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    3.1 Social Movement Theories

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    JOHN ROBIEMEL RAGA
    The document discusses what constitutes a social movement and outlines five ways to think about social movements including their scope, targets, methods, age, and range. A social movement combines sustained organized public efforts making collective claims, forms of political action like demonstrations and petitions, and participants' representations of worthiness, unity, and commitment.

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    3.1 Social Movement Theories

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    JOHN ROBIEMEL RAGA
    15 views6 pages
    The document discusses what constitutes a social movement and outlines five ways to think about social movements including their scope, targets, methods, age, and range. A social movement combines sustained organized public efforts making collective claims, forms of political action like demonstrations and petitions, and participants' representations of worthiness, unity, and commitment.

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    3.1 Social Movement theories (1)

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    The document discusses what constitutes a social movement and outlines five ways to think about social movements including their scope, targets, methods, age, and range. A social movement combines sustained organized public efforts making collective claims, forms of political action like demonstrations and petitions, and participants' representations of worthiness, unity, and commitment.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    15 views6 pages

    3.1 Social Movement Theories

    Uploaded by

    JOHN ROBIEMEL RAGA
    The document discusses what constitutes a social movement and outlines five ways to think about social movements including their scope, targets, methods, age, and range. A social movement combines sustained organized public efforts making collective claims, forms of political action like demonstrations and petitions, and participants' representations of worthiness, unity, and commitment.

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    Social Movements: A Brief

    Introduction
    What is a social movement?

    It’s not a stable political entity like a political party or interest group;
    It’s not unorganized and without goals, like a mass fad or trend

    It is:
    1. Involved in conflictual relations with clearly identified opponents
    2. linked by dense informal networks
    3. shares a distinct collective identity

    Put together:
    “Social movements…are organized yet informal social entities that are
    engaged in extra-institutional conflict that is oriented towards a goal.
    These goals can be either aimed at a specific and narrow policy or be
    more broadly aimed at cultural change.” (Christiansen 2009)
    A Social Movement combines these 3 things:

    1. A sustained, organized public effort making collective claims on


    target audiences: let us call it a campaign;

    2. Employment of combinations from among the following forms of
    political action: creation of special purpose associations and
    coalitions, public meetings, solemn processions, vigils, rallies,
    demonstrations, petition drives, statements to and in public media,
    and pamphleteering; call the variable ensemble of performances the
    social-movement repertoire;

    3. Participants' concerted public representations of worthiness, unity,
    numbers and commitment (WUNC) on the part of themselves
    and/or their constituencies: call them WUNC displays (Tilly)
    Five ways of thinking about social movements:
    1. Scope of the social movement:
    reform movement - movements advocating changing norms or laws.
    radical movement - movements dedicated to changing whole value
    systems/ political systems/ economic systems in a fundamental way.
    conservative movement - movements which want to preserve existing
    norms & values, or “retraditionalize” society, turn the clock back, etc.

    2. Targets of social movement:


    group-focus movements - focused on affecting groups or whole society
    individual-focused movements - focused on affecting individuals.

    3. Methods of work:
    peaceful movements - various movements which use nonviolent means
    violent movements - various movements which resort to violence; they
    are usually armed and in extreme cases can take the form of a
    paramilitary or terrorist organization.
    4. Old or new:
    old movements - Most of the oldest fought for specific social groups,
    such as the working class, peasants, whites, aristocrats, Protestants.
    They were usually centered around some materialistic goals like
    improving the standard of living or, for example, the political autonomy
    of the working class.
    new movements – Centered around issues that go beyond but are not
    separate from class. These are usually “identity” movements based
    around the cultural issues associated with race, ethnicity, gender, age,
    disability, etc.

    5. Range:
    global movements - Social movements with global (transnational)
    objectives and goals.
    local movements – Focused more on local or regional objectives.

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