{"id":14,"date":"2012-09-17T02:48:54","date_gmt":"2012-09-17T02:48:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/muellerlisa.com\/?page_id=14"},"modified":"2026-03-20T20:34:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T20:34:05","slug":"research","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/muellerlisa.com\/?page_id=14","title":{"rendered":"Research"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Books<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/muellerlisa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Mueller_book_cover-2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"660\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/muellerlisa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Mueller_book_cover-2-660x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-649\" style=\"width:281px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/muellerlisa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Mueller_book_cover-2-660x1024.png 660w, https:\/\/muellerlisa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Mueller_book_cover-2-193x300.png 193w, https:\/\/muellerlisa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Mueller_book_cover-2-768x1192.png 768w, https:\/\/muellerlisa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Mueller_book_cover-2-990x1536.png 990w, https:\/\/muellerlisa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Mueller_book_cover-2-1320x2048.png 1320w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/757626\/the-new-science-of-social-change-by-lisa-mueller\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/757626\/the-new-science-of-social-change-by-lisa-mueller\/\"><em>The New Science of Social Change: A Modern Handbook for Activists<\/em>. 2024. Boston: Beacon Press<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>UK edition: <em><a href=\"https:\/\/footnotepress.com\/books\/changemaker\/\">Changemaker: A Data-Driven Guide to Being an Effective Activist<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Booksellers&#8217; description: &#8220;We are in the middle of a historic swell of activism taking place throughout the world. From Occupy Wall Street and the Arab Spring, to pro-democracy uprisings in China, Black Lives Matter, the Women\u2019s March on Washington, and more recent pro-choice protests; folks everywhere are gathering to demand a more just world. Yet despite social engagement being at record highs, there is a divide between the activist community and the scientists\u2014like Lisa Mueller, PhD\u2014who study it.&#8221;<br><br>&#8220;&#8230;Mueller highlights what really works when it comes to group advocacy, to place proven tools in the hands of activists on the ground\u2014in the U.S. and abroad. Drawing on both her decade-long career researching the science of protest and the work of other scholars, she stresses such things as the ingredients of collective action and how protests with cohesive demands are significantly more likely to win concessions than protests with mixed demands.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Winner of the 2025 Minnesota Book Award in General Nonfiction<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reviews:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.booklistonline.com\/The-New-Science-of-Social-Change-A-Modern-Handbook-for-Activists\/pid=9795454\">Booklist<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Political-Protest-Contemporary-Africa-Mueller\/dp\/1108438253\"><em>Political Protest in Contemporary Africa.&nbsp;<\/em>2018. New York:&nbsp;Cambridge University Press.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/muellerlisa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/bookcover.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"678\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/muellerlisa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/bookcover-678x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-222\" style=\"width:286px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/muellerlisa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/bookcover-678x1024.jpg 678w, https:\/\/muellerlisa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/bookcover-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/muellerlisa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/bookcover-768x1159.jpg 768w, https:\/\/muellerlisa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/bookcover.jpg 915w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Honorable Mention for Best Book of 2018, African Politics Conference Group<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reviews:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/full\/10.1080\/13510347.2019.1580695?af=R\"><em>Democratization<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/journals\/perspectives-on-politics\/article\/political-protest-in-contemporary-africa-by-lisa-mueller-cambridge-cambridge-university-press-2018-272p-9999-cloth-2999-paper\/48BD32391E57F1D75103F2032334EDEF\"><em>Perspectives on Politics<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/monkey-cage\/wp\/2018\/08\/24\/are-protests-in-africa-politically-or-economically-motivated-this-new-book-has-answers\/\">Monkey Cage\/Washington Post<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em><a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full\/10.1177\/0002039719867702\">Africa Spectrum<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/10.1080\/10220461.2019.1639544?fbclid=IwAR0_s587JUT4ou-Wm37cu2mfov46s6P6Ocu51ArAFzRf76tUE_jbgYnPJqw#.XbpEAkJc6ZM.facebook\">South African Journal of International Affairs<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/edu.uhk.cz\/africa\/index.php\/ModAfr\/article\/view\/275\"><em>Modern Africa: Politics, History and Society<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytid.no\/makten-til-mobilisering\/\">Ny Tid<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ukombozireview.com\/2020\/11\/12\/political-protest-in-contemporary-africa-lisa-mueller-cambridge-cambridge-university-press-2018-264-pages-isbn-978-1-108-43825-4\/\"><em>Ukombozi Review<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Articles and Chapters<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cKnowing What Works Isn\u2019t Enough: The Limits of Evidence in Police Reform Movements.