CONF 101 escalation and civil society
Intro
The two opposing sides to anti-globalization in this modern era of globalization were embodied by two social movements in the past decade: OWS and the Tea Party
Conclusion: Answer to the question asked in the introduction: Were they successful?
If they come to believe the quality of social and economic conditions are declining or threatened, they may blame corporations (or capitalism in general) if they are liberals. Most conservatives, by contrast, tend to blame the government. In Tea Partyists’ eyes, the government has abandoned the Founding Fathers, the Constitution, and the very identity of America by altering the values that underlie them—liberty, individualism, and community. For Tea Partyists and Donald Trump supporters alike, their activism is a reaction to what they see as an attack on the very essence of themselves.
Were they a success? How can we evaluate their success?
the condition of the country and what led to the birth of two social movements
Belloni's chapter on civil society demonstrates the role these two movements played in completely changing the political landscape and the political discourse surrounding globalization
domestic civil society, that is, the set of voluntary organizations and groups not created by the state (Belloni 182)
they provide a space to articulate citizens' participation in public life, but also they can constrain the arbitrary exercise of state power (Belloni 183)
Civil society in conflict areas is as polarized as political Society. Many groups and associations organize around sectarian and particularistic identities (Belloni 183)
Their very existence perpetuates the divisions within society and can contribute to political polarization and continuing confrontation between groups (Belloni 183).
...the qualities of the "good" society to juxtapose against the "bad" state or the need of a strong civil society to make democratic institutions work more efficiently (Belloni 185)
Larry Diamond.. (1999a: 230-234), for example, argues that civil society performs many important functions, including monitoring and restraining the exercise of power by the state, stimulating political participation, developing a democratic culture of tolerance and compromise, creating additional channels for the articulation and representation of interests, generating cross-cutting cleavages, recruiting and. training new political leaders, improving the functioning of democratic institutions, disseminating information to citizens, and producing favorable conditions for economic reforms (Belloni 185-186)
History of the Tea Party beginnings
History of OWS beginnings
Thats what these movements were; populist social movements created by civil society in opposition to the state
ultimately, these two groups were polarizing, idealistically in opposition to each other, and in many ways have defined the Democrat and Republican parties of today
Tea Party Ideals: Champion in Trump
OWS Ideals: Champion in Bernie
Tea Party opposition to political elite
OWS opposition to economic elite
Both share the similarity of being in opposition to the state: anti-elitism
recruiting and training new political leaders
Through influence and insurgency of politics, both attempt to produce favorable economic reforms for their respective ideologies
Stimulating political participation
They did all of these, particularly:
Tea Party political participation
OWS political participation
Tea Party insurgency
OWS and the rise of democratic socialism
Tea Party economic ideology
OWS economic ideology
was the tea party a success? Yes and no, on one hand people arent talking about it, obamacare has not been repealed despite numerous attempts, and the national deficit is just as high as its ever been if not higher. On the other, he said, the movement elected many constitutional conservatives to Congress, and the movement has had a lasting impact on the ideology of the republican party.
The Tea Party’s success is to a large degree based on the socially constructed cultural world the movement has created, which forms the context for forging a powerful political identity. Simply put, the Tea Party network and its local participants create what it means to be a Tea Party member, an identity that entails a unique constellation of beliefs, practices, interpretive frames, and symbols.
Despite the Tea Party’s initial support for presidential candidates such as Ted Cruz and Ben Carson, in this current political climate, the Tea Party movement has found a champion in Donald Trump who is temperamentally and ideologically suited for what they stand for; resentment towards the political elite above them and the undeserving below them. The enduring impact of the Tea Party has defined the political territory we are currently in.
Was OWS a success?
After 2008, the Republican Party felt a crushing defeat with the election of President Obama representing a wave of progressivism sweeping the national ideology. As such, the groundwork was set for a new conservative counter movement to emerge and provide the Republican Party with identity and direction in the 2010s.
Their strategy was largely based on the construction of a political identity that entailed a collection of beliefs, practices, interpretive frames, and symbols. However, its broader themes of patriotism, fundamentalism, and traditional conservatism served as a cover for voicing outrage against the first black president. Even though the Tea Party has subsided, as Williamson et al. states, “it has undercut Obama’s presidency, revitalized conservatism, and pulled the national Republican Party toward the far right” (25). The brand of conservatism revitalized by the Tea Party movement came to fruition with the election of Donald Trump, who despite not being the Tea Party’s first choice for a candidate, demonstrates many of the ideals they set forward.
Tea Party mobilizations enabled insurgent primary candidates to overtake and defeat a number of officially endorsed GOP candidates, including incumbents (Williamson et al. 36).
In invasive strategies, a movement behaves like an insurgent when it arises within a party to oppose established personnel, procedures, or policies (Schwartz 592).
Trump is an outsider, a business guy there to disrupt the establishment.
It ignited a revival of the politics of mistrust in government, breathing new life into the populist passions
The Tea Party movement popularized the politics of mistrust in government in the wake of the loss of John McCain, a decidedly moderate republican, against Obama in 2008. As a result, “Tea Party mobilizations enabled insurgent primary candidates to overtake and defeat a number of officially endorsed GOP candidates, including incumbents” in the 2010 midterm elections
Candidates like jeb bush have called for a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, there is a larger proportion of republicans who want the deported
The success of Washington outsidesr like trump makes sense, it points to a new direction for the republican party, away from establishment politicians
Opposition to Obama and what he represented: they had a specific set of demands: Stop President Barack Obama’s health care law; tame the national deficit; and don’t let the government decide which parts of the economy are worth rescuing.
Towards the beginning of the 21st century, America underwent a large demographic shift with an influx of both legal and illegal Hispanic immigrants. “Tough on immigration” policies and rhetoric became popular amongst Republicans, and ultimately cost them the election in 2008 and 2012 with Obama winning an overwhelming majority of Hispanic votes. As a result, the Republican Party starts to look more like a party for white voters in an increasingly non-white country, leading Republican leaders to collaborate on immigration reform bills that would grant a pathway to legal immigration status. The backlash from the Republican Party’s predominately white base exacerbated the Republican voters mistrust, resentment, and frustration towards their leaders