Political Action is an innovative study of conventional and unconventional political behaviour in five developed nations. How and why do people engage in the various forms of political action and protest? What differences do age education and degree of deprivation make? An unusual example of cross-national collaboration that is a treasure-trove of data a source of provocative explanations and an exemplar of sophisticated research strategies. 'The whole of this book will be read only by specialists; it is an important book all the same. Drawing on survey data from Britain Holland West Germany the United States and Austria the authors seek to explain the waves of political protest that swept through the advanced industrial democracies in the late 1960's' - 'The Economist' February 23, 1980.