Opportunities for Mobilization

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Inclán
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Democratic Transition ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Political Opportunity ◽  
Political Opportunities ◽  
Protest Activity ◽  
Relative Vulnerability

This chapter analyzes the development of the Zapatista cycle of protests from 1994 to 2003 in relation to the political opportunities opened to the movement during Mexico’s democratic transition. In particular, it describes to what extent Zapatista protest activity was affected by the four traditional dimensions identified in the literature of political opportunity: (1) negotiating periods, as well as changes in power as signs of openings in the political system at the local and national levels; (2) the timing and competitiveness of elections as measures of the relative vulnerability of political elites; (3) the presence of a potential political ally in power; and (4) the Mexican state’s capacity for repression. The chapter compares the explanatory power of these factors to another factor that the literature has highlighted as a crucial variable for mobilization, namely the availability of a network of preexisting organizations.

How Students on College Campuses Created Opportunities for Workers in Sweatshops

Contention ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 21-52
Author(s):  
Matthew S. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
College Campuses ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Opportunity Structure ◽  
Political Opportunity ◽  
Opportunity Structure ◽  
College Administrators ◽  
Political Opportunities ◽  
Apparel Companies ◽  
A Chain

Political opportunity structure (POS) refers to how the larger social context, such as repression, shapes a social movement’s chances of success. Most work on POS looks at how movements deal with the political opportunities enabling and/or constraining them. This article looks at how one group of social movement actors operating in a more open POS alters the POS for a different group of actors in a more repressive environment through a chain of indirect leverage—how United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) uses the more open POS on college campuses to create new opportunities for workers in sweatshop factories. USAS exerts direct leverage over college administrators through protests, pushing them to exert leverage over major apparel companies through the licensing agreements schools have with these companies.

Traversing the Mexican Odyssey: Reflections on Political Change and the Study of Mexican Politics

2002 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-188
Author(s):  
Mark Eric Williams
Keyword(s):  
Research Agenda ◽  
Political System ◽  
Democratic Transition ◽  
Political Change ◽  
The Political ◽  
Market Reforms ◽  
New Research ◽  
Mexican Politics

This essay explains how the peculiar properties of Mexico's political system helped shape the approach to the study of Mexican politics. It assesses some of the strengths and limitations of the scholarship this produced, examines the political changes that fueled Mexico's democratic transition, and assesses their implications both for Mexico's recent market reforms and the study of Mexican politics in general. It finds that the demise of single-party rule and fundamental changes in patterns of governance have opened new research avenues, and suggests an emerging research agenda in light of these developments. En este ensayo se explica la manera en que las propiedades peculiares del sistema políítico mexicano ayudaron a configurar el acercamiento al estudio de la políítica mexicana. Se valoran algunas de las ventajas y las desventajas en este enfoque, se examinan los cambios polííticos que influyeron en la transicióón democráática mééxicana y se analizan sus implicaciones en las reformas recientes del mercado y estudio de la políítica mexicana en general. El anáálisis concluye que, debido al cese de influencia del antiguo réégimen del partido oficial y a los cambios fundamentales en los modelos de gobierno, se han abierto nuevas ááreas de investigacióón, proponiendo un nuevo programa de investigacióón que tome en cuenta el giro de los nuevos acontecimientos.

scholarly journals Welfare States, Political Opportunities, and the Mobilization of the Unemployed: A Cross-National Analysis

2008 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 297-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Giugni
Keyword(s):  
Original Data ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Opportunity ◽  
Political Field ◽  
Political Opportunities ◽  
Political Opportunity Structures ◽  
National Analysis ◽  
The Unemployed

This article follows a revised political opportunity approach to argue that mobilization of underprivileged groups is constrained by the political opportunity structures provided by the institutional context of the country in which they act. Contrary to traditional opportunity theories, it is suggested that their mobilization also depends on a set of opportunities specific to the political or issue field most directly addressed by their claims. I propose to look for these specific opportunities in the institutional approaches to unemployment. I further maintain that such opportunities stem largely from the ways in which a given political or issue field is collectively defined. I apply a theoretical framework stressing both general and specific opportunities as well as the discursive context of claim making to original data on claim making in the unemployment political field in six European countries for the 1995-2002 period. The findings provide some support for the proposed theoretical framework, but also point to its shortcomings, especially in the lack of attention to economic factors.

The Ulama: Pragmatism and Political Acquiescence

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walid Jumblatt Abdullah
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
The Political ◽  
Thought Processes ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
Political Opportunity ◽  
Opportunity Structures ◽  
Political Opportunity Structures

This chapter investigates the position of the ulama within the political system in Singapore. It interrogates the various cleavages amongst the ulama, the strategies they undertake to further causes which they deem important, the issues they shun, and the thought processes behind their decisions. The ulama, just like other actors, are pragmatic creatures, fully cognizant of the costs and benefits of their actions. Different ulama prioritize various goals, depending on their own worldviews and ranking of what is important to them. As a result, the ‘pragmatic alim’ is able to operate within the political opportunity structures in an attempt to maximize his/her gains, while being aware of what has to be given up in order to achieve those objectives.

