Normalisation thesis and historical legacy in Greek Protest, empirical evidence from 2005 to 2024

This study examines whether Greek demonstration participation has broadened toward a more socially representative activity over the past two decades, as the Normalisation of Protest Thesis predicts, or remains anchored to the organisational and ideological channels Historical Legacy Theory identifies. Drawing on five rounds of European Social Survey data spanning 2005–2024, the analysis finds evidence of participation normalisation but only limited, temporary compositional normalisation. Reported protest participation rose substantially over the period, while most traditional social and organisational differences separating protesters from non-protesters persisted. Union membership, education, and youth predict demonstration participation throughout the period with no narrowing of the gaps separating these groups from the rest of the population. Party attachment and ideological placement narrow only during the acute austerity crisis, reverting once pressure eases, in episodic, crisis-driven convergence rather than lasting broadening. For gender, the raw disparity does not narrow over time but disappears once party and union ties are accounted for, suggesting compositional overlap rather than a converging cleavage. These findings are consistent with accounts of Greek civil society as structured by inherited party organisational legacies rather than an autonomous associational sphere, with implications for democratic inclusiveness and UN Sustainable Development Goals 16 and 10.