Neil Fligstein and Doug McAdam
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199859948
- eISBN:
- 9780199951178
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199859948.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Theory
Finding ways to understand the nature of social change and social order—from political movements to market meltdowns—is one of the enduring problems of social science. This book draws together ...
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Finding ways to understand the nature of social change and social order—from political movements to market meltdowns—is one of the enduring problems of social science. This book draws together far-ranging insights from social movement theory, organizational theory, and economic and political sociology to construct a general theory of social organization and strategic action. This book proposes that social change and social order can be understood through what the book calls strategic action fields. It posits that these fields are the general building blocks of political and economic life, civil society, and the state, and the fundamental form of order in our world today. Similar to Russian dolls, they are nested and connected in a broader environment of almost countless proximate and overlapping fields. Fields are mutually dependent; change in one often triggers change in another. At the core of the theory is an account of how social actors fashion and maintain order in a given field. This sociological theory of action, what they call “social skill,” helps explain what individuals do in strategic action fields to gain cooperation or engage in competition. To demonstrate the breadth of the theory, the book makes its abstract principles concrete through extended case studies of the Civil Rights Movement and the rise and fall of the market for mortgages in the U.S. since the 1960s. The book also provides a “how-to” guide to help others implement the approach and discusses methodological issues.Less
Finding ways to understand the nature of social change and social order—from political movements to market meltdowns—is one of the enduring problems of social science. This book draws together far-ranging insights from social movement theory, organizational theory, and economic and political sociology to construct a general theory of social organization and strategic action. This book proposes that social change and social order can be understood through what the book calls strategic action fields. It posits that these fields are the general building blocks of political and economic life, civil society, and the state, and the fundamental form of order in our world today. Similar to Russian dolls, they are nested and connected in a broader environment of almost countless proximate and overlapping fields. Fields are mutually dependent; change in one often triggers change in another. At the core of the theory is an account of how social actors fashion and maintain order in a given field. This sociological theory of action, what they call “social skill,” helps explain what individuals do in strategic action fields to gain cooperation or engage in competition. To demonstrate the breadth of the theory, the book makes its abstract principles concrete through extended case studies of the Civil Rights Movement and the rise and fall of the market for mortgages in the U.S. since the 1960s. The book also provides a “how-to” guide to help others implement the approach and discusses methodological issues.
Mario Diani
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199251780
- eISBN:
- 9780191599057
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199251789.003.0013
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Presents a case for a reorientation of social movement theory and research along network lines. While looking at networks as a powerful precondition of collective action has proved a fruitful ...
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Presents a case for a reorientation of social movement theory and research along network lines. While looking at networks as a powerful precondition of collective action has proved a fruitful exercise in its own right, one could also take the network idea further and make it the core of a distinctive research program. Adopting a concept of social movement as a distinctive type of social networks may reorient social movement analysis and help better specifying the relation between movements and related phenomena such as coalitions, solidarity campaigns, and political organizations. The chapter briefly sketches the basic traits of a research programme for the analysis of network social mechanisms within social movements, looking first at different network patterns, and then identifying some analytical principles, which also draw upon existing paradigms.Less
Presents a case for a reorientation of social movement theory and research along network lines. While looking at networks as a powerful precondition of collective action has proved a fruitful exercise in its own right, one could also take the network idea further and make it the core of a distinctive research program. Adopting a concept of social movement as a distinctive type of social networks may reorient social movement analysis and help better specifying the relation between movements and related phenomena such as coalitions, solidarity campaigns, and political organizations. The chapter briefly sketches the basic traits of a research programme for the analysis of network social mechanisms within social movements, looking first at different network patterns, and then identifying some analytical principles, which also draw upon existing paradigms.
Verta Taylor and Mayer N. Zald
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195388299
- eISBN:
- 9780199866519
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195388299.003.0018
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This chapter locates U.S. health institutions in the context of American society and culture, exploring “American Exceptionalism” and its implications for the particular structure and culture of ...
