U.S.-based research suggests conservatism is linked with less concern about contracting coronavirus and less preventative behaviors to avoid infection. Here, we investigate whether these tendencies are partly attributable to distrust in scientific information, and evaluate whether they generalize outside the U.S., using public data and recruited representative samples across three studies (Ntotal = 34,710). In Studies 1 and 2, we examine these relationships in the U.S., yielding converging evidence for a sequential indirect effect of conservatism on compliance through scientific (dis)trust and infection concern. In Study 3, we compare these relationships across 19 distinct countries. Although the relationships between trust in scientific information about the coronavirus, concern about coronavirus infection, and compliance are consistent cross-nationally, the relationships between conservatism and trust in scientific information are not. These relationships are strongest in North America. Consequently, the indirect effects observed in Studies 1–2 only replicate in North America (the U.S. and Canada) and in Indonesia. Study 3 also found parallel direct and indirect effects on support for lockdown restrictions. These associations suggest not only that relationships between conservatism and compliance are not universal, but localized to particular countries where conservatism is more strongly related to trust in scientific information about the coronavirus pandemic.

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Social media plays an instrumental role in enabling and facilitating social movements. However, this role depends on the complex social issues in a civic community and dynamics of power in movement politics. Existing literature provides little insight into the formative role of social media in social movements; instead, it tends to focus on the informational role and episodic effect of social media in community activism. We present the case of Bersih, a social media-enabled social movement that pushed for electoral reform in Malaysia. The non-partisan community-driven movement exerted public pressure on institutions and gained formal recognition. In this study, we reveal the significant role social media plays in empowering citizens by enabling them to facilitate and coordinate collective action towards producing change in their community. This research is significant in articulating the precise nature of the role of ICT in addressing complex social problems.

Leaders of social movements play a critical role in mobilizing broader society for social change. However, we know little about how movement leaders strategize to build a movement. To examine this issue, we interviewed the central leadership team of the electoral reform movement (Bersih) in Malaysia, before and after a mass protest organized by the movement. We then used thematic analysis to provide theoretically derived insights into how the leaders fostered intergroup solidarity among multiple racial groups. Specifically, they (a) expanded the movement's boundaries to include new groups within its support base, (b) shared the demands of the movement with multiple groups, and (c) highlighted leaders that were representative of different groups the movement sought to unite. These findings demonstrate how leaders attempt to craft an inclusive movement identity (i.e., who we are, what we do, who stands for us) to mobilize a diverse society for social change.

This article looks at how an electoral reform movement affected electoral mobilization during the 13th General Elections in Malaysia. The elections are significant because it was the first time an opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat, managed to secure the highest number of parliamentary seats. At the macro‐level, the article argues that political opportunities have emerged from the development of the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih), as well as similar groups. A broad set of incentives within authoritarian settings then increases citizens’ participation in movements on a micro‐level. Using the structural‐cognitive model proposed by Karl Dieter Opp and drawing on qualitative evidence through fieldwork observation and interviews, I relate the reform movements to citizens’ proactive electoral mobilization during the 2013 elections.