee (2016), who studied disengagement in racist
organizations, discovered that some of her interviewees attended events
and meetings without considering themselves as participants in the
respective organizations, while others, who had little involvement, claimed
membership. Accordingly, disengagement is a multifaceted phenomenon
(objective and subjective). Strictly dened dichotomies such as engaged/
disengaged or member/non-member do not capture the processual nature
of disengagement, the variety of forms and degrees of engagement or the
often ambiguous nature of membership.
Disengagement can be voluntary or forced, “depending on whether
an individual makes a choice or is constrained to adopt certain behavior”
(e.g. decline of a movement, dissolution of an organization, expulsion,
imprisonment) (Della Porta, 2009, p. 68). It can also be an individual act
or take the form of collective defection, as in the case of an organizational
split (Shriver and Messer, 2009; White, 2010). How individual
disengagement manifests itself is conditioned by the intensity and duration
of participation. Klandermans (2003), examining both enduring forms
of participation and sporadic engagement (e.g. occasional attendance at
demonstrations or signing of petitions), concluded that, in the latter case,
individuals could disengage by simply staying away, whereas in the former
case, they had to take active steps to exit. He termed these two forms of
disengagement “passive defection or neglect” and “active defection or exit”
(Klandermans, 2003, p. 118). Introvigne (1999), in his analysis of a post-
theosophical movement, formulated three ideal types of disengagement:
defectors, ordinary leave-takers and apostates. Defectors negotiate an exit
with organizational authorities to minimize the cost of defection for both
parties. Ordinary leave-takers leave the organization in a non-contested
manner because they have lost interest, loyalty or commitment. Finally,
apostates become professional enemies of their former organization.
Even though Introvigne labels these activists as ‘apostates’, they often
perceive themselves as the carriers of the “true” principles of their former
organization, which are betrayed by the remaining members (White, 2010).
Apostates are the most visible leave-takers, however, the vast majority of
those who leave remain unnoticed.
Concerning the reasons that may lead to disengagement, Snow and
Soule argue that “not only is disengagement the ipside of participation,
but the factors that account for it are the obverse of some of the
determinants of participation” (Snow and Soule, 2010, p. 145). The initial
8 MARILENA SIMITI
reasons for engaging in political activism may have a bearing on decisions
to disengage. However, it is often the case that individuals engage and
disengage for different reasons. For instance, activists may join a group
because they identify politically with that group, but disengage due to
destructive affective ties (Klatch, 2004). Divergence of motives arises
from manifold changes that occur during the post-recruitment period.
Activists’ identities, beliefs, emotions and social ties, as well as their
relation to organizations and the broader sociopolitical context, all evolve
and change during their participation in political activism (Corrigal-
Brown, 2012; Fillieule, 2010; Owen, 2019). Accordingly, disengagement is
inextricably linked to activists’ constant reinterpretation and reevaluation
of their experience of engagement, their life trajectory and the evolving
sociopolitical context.
Individuals’ lives after activism are often shaped by their previous
experiences. Thus, the literature records that former activists usually pursue
life course patterns that are consistent with their political values and activist
history (e.g. being employed in teaching or helping professions, promoting
social change in daily life, resisting conventional lifestyles) (Braungart
and Braungart, 1986; Fendrich, 1974; Giugni and Grasso, 2016; Whalen
and Flacks, 1980).
Next follows an overview of the principal factors associated with
disengagement. Some of these factors (social networks, identity,
commitment) affect both engagement and disengagement, while others
(internal conicts, disillusionment, burnout, barriers to disengagement) are
linked primarily to the process of disengagement. The following analysis
puts greater emphasis on the latter.
