Ph.D in Sociology and Social Research Final Presentation - Dorte Sophie Fischer

The thesis explores the political, legal, and cultural consequences of the 2017 G20 Summit protests in Hamburg (NoG20 protests).

It departs from an observation that seems counterintuitive at first sight: despite violence being primarily attributed to the NoG20 activists, the government adopted a policy that aimed at increasing police accountability.

The thesis analyzes this paradox from a policy, legal, and discourse perspectives, thereby unraveling the complex dynamics underlying political decision-making. It demonstrates how protests can have multifaceted, interconnected outcomes that may both constrain and enable collective and legislative actions.

By emphasizing the temporal dynamics that inform the outcomes of collective action, it argues that protests may function as “focusing events,” intervening in ongoing, long-term processes, rather than triggering change. Conceptually, the thesis challenges the binary "success" or "failure" framework dominant in policy-related outcome research, highlighting the unintended effects of collective action. It benefits our understanding of the outcomes of both collective action and repression, by viewing outcomes as “snapshots” in time. As such, it contributes to resolving some of the inconsistencies inherent in research on the effects of repression and collective action.

Supervisor: Mario Diani

Discussant Committee:

• Louisa Rosemary Parks - University of Trento
• Lorenzo Bosi - Scuola Normale Superiore
• Mattias Wahlström - University of Gothenburg
• Stefan Malthaner - Hamburger Institut für Sozialforschung