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This chapter locates U.S. health institutions in the context of American society and culture, exploring “American Exceptionalism” and its implications for the particular structure and culture of health institutions. This context limits and shapes the forms and processes of social movements and collective action that occur. The chapter then uses the earlier chapters, as well as the broader literature, to argue how U.S. health institutions shape, and are shaped by, social movements. The range is broad and includes research that deals with movements aimed at shaping the overall financing and governance of U.S. health institutions, the internal workings of organizations, professions, and occupations, self‐help movements, and movements about particular disease and disability entities. One of main questions raised is the relevance of contemporary social movement theory, largely dealing with political movements, for the analysis of movements oriented towards specific institutions. Key concepts of institutional theory are also discussed. The key concepts of contemporary theory, with modifications, can be usefully employed in examining institutional movements. These key concepts include fields, framing processes, political opportunities, resources, collective identity, and mobilization processes.Less
This chapter locates U.S. health institutions in the context of American society and culture, exploring “American Exceptionalism” and its implications for the particular structure and culture of health institutions. This context limits and shapes the forms and processes of social movements and collective action that occur. The chapter then uses the earlier chapters, as well as the broader literature, to argue how U.S. health institutions shape, and are shaped by, social movements. The range is broad and includes research that deals with movements aimed at shaping the overall financing and governance of U.S. health institutions, the internal workings of organizations, professions, and occupations, self‐help movements, and movements about particular disease and disability entities. One of main questions raised is the relevance of contemporary social movement theory, largely dealing with political movements, for the analysis of movements oriented towards specific institutions. Key concepts of institutional theory are also discussed. The key concepts of contemporary theory, with modifications, can be usefully employed in examining institutional movements. These key concepts include fields, framing processes, political opportunities, resources, collective identity, and mobilization processes.
Emma Craddock
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781529205701
- eISBN:
- 9781529205749
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781529205701.003.0002
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy
This chapter sets up the theoretical context of the book. It begins by establishing the key relevant debates in Social Movement Theory (SMT), including that of new versus old social movements, the ...
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This chapter sets up the theoretical context of the book. It begins by establishing the key relevant debates in Social Movement Theory (SMT), including that of new versus old social movements, the influence of new media technologies on social movements and the role of emotions within social movement studies. This chapter identifies the theoretical perspective for studying activist culture, drawing on Bourdieu’s (1992) theory of practice. This will serve as the basis for developing an analysis of the affective and cultural dimensions of social movement activism. It is contended that this approach enables the development of in-depth ‘thick description’ (Geertz, 1973) and an understanding of the interactions between activists as well as between the activist field and the wider social and political context, which is a theme threaded throughout the book. The chapter highlights feminist critiques of mainstream (or ‘malestream’) SMT’s failure to recognise the importance of gender to theorising social movements. This is contextualised by a wider discussion about the gendered exclusions that exist within the public sphere.Less
This chapter sets up the theoretical context of the book. It begins by establishing the key relevant debates in Social Movement Theory (SMT), including that of new versus old social movements, the influence of new media technologies on social movements and the role of emotions within social movement studies. This chapter identifies the theoretical perspective for studying activist culture, drawing on Bourdieu’s (1992) theory of practice. This will serve as the basis for developing an analysis of the affective and cultural dimensions of social movement activism. It is contended that this approach enables the development of in-depth ‘thick description’ (Geertz, 1973) and an understanding of the interactions between activists as well as between the activist field and the wider social and political context, which is a theme threaded throughout the book. The chapter highlights feminist critiques of mainstream (or ‘malestream’) SMT’s failure to recognise the importance of gender to theorising social movements. This is contextualised by a wider discussion about the gendered exclusions that exist within the public sphere.
Ray Brescia
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781501748110
- eISBN:
- 9781501748134
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501748110.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter focuses on the movement's message. Many of the social movements often embraced a unifying message that sought ways to attract a wide and diverse group of supporters. For an understanding ...