CONSTELLATION OF FACTORS LINKED
TO POLITICAL DISENGAGEMENT
The literature has identied numerous factors at the micro- (individual),
meso- (organizations, groups, social networks) and macro-level
(sociopolitical context) that negatively affect sustained engagement. These
factors, however, cannot be easily subsumed under one single category,
considering that all three levels constantly interact and shape each other
(Fillieule, 2010). Besides, activists are not a homogeneous group. The
same conguration of factors may lead to diverse individual interpretations
and behaviours (Owen, 2019). As a consequence, intragroup variations are
always present. The overview begins with a combined presentation of the
DISENGAGING FROM POLITICAL ACTIVISM 9
main factors at both micro- and meso-levels and concludes with a brief
analysis of macro-level factors that are linked to the broader process of
demobilization.
A. The Micro- and Meso- Level
Biographical Availability
The literature on ‘biographical availability’ focuses primarily on recruitment
to activism. Few studies explore the relationship between biographical
availability and the sustainability of activism (Corrigal-Brown, 2012;
Downton and Wehr, 1997/2019; Perez, 2018; White, 2010). According to the
biographical availability hypothesis, signicant role or life-cycle changes,
such as full-time employment, marriage and family responsibilities, can
reduce available time and energy, while at the same time they increase
the costs and risks associated with activism (McAdam, 1986). As a result,
biographical constraints may hinder initial participation in contentious
politics or foster disengagement (Corrigal-Brown, 2012). Empirical
ndings, however, show that the relationship between biographical
availability and political activism is complex. Biographical constraints
may impede activism, stimulate it or have no impact on it at all (Corrigal-
Brown, 2012). Since numerous studies have led to contradictory ndings
(Beyerlein and Hipp, 2006), the validity of the biographical hypothesis has
been questioned (Snow and Soule, 2010). Several factors can account for
these inconsistencies: (i) the biographical availability hypothesis has been
tested across different forms of political engagement (e.g. volunteering/
high-risk activism) (Saunders et al., 2012); (ii) besides the external/
situational context, agential factors (e.g. emotions, commitment) also
inuence political engagement (Perez, 2018); (iii) subjective denitions
of costs and risks differ (Wiltfang and McAdam, 1991); and (iv) human
agency is signicant in negotiating the various life responsibilities and in
developing effective coordination skills (Downton and Wehr, 1997/2019).
Finally, individuals may disengage from organizations due to biographical
unavailability, but remain fully committed to a cause and reenter political
activism at a later stage (White, 2010). Hence, to summarize, biographical
unavailability may lead to disengagement in individual cases but does not
preclude sustained activism.
10 MARILENA SIMITI
Social Networks
Social networks play a critical role in facilitating recruitment to political
activism and in sustaining activists’ commitment during the post-recruitment
period (McAdam and Paulsen, 1993; Snow et al., 1980). Networks are not
simply structures, since “information, ideas and emotions” are exchanged
through them (Goodwin and Jasper, 1999, p. 42). For instance, the bonds
that are forged during engagement enhance activists’ ideological afnity to
movements and organizations by nurturing the development of a collective
identity and enabling secondary political socialization (Fillieule, 2010;
Passy and Monsch, 2014). Positive affective bonds provide signicant
emotional rewards, enhancing activists’ endurance (Jasper, 1998; Taylor,
1989; Wood, 2001). Finally, activists’ embeddedness in social networks
increases their sense of personal and collective efcacy, strengthening
further their commitment (Klandermans et al., 2008). Downton and Wehr
(1997/2019), underlining the signicance of social bonds, argue that the
stronger activists’ bonds to organizations, leaders, prevailing beliefs and
fellow activists are, the higher their level of commitment will be.
Individuals, however, do not participate solely in social networks in
the realm of political activism (Mc Adam and Paulsen, 1993). They also
engage in numerous other social networks (formal and informal) in their
diverse life spheres. How they subjectively evaluate and consequently
structure their numerous engagements affects the sustainability of their
political activism (Passy and Giugni, 2000; Stryker 2000). Thus, the less
activists’ political engagement is connected to the social networks in their
central life spheres (such as family, studies, and work), the more probable
it is that their political commitment will gradually fade away. Additionally,
in the multiple social networks that individuals engage with, they are
subject to various interpersonal inuences, which may also involve
pressures to disengage (Kitts, 2000; McAdam and Paulsen, 1993). Finally,
when activists drop out of organizations or movements, the propensity of
the remaining members to disengage increases, especially if friendship ties
are involved (Sandell, 1999). In short, social networks “have multivalent
effects”, meaning that besides sustaining engagement they may also foster
disengagement (Kitts, 2000, p. 242).
