Migrant Political Activism in Vienna and Brussels: How Voting Rights Shape Protest Behaviour

While much research has focused on the electoral participation of voters with migration backgrounds, the political engagement of migrants beyond the ballot box remains significantly underexplored in Western Europe. This article examines migrants’ involvement in public protests in two distinct contexts—at the national and city levels—in Vienna and Brussels. Using an original empirical approach, the analysis draws on data from the European Social Survey (ESS) regional statistics (NUTS) Round 1-11, exploring protest participation patterns among migrant respondents in these cities. A key question addressed is how different opportunity structures, such as the right to vote at the local level, influence the likelihood of participating in protests. The findings indicate that the presence (or absence) of local voting rights for non-nationals is a strong predictor of minority protest participation. While the right to vote at the local level is shown to impact protest involvement, the comparative analysis reveals divergent patterns in the two cases. In Brussels, where local voting rights are present, and more inclusive, migrants exhibit lower protest participation rates, whereas in Vienna, where such rights are restricted, migrants participate in protests at higher rates. This suggests that formal political avenues, such as voting rights, may reduce the need for protests as a form of political expression.