Dana M. Williams
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781526105547
- eISBN:
- 9781526132215
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9781526105547.003.0008
- Subject:
- Sociology, Politics, Social Movements and Social Change
Social movements are interested in the creation of alternative social practices, but must rely upon previous ideas and actions for a starting place. Ideally, anarchists seek to borrow good ideas and ...
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Social movements are interested in the creation of alternative social practices, but must rely upon previous ideas and actions for a starting place. Ideally, anarchists seek to borrow good ideas and avoid bad ideas. This is challenging given anarchist movements’ horizontalist structures—tactics and organizational forms must be transmitted non-hierarchically in order to remain legitimate, as there is not central organization managing, authorizing, and dictating to new anarchist organizations. They key means for institutional isomorphism—how organizations tend to have comparable characteristics—with anarchist movements, is mimicry. This chapter analyses the creation and founding iterations of four “anarchistic franchise organizations”: Anti-Racist Action, Critical Mass, Earth First!, and Food Not Bombs. These tactics and organizational forms have spread through networks of activists and organizers (mainly via word-of-mouth and first-hand experience) and media (especially the Internet, as well as activist press and sometimes mainstream media).Less
Social movements are interested in the creation of alternative social practices, but must rely upon previous ideas and actions for a starting place. Ideally, anarchists seek to borrow good ideas and avoid bad ideas. This is challenging given anarchist movements’ horizontalist structures—tactics and organizational forms must be transmitted non-hierarchically in order to remain legitimate, as there is not central organization managing, authorizing, and dictating to new anarchist organizations. They key means for institutional isomorphism—how organizations tend to have comparable characteristics—with anarchist movements, is mimicry. This chapter analyses the creation and founding iterations of four “anarchistic franchise organizations”: Anti-Racist Action, Critical Mass, Earth First!, and Food Not Bombs. These tactics and organizational forms have spread through networks of activists and organizers (mainly via word-of-mouth and first-hand experience) and media (especially the Internet, as well as activist press and sometimes mainstream media).
Dana M. Williams
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781526105547
- eISBN:
- 9781526132215
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9781526105547.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Politics, Social Movements and Social Change
Anarchism may be the most misunderstood political ideology of the modern era—it’s surely one of the least studied social movements by English-speaking scholars. Black Flags and Social Movements ...
More
Anarchism may be the most misunderstood political ideology of the modern era—it’s surely one of the least studied social movements by English-speaking scholars. Black Flags and Social Movements addresses this deficit with an in-depth analysis of contemporary anarchist movements, as interpreted by social movement theories and the analytical tools of political sociologists. Using unique datasets—gathered by anarchists themselves—the book presents longitudinal and international analyses that focus upon who anarchists are (similar, yet, different from classic anarchists) and where they may be found (most countries in the world, but especially in European and North American cities). Even though scholars have studiously avoided the contradictions and complications that anti-state movements present for their theories, numerous social movement ideas, including political opportunity, new social movements, and social capital theory, are relevant and adaptable to understanding anarchist movements. Due to their sometimes limited numbers and due to their identities as radical anti-authoritarians, anarchists often find themselves collaborating with numerous other social movements, bringing along their values, ideas, and tactics.Less
Anarchism may be the most misunderstood political ideology of the modern era—it’s surely one of the least studied social movements by English-speaking scholars. Black Flags and Social Movements addresses this deficit with an in-depth analysis of contemporary anarchist movements, as interpreted by social movement theories and the analytical tools of political sociologists. Using unique datasets—gathered by anarchists themselves—the book presents longitudinal and international analyses that focus upon who anarchists are (similar, yet, different from classic anarchists) and where they may be found (most countries in the world, but especially in European and North American cities). Even though scholars have studiously avoided the contradictions and complications that anti-state movements present for their theories, numerous social movement ideas, including political opportunity, new social movements, and social capital theory, are relevant and adaptable to understanding anarchist movements. Due to their sometimes limited numbers and due to their identities as radical anti-authoritarians, anarchists often find themselves collaborating with numerous other social movements, bringing along their values, ideas, and tactics.