DISENGAGING FROM POLITICAL ACTIVISM 11
Identity
Individuals are pulled into political activism by social ties. Often, however,
they engage despite the absence of social ties, either because they identify
with organizations or movements, or because they want to express their
values and conrm their identities.
Specifying the impact of identity on political activism is complicated
since signicantly diverse perceptions of the concept appear in the
literature (Stryker, 2000; Gecas, 2000; Taylor and Whittier, 1992).
According to Stryker (2000, p. 28), individuals have multiple identities,
which are “organized in a salience hierarchy”. Concerning activism, the
more salient, prominent and central the activist identity of participants in
organizations and movements is, the more likely it is that their engagement
will be persistent (Corrigall-Brown, 2012; Mannarini and Fedi, 2012).
Biographical continuity usually increases the chances of a highly
salient activist identity (Flacks, 2019; Roth, 2000). Still, signicant life,
organizational or environmental changes and the experiences of activism
in themselves may alter the salience and centrality of activists’ identities,
impacting the sustainability of their activism (Fillieule, 2010).
Social movements construct collective identities, which signify
“the shared denition of a group that derives from members’ common
interests, experiences, and solidarity” (Taylor and Whittier, 1992, p.
105). Collective identities enhance the sustainability of individuals’
engagement, since they strengthen their commitment and feelings of
solidarity (Gamson, 1991; Hunt and Benford, 2004; Polletta and Jasper,
2001). Both the formation and maintenance of collective identities require
continuous identity work throughout the different stages of a movement
to accomplish the alignment of personal and collective identities (Snow
and McAdam, 2000). If this alignment weakens, then disengagement is
a potential outcome (Nascimento et al., 2021). The process of collective
identity construction is very complex since the multiple and intersecting
identities (in terms of class, gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, citizenship
status, etc.) of the participants must be afrmed. Otherwise, it may lead
to exclusion, prompting disengagement (Gamson, 1997). As the previous
analysis illustrates, what a movement means may differ across subgroups,
often leading to internal conicts and factionalism (White, 2010). If these
conicts concern the core identity of a social movement organization, then
schism is a potential outcome (Sani and Reicher, 1998).
12 MARILENA SIMITI
Organizational Forms – Internal Conicts
In addition to social networks and identity, organizational forms also play a
critical role in sustaining or undermining activists’ engagement (Barkan et
al., 1993; Bunnage, 2014; Corrigal-Brown, 2012). Centralized hierarchical
organizations usually limit members’ ability to have effective control over
organizational affairs, thus eroding their identication with and commitment
to the organizations they are involved in (Kleidman, 1994; Knoke, 1981).
Moreover, high levels of hierarchy reduce members’ ability to forge and
maintain extensive social bonds with fellow members or leaders, undermining
further the sustainability of activists’ engagement (Corrigal-Brown, 2012;
Downton and Wehr, 1997/2019). By contrast, “social relationships and
political forms that express ideas of empowerment and community help
produce a sense of agency and long-term commitment” (Gamson, 1991, p.
49; Hirsch, 1990). Nonetheless, some studies have shown that commitment
can be sustained in bureaucratic organizations (Knoke, 1981; Osterman,
2006) or, conversely, be undermined in horizontal organizational models
(Eschle, 2018; Freeman, 1972). Besides, organizations are complex
phenomena, integrating often diverse aspects of organizational logic,
cultures and practices (Ferree and Martin, 1995; Minkoff, 2002). Lastly, the
effectiveness of specic organizational forms (hierarchical/horizontal) or
boundaries (rigidied/permeable) in averting disengagement also depends
on the upswing or downswing phases of social movements and broader
environmental changes (Staggenborg, 1996; Taylor, 1989; Whittier, 2002).
