Eli Sopow

The Age of Outrage: the Role of Emotional and Organizational Factors on Protest Policing and Political Opportunity Frames Eli Sopow

The greatest level of public outage in history is happening today as citizens, consumers, workers, social activists and environmentalists fight back against unjust laws, poor public policy, greedy corporations, and corrupt governments. The Age of Outrage uses both rigorous academic research as well as 35 years of personal experience to help us all understand the dynamics of conflict and change. Through his original research, Dr. Sopow reveals what effect the September 11th World Trade Center attacks have had on protest behavior; the tactics and techniques used by police to moderate violent protests; and what ordinary citizens really think about various protester tactics ranging from peaceful petitions to violent attacks on property and people. A startling finding in his research is that people are biologically programmed to band together and actively fight against the bad behavior of organizations. Dr. Sopow's profile of today's protester, plus his empirical study of what emotional and organizational factors are essential to turn fear into anger and successful action, combine into a must-read handbook for both students and citizen activists alike.