Conflict: trends and forms of collective action

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to review the state of knowledge on strikes and collective action. Design/methodology/approach - Review of theoretical and empirical literature, including comparative literature. Findings - Both strike activity and other forms of collective action have declined in many advanced capitalist countries. There has been a rise in the number of strike ballots and in tribunal claims but these trends do not constitute a straightforward vindication of the displacement hypothesis. However there is evidence of an increase in general strikes in parts of Western Europe and of protest campaigns involving coalitions of unions and civil society organizations. Originality/value - The paper tries to summarize the current state of knowledge and to map out directions for future research.