A recurring theme in the literature is that high levels of intra-organizational
or intra-movement conicts may lead to individual disengagement,
collective defection or schisms (Barkan, 1986; Shriver and Messer, 2009;
Zald and Ash, 1966). Several factors may increase the probability of
internal conicts. For example, the sudden growth of organizations and
movements or the presence of different political generations and micro-
cohorts may enhance heterogeneity and breed conict (Chironi, 2019; Roth,
2000; Whittier, 1997). In addition, organizations and movements evolve
constantly over time, facing diverse challenges. However, signicant shifts
in their identities, strategies and organizational culture may give rise to
severe internal friction (Nascimento et al., 2021; Owen, 2019; Staggenborg,
1988). Apart from internal factors, external factors (e.g. such as achieving
some gains) may also magnify divisions and conicts within organizations
or movements (Balser, 1997; Robnett, 2002). While some conicts are
accommodated (King, 2008; Kretschmer, 2017), others are not, leading to
individual disengagement, collective defections or schisms.
DISENGAGING FROM POLITICAL ACTIVISM 13
Commitment
A fundamental premise in the literature is that (voluntary) disengagement is
the manifestation of the erosion of activists’ commitment (Gamson, 1991;
Hirsh, 1990; Kanter, 1968; McAdam, 1989; Nepstad, 2004). Klandermans
(2003) discerns three different forms of commitment: affective,
continuance and normative commitment. He argues that, while the degree
of decline of the three forms of commitment may differ, the three forms
may balance each other out. According to Klandermans, declining levels
of commitment, coupled with insufcient gratication, result in a growing
inclination to disengage; if a critical event tips the balance, then actual
disengagement will occur. Fillieule (2015) in his analysis emphasizes the
relational and context-dependent nature of commitment, by linking its
erosion to multilevel developments, including structural, organizational
and agential factors. For Fillieule (2015, p. 283), the erosion of commitment
is the outcome of the “exhaustion of the rewards of involvement, the loss
of ideological meaning, and the transformation of relations of sociability”.
Consequently, activists’ level of commitment is neither given nor xed
but instead is relational, context-dependent and evolves constantly over
time. Since commitment is a dynamic process, organizations and groups
pursue various strategies to constantly support and reinforce it to deter
disengagement. These strategies may include “cultural and social
insulation, conversion…surrendering or donating personal resources…in-
group/out-group polarization” and rituals (Snow and Soule, 2010, p. 144;
Kanter, 1968; Taylor and Whittier, 1992).
Commitment is also affected by another factor, which receives less
attention in the social movement literature, namely collective action per se.
Although collective action may strengthen the activist identity (Nepstad,
2004; Fillieule, 2012; Hirsch, 1990; Drury and Reicher, 2005; Vacchiano
and Afailal, 2021), it may also foster disengagement. Failure to advance
collective mobilizations’ stated goals is often a traumatic experience,
leading to feelings of disappointment, hopelessness or even despair
(Verstergren et al., 2017; Karmel and Kuburic, 2021). While some activists
may mitigate the negative impact of disempowering experiences by placing
them in a wider context or by positively reframing them, others may lose
their commitment and disengage (Barr and Drury, 2009; Beckwith, 2015;
Prado Galán and Fersch, 2021).
