ProTest (Protest as a Democracy Test: Protest Culture under Transformation and as a Transformative Power) is an international research project that investigates the relationship between protest culture and democracy in the context of a global trend of democratic decline. It focuses on countries within the European Union and the Eastern Partnership, aiming to understand how protest practices are shaped by political conditions — and how, in turn, protest may shape democratic systems. 

The project addresses two main research questions: 

1. How do ongoing processes of democratic decline affect the forms, strategies and meanings of protest? 

2. How do changes in protest culture influence the quality of democracy — especially with regard to the inclusion of citizen preferences in political agendas? 

ProTest explores protest culture as shaped by both internal dynamics — such as the strategies, motivations and narratives of protest actors — and external constraints, including legal regulations, public discourse and media environments. It examines how protest movements adapt to different political conditions and how they interact with governments, institutions and broader society. 

By analysing historical variation in protest traditions, patterns of response from political authorities, the role of traditional and online media, and generational differences in the perception and practice of protest, the project seeks to understand the evolving position of protest in democratic life. Particular attention is paid to how protest culture develops under different democratic conditions, from consolidated democracies to more fragile or developing ones. 

The countries included in the study are: Italy, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine. 

By taking a comparative and interdisciplinary approach, ProTest aims to contribute to current debates on citizen participation, democratic representation, and the future of democratic culture in Europe and its neighbourhood.