‘It Is a Tradition in the Nuclear Industry . . . Secrecy’: Political Opportunity Structures and Nuclear Knowledge Production in France

2021 ◽  
pp. 136078042110250
Author(s):  
Julie Schweitzer ◽  
Tamara L Mix
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Nuclear Energy ◽  
Nuclear Industry ◽  
Political Opportunity ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Nuclear Program ◽  
Opportunity Structures ◽  
Shaping Process ◽  
History Of ◽  
Political Opportunity Structures

Employing the example of France’s civil nuclear program, we connect political opportunity structures (POSs) to mechanisms of knowledge production, identifying how opposing stakeholders generate knowledge about a controversial technology. A history of nuclear dependence in France creates a context that praises, normalizes, and rationalizes nuclear energy while stigmatizing attempts to question or contest the nuclear industry’s dominant position. Integrating Bond’s knowledge-shaping process with Coy and colleagues’ concept of oppositional knowledge, we consider how the broader social, political, and economic context influences opposing stakeholder assessments of nuclear energy. Employing qualitative semi-structured interviews, we offer unique insight into the French nuclear debate, discussing the role of POS in shaping knowledge production.

Cycles of Accumulation, Cycles of Struggle: The Zapatista Revolt in World-Systemic Perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 667-681
Author(s):  
Christopher Gunderson
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Phase Shifts ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Opportunity ◽  
Expansion Phase ◽  
Opportunity Structures ◽  
History Of ◽  
Political Opportunity Structures

The 1994 Zapatista uprising was not the first indigenous revolt in the territory known today as Chiapas, Mexico. Adopting insights from Cox and Nilsen and examining the history of three indigenous revolts in Chiapas within the framework of Arrighi’s “Systemic Cycles of Accumulation” (SCAs), this study considers the effects of such cycles on the timing of indigenous revolts. It finds a correlation between the initiation of the “financial expansion phase” of SCAs and outbreaks of indigenous revolt in Chiapas. Specifying the linkages between each SCA and developments in Chiapas, the study attributes this correlation to the effects of these phase shifts on the political opportunity structures of the indigenous communities. The implications of these findings for a theory of the timing of episodes of collective action generally is discussed.

Occupy Movement, Religion and Social Formations

2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-24
Author(s):  
Matt Sheedy
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Opportunity ◽  
Social Formation ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
Opportunity Structures ◽  
Occupy Movement ◽  
Political Opportunity Structures

The Occupy movement was an unprecedented social formation that spread to approximate 82 countries around the globe in the fall of 2011 via social media through the use of myths, symbols and rituals that were performed in public space and quickly drew widespread mainstream attention. In this paper I argue that the movement offers a unique instance of how discourse functions in the construction of society and I show how the shared discourses of Occupy were taken-up and shaped in relation to the political opportunity structures and interests of those involved based on my own fieldwork at Occupy Winnipeg. I also argue that the Occupy movement provides an example of how we might substantively attempt to classify “religion” by looking at how it embodied certain metaphysical claims while contrasting it with the beliefs and practices of more conventionally defined “religious” communities.

scholarly journals It's Not Just Structural: Social Movements are not Homogenous Responses to Structural Features, but Networks shaped by Organisational Strategies and Status

2009 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clare Saunders
Keyword(s):  
Structural Features ◽  
Political Opportunity ◽  
Opportunity Structures ◽  
Government Institutions ◽  
Political Opportunities ◽  
The Status ◽  
Political Opportunity Structures ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Different Characteristics ◽  
Environmental Organisation

Political opportunity structures are often used to explain differences in the characteristics of movements in different countries on the basis of the national polity in which they exist. However, the approach has a number of weaknesses that are outlined in this article. The article especially stresses the fact that such broad-brush approaches to political opportunity structures fail to account for the different characteristics of movement organisations within the same polity. The article therefore recommends using a more fine-tuned approach to political opportunities, taking into account that the strategies and status of organisations affect the real political opportunities they face. This fine-tuned approach is used to predict how the status and strategy of environmental organisations might influence the extent to which different types of environmental organisations in the UK network with one-another. We find that organisations that face an open polity - those with a moderate action repertoire and a constructive relationship with government institutions - tend not to cooperate with those with a radical action repertoire and negative relations with government institutions. On the other hand, those that vary their action repertoires, and which have variable status according to the issues involved or campaign targets, have a much broader range of network links with other types of organisations. Thus, there is much more diversity in types of environmental organisation in the UK than the broad-brush to political opportunity structures would account for. Nonetheless, it does seem that environmental organisations are aware of how their own behaviours might influence (non-structural) political opportunities, and that they mould their strategies and networking patterns around this awareness.