14 MARILENA SIMITI
Disillusionment
Studies of emotions have proliferated in social movement literature in
recent decades (Goodwin et al., 2004; Jasper, 1998; Van Ness and Summer-
Efer, 2019). However, analyses of disillusionment remain sparse. By
contrast, disillusionment is extensively analyzed in the literature on militant
extremism (Bjørgo, 2011; Horgan, 2009; Jensen et al., 2023; Windisch et
al., 2019). Disillusionment is a common reference in activists’ accounts
of the causes that led to their disengagement (Accornero, 2019; Altier et
al., 2017; Beauchesne and Vairel, 2021; Belghazi and Moudden, 2016;
Prado Galán and Fersch, 2021). The origins of activists’ disillusionment
lie in the existing incongruence “between idealized expectations and the
every day realities associated with those same expectations” (Simi et
al., 2019, p. 12). However, disillusionment is not merely the outcome of
divergence between activists’ expectations and reality. It is a cognitive
process that involves activists’ positive recollection of the past or their
initial expectations and their negative interpretation of the present (Latif
et al., 2020). Thus, disillusionment always involves a subjective and
comparative evaluation of the past and the present. This cognitive process
also has strong emotional components. For instance, if activists perceive
that reality contradicts fundamental beliefs that are deeply valuable to them,
then disillusionment may lead to a “state of existential concern”, where the
sense of loss of meaning in life is coupled with feelings of hopelessness
and despair (Maher et al., 2021, p. 3). Disillusionment may be caused by
a multiplicity of factors, ranging from disagreements over ideological
issues and strategies (Altier et al., 2017; Horgan, 2009; Menshawy and Al-
Anani, 2021) to the failure of or discrepancy between initial objectives or
expectations and the actual outcomes of collective mobilizations (Adams,
2003; Ferree, 1994; Prado Galán and Fersch, 2021). According to Tarrow
(2011), the more ambitious social movements’ objectives are and the
greater the gap between expectations and outcomes, the higher the level
of activists’ disillusionment will be. The impact of disillusionment on
activists’ engagement varies. It may range from temporary disengagement
to total exit from activism (Karmel and Kuburic, 2021; Tarrow, 2011).
In the latter case, exit may be coupled with cynicism and disinterest in
politics in general (Accornero, 2019).
DISENGAGING FROM POLITICAL ACTIVISM 15
Burnout
A common cause of disengagement from political activism is burnout.
According to Rettig (2006, p. 16), “burnout is the act of involuntarily leaving
activism, or reducing one’s level of activism”. Activist burnout is “more
than temporary frustration or occasional weariness…[it] is the long-term,
accumulative, and debilitating impact of activism-related stress” (Gorski
et al., 2019, p. 364). Activists engaged in social justice education who had
experienced burnout described their symptoms as (a) “deterioration of
psychological and emotional well-being”; (b) “deterioration of physical
well-being”; and (c) “disillusionment and hopelessness” (Gorski and Chen,
2015, p. 395). Burnout leads to exhaustion, cynicism and reduced self-
efcacy (Maslach et al., 2001). Even though burnout is a recurring problem
in political activism, not all activists are susceptible to it. According to
Pines (1994, p. 383), activists who try to derive “a sense of existential
signicance” from their political work are more prone to burnout. Similarly,
Gorski et al. (2019), in their study on animal rights activists in the United
States, demonstrate that those activists who experienced burnout were
the ones who described activism as their core purpose in life. Thus, it is
the most highly committed activists that are susceptible to burnout. The
negative consequences of burnout can be mitigated if activists develop and
implement burnout prevention strategies (e.g. scale down and/or diversify
their activities, adopt self-care strategies, shift to other organizations or
forms of activism) (Downton and Wehr, 1997/2019; Gorski and Chen, 2015;
Nepstad, 2004). Nevertheless, the ability to implement these strategies is
seriously circumscribed in adverse sociopolitical contexts that magnify
activists’ physical and emotional exhaustion. For instance, Peña et al.
(2023), in their analysis of human rights activism in Colombia, Kenya and
Indonesia, illustrate how repressive repertoires by state and non-state actors,
together with negative social conditions (e.g. crime, corruption, economic
constraints), make burnout a prevalent feature of activists’ daily existence.