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This chapter focuses on the movement's message. Many of the social movements often embraced a unifying message that sought ways to attract a wide and diverse group of supporters. For an understanding of some of the additional components of social movement success, particularly in social innovation moments, the chapter turns to contemporary social movement theory to try to identify the connection between one's network, the messages that network might send, and the extent to which the identities of the members of that network are tied up in both. It discusses the evolution of social movement theory, beginning with what can be called the rational actor model of community organizing. What this discussion shows is that messages matter for community organizing and social mobilization. Personalizing, humanizing, and optimistic messages can help movements expand and grow, creating the network effects described in the previous chapter. At the same time, when those messages are encoded onto face-to-face relationships, those relationships serve as a channel through which a movement can expand its network.Less
This chapter focuses on the movement's message. Many of the social movements often embraced a unifying message that sought ways to attract a wide and diverse group of supporters. For an understanding of some of the additional components of social movement success, particularly in social innovation moments, the chapter turns to contemporary social movement theory to try to identify the connection between one's network, the messages that network might send, and the extent to which the identities of the members of that network are tied up in both. It discusses the evolution of social movement theory, beginning with what can be called the rational actor model of community organizing. What this discussion shows is that messages matter for community organizing and social mobilization. Personalizing, humanizing, and optimistic messages can help movements expand and grow, creating the network effects described in the previous chapter. At the same time, when those messages are encoded onto face-to-face relationships, those relationships serve as a channel through which a movement can expand its network.
Chris Rhomberg
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520236189
- eISBN:
- 9780520940888
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520236189.003.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Race and Ethnicity
In the early 1920s, a powerful Ku Klux Klan movement burst forth in many American cities, targeting immigrant Jews and Catholics and people of color and attracting an estimated four to six million ...
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In the early 1920s, a powerful Ku Klux Klan movement burst forth in many American cities, targeting immigrant Jews and Catholics and people of color and attracting an estimated four to six million members. This book uses an explanatory framework built on three basic analytic dimensions: socioeconomic structure, institutional politics, and urban civil society. It introduces concepts drawn from three corresponding, well-known paradigms in sociology and political science: traditional political sociology; the “new institutionalism”; and social movement theory. Furthermore, it provides a case study of three social movements in Oakland, from the point of view of urban political development in twentieth-century America. The focus is on the struggles of groups and actors to forge a political solidarity and community in an urban context. An overview of the chapters included in this book is finally presented.Less
In the early 1920s, a powerful Ku Klux Klan movement burst forth in many American cities, targeting immigrant Jews and Catholics and people of color and attracting an estimated four to six million members. This book uses an explanatory framework built on three basic analytic dimensions: socioeconomic structure, institutional politics, and urban civil society. It introduces concepts drawn from three corresponding, well-known paradigms in sociology and political science: traditional political sociology; the “new institutionalism”; and social movement theory. Furthermore, it provides a case study of three social movements in Oakland, from the point of view of urban political development in twentieth-century America. The focus is on the struggles of groups and actors to forge a political solidarity and community in an urban context. An overview of the chapters included in this book is finally presented.
Nicholas Owen
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- July 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190945862
- eISBN:
- 9780190945893
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190945862.003.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Politics, Social Movements and Social Change, Comparative and Historical Sociology
Chapter 1 provides a critical account of the conscience constituent in social movement theory. It identifies the points at which conscience constituents are deployed in social movement theory: in ...
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Chapter 1 provides a critical account of the conscience constituent in social movement theory. It identifies the points at which conscience constituents are deployed in social movement theory: in resource mobilization theory, rational choice accounts of mobilization, political process theory, and framing theory. It considers the weaknesses of the conscience constituent theory both in terms of supply (why conscience constituents participate) and demand (why social movements make use of them). It introduces four puzzling empirical cases the existing theory struggles to explain: women’s movements and their male supporters, anticolonialism and its British friends, labor representation and its professional advocates, and Victorian socialists and middle-class fellowship. The chapter also provides a roadmap to the book as a whole and explains and justifies methodological and definitional choices.Less
Chapter 1 provides a critical account of the conscience constituent in social movement theory. It identifies the points at which conscience constituents are deployed in social movement theory: in resource mobilization theory, rational choice accounts of mobilization, political process theory, and framing theory. It considers the weaknesses of the conscience constituent theory both in terms of supply (why conscience constituents participate) and demand (why social movements make use of them). It introduces four puzzling empirical cases the existing theory struggles to explain: women’s movements and their male supporters, anticolonialism and its British friends, labor representation and its professional advocates, and Victorian socialists and middle-class fellowship. The chapter also provides a roadmap to the book as a whole and explains and justifies methodological and definitional choices.
