Counter-Protests With and Without Counter-Movements

Protest–counter-protest (P-CP) interactions are still underresearched in social movement studies. Usually, they are subsumed under movement–counter-movement (M-CM) interaction. We argue that this covers only one part of the empirical phenomenon because not all counter-protests are tied to a counter-movement. We suggest differentiating between closely coupled and uncoupled counter-protest and introduce a conceptual framework for this. While the literature on counter-movements or M-CM interactions is still helpful for understanding uncoupled P-CP interactions, factors like (perceived) actor characteristics of the initial protesters, local civil society structures, the role of the general public, control over (urban) space, and short-term situational dynamics require more attention if we aim to better understand the uncoupled counter-protest setting. Throughout the article, we illustrate our conceptual argument with several empirical observations about specific counter-protests.