\u201d Forthcoming in Sean Joe and Robert O. Motley Jr., eds. <em>American Policing Through Their Eyes<\/em>. Oxford: Oxford University Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Experimental Research: Measuring and Explaining Public Responses to Black-Led Protest.&#8221; Forthcoming in Akan Malici and Liz Smith, eds. <em>Political Science Research in Practice<\/em>. New York: Routledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/muse.jhu.edu\/pub\/3\/article\/979534\">&#8220;Lighter Fluid or Flame Retardant? Religious Movements and the Rise of Populism in Contemporary Africa.&#8221; 2025. <em>African Conflict &amp; Peacebuilding Review <\/em>15(2): 1-42.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s12116-024-09452-0\">&#8220;Broker Rhetoric and Persuasion in Clientelist Systems.&#8221; (with Moumouni Goungoubane). 2025. <em>Studies in Comparative International Development.<\/em> https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s12116-024-09452-0<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Crowd Cohesion and Protest Outcomes.&#8221; 2024. <em>American Journal of Political Science<\/em> 68(1): 42-57.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/ajps.12725\">article<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/muellerlisa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/appendix.pdf\">appendix<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/dataverse.harvard.edu\/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=doi:10.7910\/DVN\/10VFQX\">replication files<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Framing Police Violence: Repression, Resistance, and the Power of History in Chile&#8221; (with Eric Mosinger and Kai Thaler). 2023. <em>Journal of Politics <\/em>85(4): 1198-1213<em>.<\/em><em>&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.journals.uchicago.edu\/doi\/10.1086\/724967\">article<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/dataverse.harvard.edu\/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=doi:10.7910\/DVN\/DLEOQD\">replication files<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/journals\/ps-political-science-and-politics\/article\/accidental-scientists-how-undergraduate-research-in-political-science-can-help-to-patch-the-leaky-pipeline-in-stem-education\/5DEBD5A129812FDB3639366BBF91FF00\">&#8220;Accidental Scientists: How Undergraduate Research in Political Science Can Help to Patch the &#8216;Leaky Pipeline&#8217; in STEM Education.&#8221; 2023. <em>PS: Political Science &amp; Politics<\/em> 56(4): 506-511.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/full\/10.1080\/00083968.2022.2077785\">&#8220;Echec ou succ\u00e8s? Les strat\u00e9gies de subversion et la gouvernance municipale au Niger&#8221; (with Moumouni Goungoubane). 2023. <em>Canadian Journal of African Studies<\/em> 57(1): 27-49.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/dpr.12601\">&#8220;Testing Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue for Better Local Governance in Niger: An Experiment. Can We Talk Our Way Out of Development Problems?&#8221; (with Ariel BenYishay, Katherine Nolan, and Philip Roessler). 2022. <em>Development Policy Review <\/em>40(4): e12601.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/21674795211019670\">&#8220;Do Americans Really Support Black Athletes Who Kneel During the National Anthem? Estimating the True Prevalence and Strength of Sensitive Racial Attitudes in the Context of Sport.&#8221; 2022. <em>Communication &amp; Sport <\/em>10(6): 1070-1091.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/rdcu.be\/ciMJr\">&#8220;Does Charisma Affect Survival in Office for Leaders Who Take Power via Military Coup?&#8221; (with Tyson Roberts). 2021. <em>Studies in Comparative International Development <\/em>56(4): 485-510.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/rdcu.be\/cdijK\">&#8220;United We Stand, Divided We Fall? How Signals of Activist Cohesion Affect Attraction to Advocacy Organizations.&#8221; 2021. <em>Interest Groups &amp; Advocacy <\/em>10(1): 1-18.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/muse.jhu.edu\/article\/783882\">&#8220;What is African About African Protests?&#8221; 2021. <em>SAIS Review of International Affairs&nbsp;<\/em>40(2): 65-75.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/global.oup.com\/academic\/product\/the-oxford-handbook-of-the-african-sahel-9780198816959?cc=fr&amp;lang=en&amp;#\">&#8220;Niger: Precarious Stability.&#8221; 2021. In Leonardo A. Villal\u00f3n, ed. <em>The Oxford Handbook of the African Sahel.&nbsp;<\/em>Oxford: Oxford University Press.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/journals\/journal-of-modern-african-studies\/article\/nationstate-or-nationfamily-nationalism-in-marginalised-african-societies\/BF68A611FE365112AF8D2C51E0ED6C4C\/share\/096fd56048acc00604293b0b1435ede545540d33\">&#8220;Nation-State or Nation-Family? Nationalism in Marginalised African Societies&#8221; (with Abhit Bhandari). 