Marian Barnes, Janet Newman, and Helen Sullivan
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781861346681
- eISBN:
- 9781447303053
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781861346681.003.0003
- Subject:
- Sociology, Politics, Social Movements and Social Change
This chapter discusses the means by which concerns about the management and government of public services have intersected with concerns about a decline in political participation. It describes the ...
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This chapter discusses the means by which concerns about the management and government of public services have intersected with concerns about a decline in political participation. It describes the move to more inclusive forms of politics and decision-making that has derived from autonomous action among community, identity, and user groups. From a governance perspective, opening up decision-making about public policies and services to wider influence is seen as a means both of improving the legitimacy of decisions and enhancing the responsiveness of the services that are provided. Finally, it explores the significance of social movement theory in understanding such action, and relates this to conceptualisations of social justice as requiring recognition as well as redistribution. It is argued that it is not sufficient to look at new forms of public participation solely from the perspective of the official discourses and aspirations evident within the ever increasing initiatives coming from both national and local levels of government.Less
This chapter discusses the means by which concerns about the management and government of public services have intersected with concerns about a decline in political participation. It describes the move to more inclusive forms of politics and decision-making that has derived from autonomous action among community, identity, and user groups. From a governance perspective, opening up decision-making about public policies and services to wider influence is seen as a means both of improving the legitimacy of decisions and enhancing the responsiveness of the services that are provided. Finally, it explores the significance of social movement theory in understanding such action, and relates this to conceptualisations of social justice as requiring recognition as well as redistribution. It is argued that it is not sufficient to look at new forms of public participation solely from the perspective of the official discourses and aspirations evident within the ever increasing initiatives coming from both national and local levels of government.
Susan D. Carle
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199945740
- eISBN:
- 9780199369843
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199945740.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, American History: 19th Century, Social History
This chapter presents an overview of the book's argument and narrative. It argues that social movements theory and standard legal civil rights history have failed to fully account for the work of the ...
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This chapter presents an overview of the book's argument and narrative. It argues that social movements theory and standard legal civil rights history have failed to fully account for the work of the generation of national racial justice activists whose efforts preceded the founding of the NAACP and the National Urban League. Despite the extremely adverse political and social conditions this generation of activists encountered, they persisted in developing and improving strategies for racial justice activism that provided the founding platforms for the NAACP and the National Urban League at their beginnings in the early twentieth century.Less
This chapter presents an overview of the book's argument and narrative. It argues that social movements theory and standard legal civil rights history have failed to fully account for the work of the generation of national racial justice activists whose efforts preceded the founding of the NAACP and the National Urban League. Despite the extremely adverse political and social conditions this generation of activists encountered, they persisted in developing and improving strategies for racial justice activism that provided the founding platforms for the NAACP and the National Urban League at their beginnings in the early twentieth century.
Esen Kirdiş
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- January 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781474450676
- eISBN:
- 9781474464840
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474450676.003.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
This chapter introduces the research question and definitions of the book. It also sets out a methodology to compare Islamic movements across countries and within the same country. Lastly, this ...
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This chapter introduces the research question and definitions of the book. It also sets out a methodology to compare Islamic movements across countries and within the same country. Lastly, this chapter introduces the three central hypotheses of this study and sets out the book’s theoretical framework.Less
This chapter introduces the research question and definitions of the book. It also sets out a methodology to compare Islamic movements across countries and within the same country. Lastly, this chapter introduces the three central hypotheses of this study and sets out the book’s theoretical framework.
Jeroen Gunning and Ilan Zvi Baron
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199394982
- eISBN:
- 9780190214135
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199394982.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Tens of thousands of Egyptians, most with no prior experience of activism, took to the streets in 2011, joining hardened activists, and called for an end to police abuse, a higher minimum wage and ...