Barriers to Disengagement
Many factors may prompt activists to disengage, but each activist
confronts a unique conguration of barriers that may deter her/him from
successful disengagement (Jensen et al., 2023). Barriers to disengagement
span the micro- to the macro-level, ranging from individual psychological
factors to macro-factors such as state repression. In general, the higher the
sacrices and personal investments that organizations demand from their
16 MARILENA SIMITI
members, the higher the psychological or material cost of disengagement
will be, making disengagement less probable (Fillieule, 2010; Kanter,
1968; Zwerman et al., 2000). Strong friendship ties to co-members can
be another deterrent to successful disengagement, especially in cases
where inclusion in an organization is followed by renunciation of all social
relations external to it and the latter becomes a “substitute family” for its
members (Bjørgo, 2009, p. 40; Menshawy and Al-Anani, 2021). Activists
may also enjoy social privileges or economic benets, which may keep
them involved even though they may have become disaffected (Jensen
et al., 2023). A critical factor affecting the probability of disengagement
is activists’ perceived availability of attractive life-course alternatives
(Horgan, 2009). In this regard, activists with stigmatized identities, limited
educational or employment opportunities and few social ties outside their
organization lack “the essential safety net” for disengaging successfully
(Latif et al., 2020, p. 379). In some cases, obstacles to disengagement tend
to cluster (e.g. past incarceration, limited social mobility, poor education),
making the prospects of an alternative life course even less viable (Jensen
et al., 2023). Lastly, disengagement also depends on organizations’ rules
and practices vis-à-vis defectors (Filieulle, 2010). Hence, if organizations
apply violent negative sanctions to ‘traitors’, the fear of reprisals may
act as an effective barrier to disengagement (Bjørgo, 2009; Windisch et
al., 2019). To sum up, even if activists distance themselves ideologically
or emotionally from their afliated organization, exit is not always an
available or attractive option for them.
In addition to the numerous factors at the micro- and meso-levels that
affect individual disengagement, the broader environmental context also
shapes activists’ dynamics of engagement. At the same time, activists’
disengagement may contribute to the decline of movements, if movements
fail to recruit new participants.
B. Macro-Level
Demobilization
Demobilization refers to multiple, diverse but interrelated phenomena,
such as individual disengagement, the demobilization of a social movement
organization, the ending of a campaign or the demobilization of a society’s
entire social movement sector (Fillieule, 2015; Tilly and Tarrow, 2015;
Zeller, 2020). Demobilization at the macro-level does not signify merely
DISENGAGING FROM POLITICAL ACTIVISM 17
the de-escalation of collective protests (Demirel-Pegg, 2017). It refers to
a process by which the patterns of interactions within the polity become
restabilized and re-routinized, leading to a new equilibrium (Koopmans,
2004). Demobilization, like mobilization, is the outcome of interactive
processes between a multiplicity of actors (social movements, their
allies, governments, oppositional forces, the mass public, etc.) (Tilly and
Tarrow, 2015). It is shaped by both the internal dynamics of movements
or organizations and external factors (Demirel-Pegg, 2017; Zeller, 2020).
Finally, how demobilization unfolds is strongly related to the dynamics
and the features of the mobilization phase (Demirel-Pegg, 2017; Tilly and
Tarrow, 2015).
Studies have traced multiple external factors which may increase the
probability of demobilization under certain conditions and in interaction
with other factors. These mainly involve repression, institutionalization,
the electoral cycle, countermobilizations and changes in the political
climate.
Studies on the impact of state repression on dissent have led to
inconclusive ndings (Davenport, 2015). They do show, however,
that the levels, forms, types and agents of repression (e.g. selective or
indiscriminate, hard or soft repression, state or private agents), as well as
the timing of repression, play a critical role in shaping its impact (Earl,
2006; Francisco, 2005; Zeller, 2020). Besides its direct effect on collective
protests, repression also harms ‘internal’ organizational dynamics (e.g.
factionalism, deterioration of members’ affective bonds), thus increasing
the chances of demobilization (Davenport, 2015; Klatch, 2004).