Political Opportunities for Participation and China’s Leadership Transition

2020 ◽  
pp. 59-86
Author(s):  
Diana Fu ◽  
Greg Distelhorst
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Disruptive Behavior ◽  
Strategic Behavior ◽  
Leadership Transition ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Opportunity Structure ◽  
Political Opportunity ◽  
Opportunity Structure ◽  
Political Opportunities ◽  
Institutional Participation

How does China manage political participation? This chapter analyzes changing opportunities for participation in the leadership transition from Hu Jintao to Xi Jinping. Contentious political participation—where individuals and independent organizations engage in protest and other disruptive behavior—has been further curtailed under Xi’s leadership. Yet institutional participation by ordinary citizens through quasi-democratic institutions appears unaffected and is even trending up in certain sectors. Manipulation of the political opportunity structure is likely strategic behavior on the part of authoritarian rulers, as they seek to incorporate or appease the discontented. The political opportunity structure in non-democracies is therefore multifaceted: one channel of participation can close as others expand.

scholarly journals Political Opportunities and China’s Proposing Behavior in the G20

2019 ◽  
Vol 01 (01) ◽  
pp. 1850002
Author(s):  
Hongsong Liu
Keyword(s):  
Financial Regulation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Economic Governance ◽  
Collective Actions ◽  
Political Opportunity ◽  
Policy Initiatives ◽  
Political Opportunities ◽  
Political Consensus ◽  
Global Economic Governance

In global economic governance, political consensus reached by the G20 members plays an important role of defining governance ideas and governance directions as well as steering and boosting collective actions. Political opportunities are essential for the G20 members’ successful efforts to place their preferences into the political consensus of G20. This paper analyzes how the G20 members place their preferences into the political consensus of G20 through the lens of political opportunity, and provides a relatively detailed demonstration on China’s practice of proposing policy initiatives and placing its preferences into the political consensus of G20 by examining the cases of International Monetary Fund (IMF) quota reform and international financial regulation reform.

Nepal: Tarai/Madhesh Movements and Political Elites

2020 ◽  
pp. 002190962095488
Author(s):  
Abi Chamlagai
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Structure Theory ◽  
Federal State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Political Opportunity Structure ◽  
Political Opportunity ◽  
Opportunity Structure

The purpose of this article is to compare Nepal’s two Tarai/Madhesh Movements using the political opportunity structure theory of social movements. Tarai/Madhesh Movement I launched by the Forum for Madheshi People’s Rights in 2007 became successful as Nepal became a federal state. Tarai/Madhesh Movement II launched by the United Democratic Madheshi Front of the Tarai/Madheshi parties and the Tharuhat Joint Struggle Committee of the Tharu organizations failed as political elites disagreed about the need to create two provinces in the Tarai/Madhesh. While Tarai/Madhesh Movement II confirms that a social movement is more likely to fail when political elites align against it, Tarai/Madhesh Movement II refutes the theoretical proposition. Tarai/Madhesh Movement I suggests that the sucess of a social movement is more likely despite the alignment of political elites against it if its central demand consistently sustains the support of its constituents.

The Political Incorporation of Muslims in the United States: The Mobilizing Role of Religiosity in Islam

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karam Dana ◽  
Bryan Wilcox-Archuleta ◽  
Matt Barreto
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political System ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Incorporation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Muslim Americans ◽  
Is Research ◽  
Overwhelming Evidence

AbstractDespite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, popular perceptions in the United States, especially among political elites, continue to believe that religious Muslims oppose American democratic traditions and values. While many studies find positive relationships between mosque attendance and civic participation among U.S. Muslims, an empirical and theoretical puzzle continues to exist. What is missing is research that examines the relationships between the multi-dimensional concept of religiosity and how this is associated with public opinion and attitudes towards the American political system among Muslim Americans. Using a unique national survey of Muslim Americans, we find a positive relationship between religious beliefs, behavior, and belonging and perceptions of compatibility with American democratic traditions. Quite simply, the most religious are the most likely to believe in political integration in the United States.

The foundations of the state: emerging urban–rural clevages in transitions countries

2003 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 291-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Johannsen
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Building Process ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
Traditional Institutions ◽  
Communist Countries ◽  
Cleavage Structure

Using secondary data from 21 post-communist countries, a map of urban–rural cleavages is produced. The findings are that while persistent cleavages exist with respect to attitudes toward the state, the market and traditional institutions, these cleavages have yet to be institutionalized within the political system. Deviations from the generalized pattern can typically be explained by the intrusion of the state-building process into the urban–rural cleavage structure. Furthermore, it is argued that the lack of institutionalization has led to a situation in which state and political elites have gained increased autonomy.

The Israeli Coalition System

1975 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 397-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Z. Paltiel
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Political System ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
State Building ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
The Stability ◽  
State Of Israel

ANALYSTS OF THE ISRAELI POLITICAL SYSTEM HAVE COMMONLY attributed the stability of the polity to factors closely associated with the role played by the various Israeli parties in the state's economic and social life, and/or to the existence of a dominant, institutionalized state-building party. The consociational approach ought to help to clarify those factors which have maintained the stability of the coalition system which has governed the state of Israel since its establishment in 1948 and whose roots may be traced back as far as 1933 and even earlier.The consociational model and the theory of elite accommodation have been elaborated in an effort to explain the maintenance of continuing political stability in what at first glance would appear to be societies deeply divided along social, economic, ethnic, religious and ideological lines. Political stability in fragmented societies from this standpoint rests on the overarching commitment of the political elites to the preservation and maintenance of the system and their readiness to cooperate to this end.

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