The balcony peer effect in urban political expression: A comparative two-case study from a Spanish context

Balconies have not been fully conceptualized and analyzed as a specific political scene with their singular scope and significance and governed by their own rationale. A recent effort to reverse this abandonment has insisted on their positive contribution to free political expression and to an urban version of deliberative democracy. This article identifies the “balcony peer effect”: an endogenous mechanism whereby eye-level visibility across neighboring building façades synchronizes political signaling. This effect complicates the idea that balcony displays are purely individual acts of conviction. We argue that, in contexts marked by political polarization and a cultural preference for conflict avoidance, decisions to express (or not express) political views from one's balcony are shaped by the micro-politics of visibility among neighboring residents. Individual expression appears subject to normative pressures rooted in the anticipated judgment of “balcony peers,” with whom a minimal outward harmony is socially desirable. While our data are correlational and do not establish causality, they suggest that public expression is not solely the result of internal belief, but also a socially embedded practice. Empirically, we draw on two survey-based case studies in Madrid, Spain. The first was conducted during the 2017 Catalan crisis, when Spanish flags appeared on balconies; the second during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, when nightly balcony applause for healthcare workers became widespread. Our results confirm that balcony peers spur imitation in political displays, and this influence is strongest when the act contradicts the individual's own ideology. • Political expression on balconies is influenced by social norms. • Balcony politics reflects Spain's deep ideological divisions. • Neighbors shape individuals' willingness to display symbols. • Fewer visible balconies increase social conformity. • Individuals balance political identity and social harmony.