Institutionalization may be part of the dynamic of a cycle of protest
(Della Porta and Tarrow, 1986; Demirel-Pegg, 2017). Following the early
phase of a cycle of protest, competition develops for mass support between
the different social and political actors engaged in collective mobilizations.
When participation starts to decline, this competition becomes erce,
leading to polarization between two main wings of the movement sector,
the moderates and the radicals. Authorities usually respond by co-opting
the moderates and repressing the radicals, further intensifying the existing
polarization. The radicals respond to repression by resorting to more
violence, while the moderates forward their interests through established
institutional channels. As Della Porta and Tarrow (1986, p. 613) observe,
when “the cycle winds down…institutionalization and increasing violence
accompany and feed upon one another”. On the other hand, Davenport coins
the term “positive demobilization”, to underline that demobilization may
18 MARILENA SIMITI
be the outcome of a movement’s success (gaining access and acceptance,
achieving policy changes or alteration of existing political structures)
(Davenport, 2015, p. 22; Fillieule 2010).
Elections also inuence the dynamics of social movements, since they
may change activists’ perceptions of existing “opportunities” or “threats”
affecting their willingness to engage in protest politics (McAdam and
Tarrow, 2010). Elections may also channel discontent via the electoral
process (Chabanet and Royall, 2015). Additionally, the question of whether
social movements should engage in electoral politics may exaggerate
divisions and conicts within social movements, undermining their
dynamics (Heaney and Rojas, 2007). Finally, electoral shifts may lead to
shrinking political opportunities and curtailment of institutional support
to movements, contributing to their contraction (Jenkins, 1983; McAdam,
1982). Especially long-term shifts in “electoral regimes” bear a strong
imprint on social movements’ dynamics (McAdam and Tarrow, 2010).
Countermobilization is another critical factor that may contribute to
demobilization (Meyer and Staggenborg, 1996; Zeller, 2021). Voss, in
her study of the American labour movement, clearly illustrates how the
interplay between frames, countermobilization and the role of the state led
to the collapse of the Knights of Labor (Voss, 1996).
Finally, changes in the political climate may drive demobilization,
since the urgency and saliency of specic issues may decline and the social
value attributed to certain causes, political ideals and models of activism
may change (Edwards and Marullo, 1995; Fillieule, 2010; Klandermans,
2003; McAdam, 1982). Negative environmental changes do not affect all
activists evenly. Usually, movements or organizations’ core activists, who
are the most strongly committed, are less affected (Corrigal-Brown, 2012;
Tarrow, 2011).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
The proliferation of research into the diverse motivations and manifestations
of disengagement has signicantly transformed the literature on the
subject. Disengagement has ceased to be a peripheral subtopic in the
social movement literature and has become a subject of analysis in its own
right. The expansion of the literature and the quality of existing studies
have enriched our understanding of the complexity of disengagement.
Numerous case studies illustrate that disengagement is the outcome of a
dynamic process involving the continuous interaction of a multiplicity of
DISENGAGING FROM POLITICAL ACTIVISM 19
factors at the micro-, meso- and macro-levels. Moreover, disengagement is
not an isolated instance in the life course of activists. Instead, it is affected
by and in turn affects their life trajectories. Some patterns can be deduced
from several case studies of the main factors affecting disengagement and
the individual or collective pathways to disengagement. At the same time,
however, deviations from these patterns can also be observed. As the case
studies demonstrate, the relation between disengagement and the multiple
factors outlined in the literature may vary signicantly across individuals,
organizations and movements, as well as sociopolitical and temporal
contexts. Accordingly, any abstract overgeneralization would miss both
the signicance of agential factors in shaping disengagement and the
relational and context-specic nature of disengagement. The complexity
of the process is further increased by the varied forms and degrees of
engagement and disengagement, as well as the varied subjective meanings
attached to them. Given this complexity, there are few comparative studies
on disengagement from different organizations or movements, and these
are usually restricted to single national contexts. Thus, the literature
consists mainly of single-case studies, which delve into the specic
trajectories of individuals or the variations in activists’ trajectories within
single organizations or movements.