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Tens of thousands of Egyptians, most with no prior experience of activism, took to the streets in 2011, joining hardened activists, and called for an end to police abuse, a higher minimum wage and political reform. How are we to make sense of these events? What conceptual frameworks can we use? Can we explain their timing, their focus, and who participated? Why did they attract so many who had hitherto been too afraid of police violence? How did people overcome their fear in the face of vicious violence, detention and death? How were they able to outmaneuver the police? Was this really a “leaderless revolution”? What role did Facebook, Twitter and the internet play? How did the protests affect the way that public space was perceived? This book addresses these questions based on a critical interpretation of social movement theory, first-hand interviews and a broader analysis of political and economic changes.Less
Tens of thousands of Egyptians, most with no prior experience of activism, took to the streets in 2011, joining hardened activists, and called for an end to police abuse, a higher minimum wage and political reform. How are we to make sense of these events? What conceptual frameworks can we use? Can we explain their timing, their focus, and who participated? Why did they attract so many who had hitherto been too afraid of police violence? How did people overcome their fear in the face of vicious violence, detention and death? How were they able to outmaneuver the police? Was this really a “leaderless revolution”? What role did Facebook, Twitter and the internet play? How did the protests affect the way that public space was perceived? This book addresses these questions based on a critical interpretation of social movement theory, first-hand interviews and a broader analysis of political and economic changes.
Laura Gribbon and Sarah Hawas
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9789774165337
- eISBN:
- 9781617971303
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774165337.003.0003
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
Translates some of the most decisive and influential discursive and performative moments that shaped the early drama of the unfolding text of Egypt's uprising. By drawing on analytical tools from the ...
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Translates some of the most decisive and influential discursive and performative moments that shaped the early drama of the unfolding text of Egypt's uprising. By drawing on analytical tools from the fields of translation, performance, and gender studies, as well as social movement theory, the authors translate at both the linguistic and semiotic levels selections from these transformative moments that impacted millions of Egyptians on social and conventional media networks by such diverse actors as activists Asmaa Mahfouz and Wael Ghoneim, former president Hosni Mubarak and General Mohsen al-Fangari. The authors read these discursive interventions as theatrical performances, the impact of which can only be understood through a thick translation that attends not just to the linguistic but to the affective, emotive, and semiotic levels of these transformative discourses.Less
Translates some of the most decisive and influential discursive and performative moments that shaped the early drama of the unfolding text of Egypt's uprising. By drawing on analytical tools from the fields of translation, performance, and gender studies, as well as social movement theory, the authors translate at both the linguistic and semiotic levels selections from these transformative moments that impacted millions of Egyptians on social and conventional media networks by such diverse actors as activists Asmaa Mahfouz and Wael Ghoneim, former president Hosni Mubarak and General Mohsen al-Fangari. The authors read these discursive interventions as theatrical performances, the impact of which can only be understood through a thick translation that attends not just to the linguistic but to the affective, emotive, and semiotic levels of these transformative discourses.
Ryan Goodman and Derek Jinks
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199300990
- eISBN:
- 9780199367610
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199300990.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This chapter considers whether acculturation processes leave a gap between formal commitments by states and actual practices on the ground. Although such gaps constitute important evidence of ...
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This chapter considers whether acculturation processes leave a gap between formal commitments by states and actual practices on the ground. Although such gaps constitute important evidence of acculturation, the process of acculturation may, in other circumstances, foster complete internalization of a norm. The chapter analyzes studies that document just this sort of internalization. The remaining question is whether meaningful change might occur in circumstances in which acculturation does produce gaps between form and practice. On this question, the chapter details processes by which formal, even if shallow, commitments to global legal norms might be translated into meaningful change over time. These processes include shifts in domestic political opportunity structure, the “civilizing force of hypocrisy,” and state learning.Less
This chapter considers whether acculturation processes leave a gap between formal commitments by states and actual practices on the ground. Although such gaps constitute important evidence of acculturation, the process of acculturation may, in other circumstances, foster complete internalization of a norm. The chapter analyzes studies that document just this sort of internalization. The remaining question is whether meaningful change might occur in circumstances in which acculturation does produce gaps between form and practice. On this question, the chapter details processes by which formal, even if shallow, commitments to global legal norms might be translated into meaningful change over time. These processes include shifts in domestic political opportunity structure, the “civilizing force of hypocrisy,” and state learning.
David S. Meyer and Amanda Pullum
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781479847273
- eISBN:
- 9781479800223
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9781479847273.003.0011
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This chapter focuses on the Tea Party movement's mobilization of grassroots activism since 2009 to demonstrate how populist mobilization builds from public sentiments of inequality and democratic ...
