Professor Andrews studies the influence of protest and social movements on politics, media, and social change. He is interested in how relatively powerless groups are able to sometimes propel significant changes in society. Andrews has written extensively on the dynamics and legacy of the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. South. In other projects, he has studied the leadership, participation, and influence of environmental groups and the local and state politics of prohibition. Currently, he is studying protest and activism in the period following the 2016 election. Andrews' research has been supported by multiple grants from the National Science Foundation, and he has held visiting fellowships at the Russell Sage Foundation, University of Oxford, and Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin fuer Sozialforschung.