Chapters 2 refers to the mobilizing context. It sets our analysis in the broader context of the potential for political mobilization – the demand-side of mobilization – in the seven countries, using ESS data. We aim to assess the degree of contentiousness of European citizens and how this varies both across countries and over time. In addition, we examine a number of aspects pertaining to the mobilizing structures, political values and political attitudes of European citizens, forming the backdrop against which we can confront the characteristics of our sample of demonstrators in the analyses to follow in subsequent chapters.