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This chapter focuses on the Tea Party movement's mobilization of grassroots activism since 2009 to demonstrate how populist mobilization builds from public sentiments of inequality and democratic deficits in the political system. In particular, it highlights the tension between grassroots mobilizations animated by democratic rhetoric and their potentially less democratic claims on policy. The chapter first considers the history of social movements before situating the Tea Party and its right-wing populism within social movement theory, along with inconsistencies/disagreements within the Tea Party. It then explores political opportunity theory in order to elucidate how the Tea Party's claims, tactics, and trajectory are affected by the world outside the movement, with particular emphasis on formal politics. It also discusses the Tea Party's resource mobilization and concludes by explaining how inequality allowed for new mobilization opportunities in the movement's case despite their largely undemocratic nature.Less
This chapter focuses on the Tea Party movement's mobilization of grassroots activism since 2009 to demonstrate how populist mobilization builds from public sentiments of inequality and democratic deficits in the political system. In particular, it highlights the tension between grassroots mobilizations animated by democratic rhetoric and their potentially less democratic claims on policy. The chapter first considers the history of social movements before situating the Tea Party and its right-wing populism within social movement theory, along with inconsistencies/disagreements within the Tea Party. It then explores political opportunity theory in order to elucidate how the Tea Party's claims, tactics, and trajectory are affected by the world outside the movement, with particular emphasis on formal politics. It also discusses the Tea Party's resource mobilization and concludes by explaining how inequality allowed for new mobilization opportunities in the movement's case despite their largely undemocratic nature.
Jeroen Gunning and Ilan Zvi Baron
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199394982
- eISBN:
- 9780190214135
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199394982.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
On 25 January 2011, tens of thousands of Egyptians came out on the streets to protest against emergency rule and police brutality. Eighteen days later, Mubarak, one of the longest sitting dictators ...
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On 25 January 2011, tens of thousands of Egyptians came out on the streets to protest against emergency rule and police brutality. Eighteen days later, Mubarak, one of the longest sitting dictators in the region, had gone. How are we to make sense of these events? Was this a revolution, a revolutionary moment? How did the protests come about? How were they able to outmanoeuvre the police? Was this really a “leaderless revolution”, as so many pundits claimed, or did the protests grow out of the protest networks that had developed over the past decade? Why did so many people with no history of activism participate? What role did economic and systemic crises play in creating the conditions for these protests to occur? Was this really a Facebook revolution? This book is an analysis of the shape and timing of these extraordinary events, the players behind them, and the tactics and protest frames they developed. Drawing on a critical interpretation of social movement theory, interviews with key actors and political analysis, it traces the interaction between protest networks, frames and tactics, regime responses and broader structural changes through successive protest waves over the past decade. Using theories of urban politics, space and power, it reflects on the exceptional state of non-sovereign politics that developed during the occupation of Tahrir Square.Less
On 25 January 2011, tens of thousands of Egyptians came out on the streets to protest against emergency rule and police brutality. Eighteen days later, Mubarak, one of the longest sitting dictators in the region, had gone. How are we to make sense of these events? Was this a revolution, a revolutionary moment? How did the protests come about? How were they able to outmanoeuvre the police? Was this really a “leaderless revolution”, as so many pundits claimed, or did the protests grow out of the protest networks that had developed over the past decade? Why did so many people with no history of activism participate? What role did economic and systemic crises play in creating the conditions for these protests to occur? Was this really a Facebook revolution? This book is an analysis of the shape and timing of these extraordinary events, the players behind them, and the tactics and protest frames they developed. Drawing on a critical interpretation of social movement theory, interviews with key actors and political analysis, it traces the interaction between protest networks, frames and tactics, regime responses and broader structural changes through successive protest waves over the past decade. Using theories of urban politics, space and power, it reflects on the exceptional state of non-sovereign politics that developed during the occupation of Tahrir Square.
Marc Dixon
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- November 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780190917036
- eISBN:
- 9780190917067
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190917036.003.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Occupations, Professions, and Work, Social Movements and Social Change
This chapter identifies the historical roots of union decline in a period of unparalleled labor strength—the 1950s. Like their contemporary counterparts, unions in the 1950s often struggled to secure ...