2019. <em>Journal of Modern African Studies&nbsp;<\/em>57(2): 297-322.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Routledge-Handbook-Democratization-Africa-Gabrielle-dp-1138081248\/dp\/1138081248\/ref=mt_hardcover?_encoding=UTF8&amp;me=&amp;qid=\">&#8220;Popular Protest and Accountability.&#8221; 2019. In Gabrielle Lynch and Peter VonDoepp, eds.&nbsp;<em>Routledge Handbook of Democratization in Africa.&nbsp;<\/em>New York: Routledge, 392-403.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/afraf\/article-abstract\/118\/471\/392\/5253750\">&#8220;Niger Falls Back Off Track&#8221;&nbsp;(with Sebastian Elischer). 2019.&nbsp;<em>African Affairs.&nbsp;<\/em>118(471):&nbsp;392\u2013406.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/journals\/african-studies-review\/article\/personal-politics-without-clientelism-interpreting-citizenpolitician-contact-in-africa\/052959357235AA30145C9A4E2C5677A8\">&#8220;Personal Politics without Clientelism? Interpreting Citizen-Politician Contact in Africa.&#8221; 2018.&nbsp;<em>African Studies Review <\/em>61(2):&nbsp;28-54.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0261379416302025\">&#8220;The National Elections in Niger, February\u2013March 2016&#8221; (with Lukas Matthews). 2016. <em>Electoral Studies&nbsp;<\/em>43: 203-206.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/10.2979\/africonfpeacrevi.6.1.05?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents\">&#8220;Religious Violence and Democracy in Niger.&#8221;&nbsp;2016.&nbsp;<em>African Conflict &amp;&nbsp;Peacebuilding Review&nbsp;<\/em>6(1): 89-104.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/afraf.oxfordjournals.org\/content\/112\/448\/398.short?rss=1\">&#8220;Democratic Revolutionaries or Pocketbook Protesters? The Roots of the 2009\u20132010 Uprisings in Niger.&#8221; 2013.&nbsp;<em>African Affairs<\/em> 112(448):&nbsp;398-420.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Public Scholarship<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/psyche.co\/ideas\/most-protests-fail-what-are-activists-doing-right-when-they-win\">&#8220;Most Protests Fail. What Are Activists Doing Right When They Win?&#8221; <em>Psyche. <\/em>30 September 2024.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zocalopublicsquare.org\/2024\/08\/22\/slacktivism-slacker-activists-protests-bad-rap\/ideas\/essay\/\">&#8220;Does Online Activism Deserve Its Bad Rap?&#8221; <em>Z\u00f3calo Public Square. <\/em>22 August 2024.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>In the <em>Monkey Cage\/Washington Post<\/em><\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2020\/10\/30\/guineas-president-claims-he-won-reelection-thousands-guineans-disagree\/\">&#8220;Guinea&#8217;s President Claims He Won Reelection. Thousands of Guineans Disagree.&#8221; 30 October 2020.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2019\/08\/13\/african-countries-are-opening-their-borders-what-does-this-mean-security-identity-trade\/?noredirect=on\">&#8220;African Countries Are Opening Their Borders. What Does This Mean for Security, Identity and Trade?&#8221; 13 August 2019. (with Abhit Bhandari).<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/monkey-cage\/wp\/2018\/03\/26\/nigers-protests-are-ramping-up-heres-why\/\">&#8220;Niger&#8217;s Protests Are Ramping Up: Here&#8217;s Why.&#8221; 26 March 2018. (with Sebastian Elischer).<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/monkey-cage\/wp\/2016\/04\/17\/4-things-you-should-know-about-nigers-recent-elections\/?utm_term=.a89eed5f4276\">&#8220;4 Things You Should Know about Niger&#8217;s Recent Elections.&#8221; 17 April 2016. (with Lukas Matthews).<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/monkey-cage\/wp\/2016\/02\/17\/drama-surrounds-the-niger-presidential-election-this-month-heres-why-citizens-cant-safeguard-democracy-on-their-own\/?utm_term=.ae783f7cfbd3\">&#8220;The Upcoming Niger Election and the Drama Surrounding It, Explained.&#8221; 17 February 2016. (with Lukas Matthews).<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/monkey-cage\/wp\/2016\/01\/28\/heightened-concern-about-security-in-run-up-to-nigers-february-elections\/?utm_term=.1955b6a6878d\">&#8220;As Niger Prepares for Elections, It&#8217;s Concerned about Security. Should It Be?&#8221; 28 January 2016.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Books The New Science of Social Change: A Modern Handbook for Activists. 2024. Boston: Beacon Press. UK edition: Changemaker: A Data-Driven Guide to Being an Effective Activist Booksellers&#8217; description: &#8220;We are in the middle of a historic swell of activism taking place throughout the world. From Occupy Wall Street and the Arab Spring, to pro-democracy [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-14","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/muellerlisa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/muellerlisa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/muellerlisa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muellerlisa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muellerlisa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/muellerlisa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":751,"href":"https:\/\/muellerlisa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14\/revisions\/751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/muellerlisa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}