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Week 1: Foundations of Social Movements; Characteristics and Concepts -…
Week 1: Foundations of Social Movements; Characteristics and Concepts
Characterize Social Movements
Act outside institutional arrangements
Eg.: Planned Parenthood vs. Pro Choice
Planned Parenthood
relationship to SoA
embedded
within
political system
Regarded as legitimate actors within
Actions
institutionalised/ accepted means (eg. lobbying)
Pro Choice
relationship to SoA
positioned
outside
of political system
because
Choose to bypass conventional channels due to distrust or alienation (SM choice)
no recognised standing or access to system (political systems choice)
Actions
extra institutional means (eg. protests, rallies, boycotts, sit-ins)
interest group vs. Social Movement
Are organised
implies degree of
coordination
and efforts of organization
In movements often see interest/objective
represented
by one or more individuals associated with movement
Collective enterprise
Collectivity efforts
direct challenges
direct, open demands
targeted SoA aware of claims and who makes them
Indirect challenges
don't focus on SoA directly
focus on changing indicidual, hoping mass individual level change -> change in SoA
action taken by SM is collective, joint efforts
Operate with some continuity
always some degree of continuity , sustaining over time
Life courses of SMs ay vary
last for decades (slow food movement)
across generations (Women Movement)
short while (small neighbourhood movement)
Challengers of Systems of Authority
individuals influenced by systems of authority =
constituents
typically act in accordance with rules and procedures associated with that system of authority
grants system legitmacy
doesn't mean they agree with rules
State, national government, for profit, non profit, religious denominations, cultural beliefs
recognised as makers of decisions, regulations, influencing individuals lives
often targets of SM
eg. Black Lives Matter; policy changes
What sets SMs apart from other crowd behavior (panics, riots, etc)
General collective action more spontaneous, emotional driven, less structures roles
SM operate outside institutional channels
Definition
A social Movement is an organised effort by some group of human beings to affect change in the face of resistance by other human beings (Aberle)
Mobilizing Grievances
provide primary motivation to engage in SM
difficult to imagine individuals engaging in SM without feeling deeply aggrieved, contrary to interest, oral principles or well-being (Snow)
grievances are
felt to be sufficiently serious to warrant not only complaint but action
shared among actors
Grievances as a function of
structural
and
material
conditions
Mobilising grievances as an outgrowth of group conflict and inequality
Argument: SM as result of
unequal distribution
of rewards (money, status, power) and oppurtunities
leads to
conflict
among different groups over claims of rewards. Can result in mobilising grievances
Karl Marx
Background:
suggested capitalist societies consist of 2 conflicting forces, organised as social classes, based on relation to objects and means of product
Capitalist
controll objects & means of production
Proletariat
own labor power only, subject to economic exploitation
because of disparity between them, working class driver of most important movement: PROLETARIAN REVOLUTION
the prohesized proletarian movement never materlialized in advanced capitalist societies, questionable link
Takeaway
: the existence of conflict ans inequality does not automatically predict emergence of mobilising grievances ;
Not a sufficient condition
Mobilising grievances as an outgrowth of social "strains"
Absolute deprivation thesis
miserable life conditions
(unemployment, housing, health...)
no causal relationship measure absolute deprivation and mobilising grievances
Quotidian disruption thesis
disruptions
of everyday life
Main Idea:
disruption
of taken for granted
routines
(reduction of wages), makes previous ways of life
uncertain
individuals sensitive to loss of what they already have, highly motivated to fight to get back original status quo
research shows, also emergence in absence of quotidian disruptions
Disintegration thesis
Disruptive social change
Main idea: social cohesion weekend by wars, economic crises, disasters - puts strain on society
grievances from
dissolution
of social arrangements rather than conflicts between groups
popular im 20th century - recently shown, grievances not automatic from social breakdown or disruption
mobilising grievances are by product of social changes
Grievances as a function of social
psychological
factors
Main Idea: without certain psychological state grievances won't emerge
eg.
relative deprivation thesis
mounting frustration grow to widening gap between what ppl think they should have and what they actually have
status dissonance/ inconsistency thesis
incoherence between 2 experiences states - high level of education & low wages -> frustration develops into mobilising grievance
BUT: empirical examinations mixed
Grievance formation through framing process
collective action frames
way of capturing importance of interpretations in SMs
interpretations of issues and events that inspire SM
Framing
= imprtant activity that movement leaders perfom
framing emphasises role of SMs in constructing cultural meanings. leaders frame issues in ways to identify injustice, attribute blame, propose solutions
eg.effort is needed to actively present issues that results in broader motivation and in grievances in mind of ppl
EXAMPLE:
occupy wall street
-> focus on economic inequality
"we are 99%"
opposing movements
often compete to develop most convincing frames
EX. Aboortion
"choice"
"life"
Frame disputes also within SM. common bc SM consists of many different groups with varying perspectives
Together: results mixed bc: factors subject to
interpretation
, eg, some see injustice as primary mobilising grievance but many think different about injustce. open to interpret. can depend on cultural context or own bakground ....... therefore need to look at interpretive processes
not a single perspective or arguement
a function of interactions
psychological
structural/material
interpretive framing
Contextual Conditions for emergence
Political opportunity
freedom to express publicly
very difficult to mobilise in political context that doesn't allow free and open expression of grievance (especially when counter to interest of SoA)
Variation in system accessibilty
extent to which system is
open
or
closed
to participation and influence, how much they allow/welcome others to influence action
Eisinger (1973): SM mostly when political opportunity for SM neither fully open or closed, but MIXED
GRAPH (bell curve - incidence of SM & Extent of political oppurtunity)
Resource Mobilisation
Types of resources
tangible
funding / people
intangible
legitimacy / reputation
crucial dimension in emergence and persistence of SM , crucial to be able to organise and spread SM
Resources can come from
aggrieved
individuals
BUT also
actors
(individuals, organisations) who want to
contribute
to movement, but not directly involved or benefit from
Ecological Factors
describes spatial arrangements
Ex.: emrgencec pf student protests depend on...
Campus layout
seperation of students from outside world
location of uni
dense living conditions among students
impact spread of ideas or development of actors networks
Types of Social Movements
Aberle's 4 Types
based on
what
change ( individual or societal level)
how
much
trying to change (partial or total change)
Redemptive SM
Individual/ Total
Religious Movement
Reformative SM
Societal / Partial
Womens Suffrage Movement
Alternative SM
Individual / Partial
eg. mothers against Drunk Driving
Revolutionary SM
Societal/ Total
Civil Rights Movement
Temporal Distinctions
New vs. Old
New
social movement theory
emerged in advanced capitalist societies
rely more on
networks
and
informal
participatory structures
new and very different grievances in post-industrial societies, -> new values and forms of action
particularly
quality of life
issues
Old
SMs
economic interest
eg. labour movement