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This chapter identifies the historical roots of union decline in a period of unparalleled labor strength—the 1950s. Like their contemporary counterparts, unions in the 1950s often struggled to secure influential political allies, to forge coalitions with groups outside of the labor movement, to push back against powerful business interests, and to make a compelling case for labor rights. These weaknesses came to a head at the end of the decade in conflicts over right-to-work laws and public-sector collective bargaining rights in the industrial Midwest. Social movement theory is presented to account for labor’s mixed showing across the heavily unionized states of the Midwest in the 1950s and to identify the political, organizational, and strategic factors critical to labor success then and now. The principal case studies and research design are introduced.Less
This chapter identifies the historical roots of union decline in a period of unparalleled labor strength—the 1950s. Like their contemporary counterparts, unions in the 1950s often struggled to secure influential political allies, to forge coalitions with groups outside of the labor movement, to push back against powerful business interests, and to make a compelling case for labor rights. These weaknesses came to a head at the end of the decade in conflicts over right-to-work laws and public-sector collective bargaining rights in the industrial Midwest. Social movement theory is presented to account for labor’s mixed showing across the heavily unionized states of the Midwest in the 1950s and to identify the political, organizational, and strategic factors critical to labor success then and now. The principal case studies and research design are introduced.
David Obstfeld
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780804760508
- eISBN:
- 9781503603097
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804760508.003.0007
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies
This chapter applies the BKAP model of action to a number of important theoretical and empirical puzzles that have been confronted by organization theorists in particular and by social scientists ...
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This chapter applies the BKAP model of action to a number of important theoretical and empirical puzzles that have been confronted by organization theorists in particular and by social scientists more generally. Specifically, the chapter explores the applicability of the BKAP model to central issues in artistic movements with a case study of the Ballets Russes in early twentieth-century France, entrepreneurship theory, and collective action. The chapter then turns to several other issues related to organizing and strategy and the individual and firm level, including dynamic capability, microfoundations of organizing, supply chain management, sensemaking, ambidexterity, transactive memory systems, emotional intelligence, and job crafting. From there the chapter turns to implications for mobilizing action across the analogue-digital divide, and for education, social inequality, and social mobility. The chapter concludes by relating the author’s approach to de Tocqueville’s “science of association.”Less
This chapter applies the BKAP model of action to a number of important theoretical and empirical puzzles that have been confronted by organization theorists in particular and by social scientists more generally. Specifically, the chapter explores the applicability of the BKAP model to central issues in artistic movements with a case study of the Ballets Russes in early twentieth-century France, entrepreneurship theory, and collective action. The chapter then turns to several other issues related to organizing and strategy and the individual and firm level, including dynamic capability, microfoundations of organizing, supply chain management, sensemaking, ambidexterity, transactive memory systems, emotional intelligence, and job crafting. From there the chapter turns to implications for mobilizing action across the analogue-digital divide, and for education, social inequality, and social mobility. The chapter concludes by relating the author’s approach to de Tocqueville’s “science of association.”
Rachel L. Einwohner
- Published in print:
- 2022
- Published Online:
- January 2022
- ISBN:
- 9780190079437
- eISBN:
- 9780190079475
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190079437.003.0002
- Subject:
- Sociology, Comparative and Historical Sociology, Politics, Social Movements and Social Change
Chapter 2 presents the book’s theoretical argument, which goes beyond existing theories of social movement emergence. Drawing on work on threat assessment and framing in social movements, it argues ...
