The shift to cause framing in Egyptian LGBT advocacy after the January 25 revolution

2021 ◽  
pp. 001139212110246
Author(s):  
Shaimaa Magued
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Cultural Resources ◽  
Individual Rights ◽  
Opportunity Structure ◽  
Effective Advocacy ◽  
Interactionist Approach

This study sheds light on LGBT activists’ recourse to the rights frame as a means to overcome social and political restrictions and develop an effective advocacy in an authoritarian context. While the literature has de-emphasized social movements’ recourse to cultural resources in authoritarian contexts, this study presents cause framing and its interactionist approach, cultural opportunity structure, as a means of adaptation to repression. Thanks to the rights frame, activists used cultural resources in the formulation of their cause based on feelings of common injustice and the development of a flexible transnational cyber-advocacy calling for the end to the state’s violation of individual rights.

Taiwan's State and Social Movements Under the DPP Government, 2000–2004

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 401-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming-sho Ho
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Economic Recession ◽  
Contentious Politics ◽  
Political Orientation ◽  
Democratic Progressive Party ◽  
Opportunity Structure ◽  
Conservative Policy ◽  
Movement Strategy ◽  
Progressive Party

This article explores the evolution of social movement politics under the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government (2000–2004) by using the perspective of political opportunity structure. Recent “contentious politics” in Taiwan is analyzed in terms of four changing dimensions of the opportunity structure. First, the DPP government opens some policy channels, and social movement activists are given chances to work within the institution. Yet other features of the political landscape are less favorable to movement activists. Incumbent elites' political orientation shifts. As the economic recession sets in, there is a conservative policy turn. Political instability incurs widespread countermoblization to limit reform. Last, the Pan-Blue camp, now in opposition, devises its own social movement strategy. Some social movement issues gain political salience as a consequence of the intervention of the opposition parties, but its excessive opportunism also encourages the revolt of antireform forces. As a result of these countervailing factors, social movements have made only limited gains from the recent turnover of power.

Hollow parties and their movement-ization: The populist conundrum

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (9-10) ◽  
pp. 1084-1105
Author(s):  
Jean L. Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Opportunity Structure ◽  
Political Opportunity ◽  
Constitutional Democracy ◽  
Opportunity Structure ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Western Democracies

This article focuses on the relationship between social movements and political parties in the context of populist challenges to constitutional democracy. There are many reasons for the current plight of democracy but I focus here on one aspect: the decline of mainstream political parties, the emergence of new forms of populist movement parties and the general crisis of political representation in long consolidated Western democracies. This article analyses the specific political logic and dynamics of social movements – the logic of influence, and distinguishes it from that of political parties – the logic of power. It addresses transformations in movements, parties and their relationships. It looks at the shifts in movement and party types that constitute the political opportunity structure for the emergence of new populist movement party forms and relationships, focusing on the hollowing out and movement-ization of political parties. Contemporary populist movement parties are not the cause of the hollowing out or movement-ization of political parties. Rather they are a response to the crisis of political representation exemplified by hollow parties and cartel parties. But it is my thesis that thanks to its specific logic, populism fosters the worst version of movement party relationships, undermining the democratic functions of both.

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.

Political Opportunity Structure, Contentious Social Movements, and State-Based Organizations: The Fight against Solidarity inside the Polish United Workers Party

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 359-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack M. Bloom
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
The State ◽  
Reform Movement ◽  
Political Opportunity Structure ◽  
Political Opportunity ◽  
Opportunity Structure ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Government

Studies of social movements have often focused on the role of the state vis-à-vis social movements—in recent times using the concept of political opportunity structure to understand the options available to social movements. This article examines the internal conflicts within the ruling party in Communist Poland to show that a reciprocal process proceeded, in which both the social movement and the state found the choices of action available to them limited by the other, rather than just the social movement. The social upheaval that impacted the entire country brought about the rise of a reform movement within the ruling Polish United Workers Party, which prevented the government from acting as it preferred for a significant period of time. That reform movement, which would not have existed without Solidarity and certainly would not have brought about intraparty changes by itself, saw itself as connected to and dependent upon Solidarity. Party conservatives had to respond to and overcome the reformers before they could turn their full attention to ending the challenge Solidarity presented to the Communist system. In effect, for a time, Solidarity limited the political opportunity structure of the state, while the reverse was also true. While social movement scholars have long considered the possibilities and the limits on possibilities available to social movements because of the state or other external circumstances, this experience demonstrates that similar considerations must sometimes be contemplated with respect to the state.

Individual Rights and Social Movements: A Comparative and Statistical Inquiry

1999 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOE FOWERAKER ◽  
TODD LANDMAN
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Authoritarian Regimes ◽  
Social Mobilization ◽  
Direct Result ◽  
Individual Rights ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Made In

This article is a comparative study of the relationship between social movements and the individual rights of citizenship. It identifies three main connections between collective action and individual rights made in theory and history, and analyses them in the context of modern authoritarian regimes. It does so by measuring both social mobilization and the presence of rights over time in Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Spain, and analyses their mutual impact statistically – both within and across these national cases. The results demonstrate the mutual impact between rights and movements, and more importantly, constitute a robust defence of democracy as the direct result of collective struggles for individual rights.

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