To what extent do political institutions have an impact on the form and future of protest actions? This is a crucial question for those who specialise in the study of collective action. William Gamson is one of the first to have shown how the characteristics of protests by ‘challengers’ are dependent on the nature of their relations to the members of the polity who control the government and the means of coercion over the population. Although it appeared excessive, given this, to attribute the resources of social movements exclusively to the political structures and situations, it is nonetheless true that the different phases of contestation appear to be closely linked to the interactions established between the members of the political systems and the challengers. These multiple actors sometimes make alliances (and more often exchange blows) to create initiatives through which they oblige all the protagonists involved to act according to the definition of the situation they have managed to impose. Over the course of this new chapter, we will see in what capacity these musical performances may be involved, more or less directly and deliberately, in the use of these interdependent tactics.

Subversion and modification of musical conventions

The skill and knowledge of musicians involves being able to manipulate the recognised social conventions that define different styles (jazz, rock, reggae, rap etc.), repertoires of songs or types of performances, which respond to the expectations of their audiences. Generally, the use of traditional practices means that present situations can be linked to the past actions of previous generations. We have already seen how the production of certain musical works can participate in the construction of a historical legacy which is useful in legitimating institutions as well as encouraging protest. However, it isn't unusual for musical performances to demonstrate a certain creativity that consists in amending or supplementing pre-existing musical conventions with unusual or unprecedented elements. Three ways of approaching musical convention can be distinguished here: diversion, innovation and syncretism. Diversion is indisputably a form of ‘political coup’ in the most restrictive sense of the word. Innovation and syncretism instead seem to be exclusively dictated by concerns about musical creativity. Yet we observe that the promotion of unprecedented artistic postures sometimes contributes to the modification of perceptions of the social situation.