The Participatory Legacy of Mobilization and Repression: Evidence from a Student Movement

Studies of the participatory legacies of social movements in democratic settings often find that the individuals who take part in these movements remain more likely to engage in politics decades later. What is the participatory legacy of social movements in authoritarian regimes, where movements often face repression and erasure from public memory? Using a design that compares individuals who began college just before and just after a major student movement, we estimate the long-term effects of exposure to mobilization and the subsequent crackdown. Exposure increased electoral participation, reduced protest and lobbying, and did not affect conventional participation. These results show that even crushed movements can shape political participation in authoritarian regimes decades later.