May Day Demonstrations in Five European Countries

2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 281-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abby Peterson ◽  
Mattias Wahlström ◽  
Magnus Wennerhag ◽  
Camilo Christancho ◽  
José-Manuel Sabucedo
Keyword(s):  
Political Orientation ◽  
Political Opportunity ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
Opportunity Structures ◽  
The Past ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
May Day ◽  
Political Opportunity Structures ◽  
Political Demonstrations

In this article, we argue that there is an element of rituality in all political demonstrations. This rituality can be either primarily oriented toward the past and designed to consolidate the configuration of political power—hence official—or oriented towards the future and focused on challenging existing power structures—hence oppositional. We apply this conceptual framework in a comparison of May Day demonstrations in Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom in 2010. The demonstrations display significant differences in terms of officiality and oppositionality. Our study provides strong evidence that these differences cannot be explained solely—if at all—by stable elements of the national political opportunity structures. Instead, differences in degrees of oppositionality and officiality among May Day demonstrations should be primarily understood in terms of cultural traditions in combination with volatile factors such as the political orientation of the incumbent government and the level of grievances.

scholarly journals Transnational Relations and Activism in International Relations: Debates and Consensus in Literature

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 142
Author(s):  
Ani W. Soetjipto ◽  
Arivia Tri Dara Yuliestiana
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Transnational Activism ◽  
Transnational Advocacy ◽  
Political Opportunity ◽  
Transnational Relations ◽  
Norm Diffusion ◽  
Opportunity Structures ◽  
Political Opportunity Structures

This article explores the concepts of transnational relations and activism in the study of International Relations, specifically the role of civil society in transnational advocacy. It is fascinating to discuss the role of civil society when state actors are no longer the most prominent actors in International Relations studies in the midst of globalisation. Some articles related to transnational relations have been written by the scholars of International Relations such as Thomas Risse-Kappen (1995). Even so, one of the most sophisticated concepts of transnational activism was introduced by Margaret Keck and Kathryn Sikkink (1998), in Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics. In order to fully understand transnational activism in the study of International Relations, a divergent perspective can be applied. In this article, the authors aim to examine the recent debates and its counternarratives in International Relations through critical and constructivism lenses. Firstly, this article would describe the concepts of transnationalism and transnational activism in the study of International Relations (state of the art). Secondly, it would be a discussion in the literature on transnationalism and transnational activism which cover themes about norm diffusion, the ‘boomerang pattern’, political opportunity structures and accountability and effectiveness. The last part is conclusion that can be drawn from this consensus and debates in the concept of transnational activism.

Mobilizing Under the Gun: Theorizing Political Opportunity Structure in a Highly Repressive Setting

2009 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eitan Alimi
Keyword(s):  
Research Program ◽  
Contentious Politics ◽  
Political Opportunity Structure ◽  
Political Opportunity ◽  
Opportunity Structure ◽  
Opportunity Structures ◽  
Political Events ◽  
Political Opportunity Structures ◽  
Different Levels

Although episodes of contentious politics in undemocratic regimes constitute the lion's share of contentious political events worldwide, the theorizing of political opportunity structures is based largely on contentious episodes in democratic/liberal political settings. This anomaly hampers recent attempts to redefine the boundaries among episodes of contention across time and place. Employing the case of the first Palestinian Intifada (1987-1992), I critically examine three theoretical aspects of political opportunity structures (POS): (1) how the link between POS, strateg, and tactics is forged; (2) how different levels of POS interact; and (3) the ability of multiactor movements to cope with the shifting nature of POS. I conclude by briefly illustrating the relevance of my findings to other structurally similar cases, and discuss the implications of my analysis for further sensitization of the Dynamics of Contention research program.

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