Beyond Structural Analysis: Toward a More Dynamic Understanding of Social Movements (original) (raw)

Introduction: Social Movements, Contentious Actions, and Social Networks: ‘From Metaphor to Substance ’?

Social Movements and Networks, 2003

It is difficult to grasp the nature of social movements. 1 They cannot be reduced to specific insurrections or revolts, but rather resemble strings of more or less connected events, scattered across time and space; nor can they be identified with any specific organization, rather, they consist of groups and organizations, with various levels of formalization, linked in patterns of interaction which run from the fairly centralized to the totally decentralized, from the cooperative to the explicitly hostile; persons promoting and/or supporting their actions do so not as atomized individuals, possibly with similar values or social traits, but as actors linked to each other through complex webs of exchanges, either direct or mediated. Social movements are, in other words, complex and highly heterogeneous network structures. Since the 1970s, analysts of social movements and collective action have tried hard to make sense of these structures, and their dynamics. That collective action is significantly shaped by social ties between prospective participants is not a recent 2 discovery (e.g.

Emerging Trends in the Study of Protest and Social Movements

Pp. 213-244 in Research in Political Sociology. Political Sociology for the 21st Century, vol. 12, edited by B. A. Dobratz, T. Buzzell, and L. K. Waldner. Greenwich: Elsevier Science., 2003

of social psychological and cultural theories of social construction with structuralist accounts of movements. Taken together, they promise theory that is both broader in scope and better able to address the diversity of social movements.

Structural approaches in the sociology of social movements

2010

Sociological research emphasizes how social institutions, such as the family, religion, corporations, and governments, influence people's choices about how they live. While acknowledging that individuals have some freedom to pursue different paths, sociologists argue that this freedom is limited in important ways by forces outside the control of individuals. Sociology, therefore, asks how these broader forces operate to affect the actions and beliefs of individuals and groups.

Social Sciences and social movements: The theoretical Context

2014

This manuscript situates the papers of this special issue within the broader context of social movement research. It discusses the historical and theoretical significance of the four main perspectives in the field of social movement, namely the collective behaviour paradigm, the resource mobilisation approach, the political opportunity model and the cultural turn in social movement studies. Each of these perspectives has highlighted the importance of different units and levels of analysis pertaining to the study of social movements, including the role of grievances, organisational and political structures and meanings associated with participation. As a result, the field is highly receptive to multidisciplinary dialogue and to relations of mutual influences among different disciplines. The next step in social movement studies consists in the elaboration of a coherent framework of research which links the different levels of analysis and dimensions.

Social Movement Structures in Relation to Goals and Forms of Action: An Exploratory Model

Canadian journal of nonprofit and social economy research

This article describes a theoretical taxonomy of the structural features of social movements. We begin by using two classification criteria to analyze the types of relations that characterize the structure of social movements. From there, we look at how differences in structure relate to different goals and forms of action. We then derive a four-fold classification system based on formalization and hierarchy of relationships. For each classification we provide case descriptions of social movements (or parts thereof) using literature on how different movement structures support different types of goals and forms of action. Furthermore, we discuss the dynamics of social movements (or parts thereof) and how their classification may evolve. By doing so, we illustrate how changes in structure, goals, and forms of action mutually influence each other. RÉSUMÉ Cet article dresse une taxonomie théorique des caractéristiques structurelles des mouvements sociaux. Nous utilisons d’abord deux cr...

Social movements and participation in collective action

This chapter is devoted to the mechanisms of engagement and disengagement in collective action as they are currently conceived in social and political psychology. Dynamics of collective action are decomposed into dynamics of demand, supply, and mobilization. Dynamics of demand are about people and their motives, dynamics of supply about organizations and their appeals, and dynamics of mobilization about the convergence of demand and supply. So far, the core business of political psychology has been the demand side of protest. This chapter describes five core concepts affecting collective action participation: grievances, efficacy, identity, emotions, and embeddedness. As for the supply side of protest and mobilization, new research lines (framing, the perceptions of the sociopolitical context, and the role of social media for dynamics of mobilization and participation) are discussed. The chapter closes with a discussion of new directions research methodology has taken.