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Chapter 2 presents the book’s theoretical argument, which goes beyond existing theories of social movement emergence. Drawing on work on threat assessment and framing in social movements, it argues that the armed resistance in the ghettos rested on critical conclusions and resonant responses. First, based on their assessments of the threats facing them, Jews in each ghetto reached conclusions about whether they were likely to survive. If survival was possible then taking up arms against the Nazis was foolhardy, but a firm belief in the inevitability of their deaths made armed resistance acceptable. Second, Jews in the ghettos had to fashion responses to that perceived threat that matched meaningfully, or resonated, with how they framed their circumstances. The three-case comparison demonstrates that framing and assessments of threat varied across the three ghettos and help explain why a sustained uprising happened in Warsaw but not in Vilna or Łódź.Less
Chapter 2 presents the book’s theoretical argument, which goes beyond existing theories of social movement emergence. Drawing on work on threat assessment and framing in social movements, it argues that the armed resistance in the ghettos rested on critical conclusions and resonant responses. First, based on their assessments of the threats facing them, Jews in each ghetto reached conclusions about whether they were likely to survive. If survival was possible then taking up arms against the Nazis was foolhardy, but a firm belief in the inevitability of their deaths made armed resistance acceptable. Second, Jews in the ghettos had to fashion responses to that perceived threat that matched meaningfully, or resonated, with how they framed their circumstances. The three-case comparison demonstrates that framing and assessments of threat varied across the three ghettos and help explain why a sustained uprising happened in Warsaw but not in Vilna or Łódź.
Nicholas Owen
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- July 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190945862
- eISBN:
- 9780190945893
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190945862.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Politics, Social Movements and Social Change, Comparative and Historical Sociology
Other People’s Struggles is the first attempt in over forty years to explain the place of “conscience constituents” in social movements. Conscience constituents are people who participate in a ...
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Other People’s Struggles is the first attempt in over forty years to explain the place of “conscience constituents” in social movements. Conscience constituents are people who participate in a movement but do not stand to benefit if it succeeds. Why do such people participate when they do not stand to benefit? Why are they sometimes present and sometimes absent in social movements? Why and when is their participation welcome to those who do stand to benefit, and why and when is it not? The work proposes an original theory to answer these questions, crossing discipline boundaries to draw on the findings of social psychology, philosophy, and normative political theory, in search of explanations of why people act altruistically and what it means to others when they do so. The theory is illustrated by examples from British history, including the antislavery movement, the women’s suffrage and liberation movements, labor and socialist movements, anticolonial movements, antipoverty movements, and movements for global justice. Other People’s Struggles also contributes to new debates concerning the rights and wrongs of “speaking for others.” Debates concerning the limits of solidarity—who can be an “ally” and on what terms—have become very topical in contemporary politics, especially in identity politics and in the new “populist” movements. The book provides a theoretical and empirical account of how these questions have been addressed in the past and how they might be framed today.Less
Other People’s Struggles is the first attempt in over forty years to explain the place of “conscience constituents” in social movements. Conscience constituents are people who participate in a movement but do not stand to benefit if it succeeds. Why do such people participate when they do not stand to benefit? Why are they sometimes present and sometimes absent in social movements? Why and when is their participation welcome to those who do stand to benefit, and why and when is it not? The work proposes an original theory to answer these questions, crossing discipline boundaries to draw on the findings of social psychology, philosophy, and normative political theory, in search of explanations of why people act altruistically and what it means to others when they do so. The theory is illustrated by examples from British history, including the antislavery movement, the women’s suffrage and liberation movements, labor and socialist movements, anticolonial movements, antipoverty movements, and movements for global justice. Other People’s Struggles also contributes to new debates concerning the rights and wrongs of “speaking for others.” Debates concerning the limits of solidarity—who can be an “ally” and on what terms—have become very topical in contemporary politics, especially in identity politics and in the new “populist” movements. The book provides a theoretical and empirical account of how these questions have been addressed in the past and how they might be framed today.
Martin Upchurch and Darko Marinković
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780719085086
- eISBN:
- 9781781706114
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719085086.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This chapter examines the problems of labour weakness in post Communist transformation. Structural and agency factors are considered before presenting an account through social movement theory of ...
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This chapter examines the problems of labour weakness in post Communist transformation. Structural and agency factors are considered before presenting an account through social movement theory of labour as a movement in both Serbia and other Balkan states. The nature of political clientelism is described in relation to Serbia's main union federations. Key labour disputes are recorded and analysed.Less
This chapter examines the problems of labour weakness in post Communist transformation. Structural and agency factors are considered before presenting an account through social movement theory of labour as a movement in both Serbia and other Balkan states. The nature of political clientelism is described in relation to Serbia's main union federations. Key labour disputes are recorded and analysed.