There are some blind spots in the literature, which are mainly because
studying disengagement from political activism involves several challenges
(theoretical and methodological) that are not easily resolved. The term
‘social movement’ is an abstraction that is difcult to operationalize.
Accordingly, most studies focus primarily on “bounded forms of activism”
(McAdam, 1986, p. 67), such as social movement organizations and groups.
However, this orientation in the literature has some implications. Social
movements tend to be conated with social movement organizations.
Moreover, the literature’s emphasis on organizations is also reected in
the scarce analysis of individualized modes of political activism, like
lifestyle politics or digital activism (Driscoll, 2018; Lindgren, 2019). In
consequence, the question of whether individuals who disengage from
ofine activism turn to online engagement or vice versa is rarely addressed
(Chu and Yeo, 2020). Finally, members of organizations or groups are
usually more committed and likely to engage in high-risk activism than
unafliated individuals. In general, there are fewer studies on low-cost,
low-risk activism and intermittent engagement than on high-cost, high-
risk engagement, even though the former cases are more common than
the latter (Corrigal-Brown, 2012; Giugni and Grasso, 2016). Blind spots
20 MARILENA SIMITI
in the literature are also related to the lack of longitudinal data. Since
disengagement is a process, longitudinal research is required to explore
activists’ political trajectories and the sequence of steps that lead to
their disengagement (Fillieule, 2015; 2010). However, most studies are
retrospective, relying on activists’ recollections of their trajectories and
life histories (Klatch, 2004; Prado Galán and Fersch, 2021; Blee, 2016).
The remarkable expansion of the literature and the incorporation of
many dissimilar case studies give rise to some new, interesting questions.
The analysis of most studies in the literature rests on the assumption that
political engagement is voluntary and the choice of adult individuals. Yet,
this is not always true (especially in the Global South), as some empirical
studies demonstrate (Nascimento et al., 2021; Viterna, 2006). Are the
disengagement pathways in these cases dissimilar? The literature also
involves cases of political activism that span the whole political spectrum.
Most studies in the literature do not investigate the relationship between the
ideological underpinnings of political activism and disengagement. They
focus primarily on exploring the determinants, the process and the varied
forms of disengagement, as well as its impact on activists’ future trajectories.
Thus, the question of whether activists’ different or even conicting
political identities may affect the process of disengagement remains
peripheral in the literature. However, organizations and movements are
grounded in belief systems, values and norms. They socialize participants
in specic visions of the world. Moreover, these values and norms shape
individuals’ perceptions and interpretations of an activist identity and their
respective expectations from activism (White, 2010). As Gecas (2000,
p. 100) underlines, values inscribed in movements’ ideologies, “become
important aspects of members’ self-denition…with implications for
individuals’ commitment to the social movement”. Finally, ideologies
are embedded in and shape the multiple factors that are associated with
the process of disengagement in the literature (e.g. collective identities,
social networks, organizational forms). It is not suggested that ideological
factors are xed and independent variables that are passively internalized
by activists and per se affect the disengagement process. On the contrary,
it is acknowledged that participants in organizations or movements engage
actively in the construction and reconstruction of values, beliefs and
principles, which may vary signicantly across them. A suggested topic to
explore further would be in which cases, under which circumstances and to
what degree the ideological underpinnings of political activism may affect
the multifaceted process of disengagement, especially since comparative
DISENGAGING FROM POLITICAL ACTIVISM 21
studies of activists’ trajectories on both the Left and the Right are very
scarce (except for analyses of extremism). The ndings of these studies are
inconclusive. In one study, ideology did not play a role in the sustainability
of activists’ engagement (Corrigall-Brown, 2012), while in another it
affected the factors that shape the disengagement process (Windisch et al.,
2019). Further research involving case studies across ideological lines and
activists’ political orientations would provide critical insight into not only
the commonalities but also the differences concerning the disengagement
process in ideologically disparate political actors.
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