scholarly journals Social Movements and Institutional Selectivity

1996 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominique Wisler ◽  
Marco G. Giugni

Contrary to what is usually implied by work on the relationship between political opportunity structures and social movements, political institutions are not a general setting offering or denying formal access and political opportunities to every challenge, but rather favor certain types of movements and constrain others. This process of institutional selectivity depends on the relationship between the structure of a given political institution and the movement type and defines social movements as pro-institutional, counter-institutional, or neutral. Accordingly, variation in the movements' action repertoire and degree of success can be observed. Yet, political institutions leave the door open to different interpretations by social actors so that a framing struggle takes place; at stake is the fit between movement demands and the structure of political institutions. The argument is developed through the example of federalism and its impact on two types of movements—namely, regionalist and squatters' movements—and illustrated by discussing their fate in France, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Empirical data suggest that institutional selectivity is to be taken into account to reach a better understanding of the relationship between social movements and their political context.

1998 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Giugni

This exploratory essay provides a general framework for the study of crossnational similarities among social movements by looking at three broad social processes: globalization, structural affinity, and diffusion. Each of these concepts is at the core of three apparently rival explanations of movement similarities. The globalization model explains similarities among social movements as a product of similar movement reactions to transnational political opportunities; the structural affinity model states that similar national political opportunity structures account for similarities among social movements across countries; and the diffusion model argues that the adoption of information from abroad causes similarities among social movements in different countries. This essay integrates three concepts in a general model of crossnational similarities among social movements. The model is illustrated with data on new social movements in four West European countries.


2009 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clare Saunders

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.


2012 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 453-481
Author(s):  
TERESA S. ENCARNACION TADEM

AbstractThis paper discusses the political opportunity structures which facilitated the creation of sites of interaction and protest against the Asian Development Bank during the Bank's Annual General Meeting in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 2000. The factors which facilitated the coming together of Thai social movements and their regional and international counterparts are mainly their shared critique of the neo-liberal paradigm and its adverse effects on their respective countries. The strategies they used to highlight these effects enhanced their sites of engagement and confrontation with the Bank and included dialogue with Bank officials, demonstrations, and the use of the media to highlight their concerns. Importance was also placed on the manner in which they were able to mobilize resources for the anti-Asian Development Bank campaigns and the process by which they framed their issues to gain the sympathy and support of the public. The 1997 Asian financial crisis, which highlighted the shortcomings of the Bank's development paradigm, as well as the ongoing democratization process in Thailand during that period, provided the impetus in fostering the anti-globalization alliances of local and transnational social movements in a common venue.


Author(s):  
Kira D. Jumet

This book advances research on the collective action dilemma in protest movements by examining protest mobilization leading up to, and during, the 2011 Egyptian Revolution and 2013 June 30th Coup in Cairo, Egypt. The book is organized chronologically and touches on why and how people make the decision to protest or not protest during different periods of the revolutionary process. The overarching question is: Why and how do individuals who are not members of political groups or organizers of political movements choose to engage or not engage in anti-government protest under a repressive regime? In answering the question, the book argues that individual decisions to protest or not protest are based on the intersection of the following three factors: political opportunity structures, mobilizing structures, and framing processes. It further demonstrates that the way these decisions to protest or not protest take place is through emotional mechanisms that are activated by specific combinations of these factors. The goal of the book is to investigate the relationship between key structural factors and the emotional responses they produce. By examining 170 interviews with individuals who either protested or did not protest, it explores how social media, violent government repression, changes in political opportunities, and the military influenced individual decisions to protest or not protest.


2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Nikolaus Funke

This article investigates the movement building dynamics of contemporary social movement milieus (such as particular protests, social forums or occupations). It develops the concept of the “relay” to introduce four ideal-type movement building relays understood as distinct movement milieus: clustering relay, networking relay, organizing relay, and transforming relay. Each ideal-type captures different points on a continuum of increasing movement building and thus for generating commonalities, shared understandings and identities, mobilizations and strategies. Focusing on what I call the current “rhizomatic movement epoch,” which ranges from roughly the Zapatistas to the recent occupy-type protests, the relay framework can provide a larger conceptual umbrella or schemata for movement-to-movement transmissions. Moreover, focussing on “the situated” element of movements, the relay seeks to highlight the milieu of cooperation attempts, the physical, social and psychological space, the political-economic and socio-cultural setting, in which actors and groups interact. It focuses on those elements that are between the outside of the broader political economy and political opportunity structures (which arguably pre-structure the particular relay) and the “inside” of intra-group or movement behaviour (which in turn feeds back on the particular relay dynamics). While drawing on selected empirical examples from protests, social forums and networking attempts, this article has a conceptual focus, exploring possibilities by adoption of such a relay lens to further our understanding of movement building dynamics and the temporality of social movements, the current movement milieu and social movement theory more generally. As such, my hope is to raise questions and open further research avenues of interest to social movement organizers and scholars.


Caderno CRH ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 021008
Author(s):  
Marco Antonio Teixeira

<p>O artigo analisa a Marcha das Margaridas, uma mobilização feminista realizada no Brasil sob a liderança das mulheres do campo, da floresta e das águas, nos anos de 2015 e 2019, considerado o tempo de ascensão das novas direitas. A Marcha é organizada pelas mulheres do Movimento Sindical de Trabalhadores e Trabalhadoras Rurais, em aliança com outros movimentos sociais, centrais sindicais e organizações internacionais. Adota-se uma abordagem teórica que considera a atuação dos movimentos sociais por meio dos conceitos de ações de reprodução social e formas de ação coletivas. Isso significa analisar a Marcha para além de suas expressões mais visíveis – uma grande marcha na cidade de Brasília e as negociações com agentes estatais (formas de ação coletiva). A mobilização envolve também um longo processo de organização, formação e<br />política de alianças com outros atores sociais (ações de reprodução social). Argumenta-se que analisá-las de maneira interdependente e vis-à-vis à estrutura de oportunidades políticas no tempo de ascensão das novas direitas aumenta a capacidade de compreensão de como movimentos sociais populares atuaram considerando o novo contexto.</p><p><strong>SOCIAL MOVEMENTS IN TIMES OF THE RISE OF THE NEW RIGHT: the Marcha das Margaridas</strong><br /><br /></p><p>This article analyses the Marcha das Margaridas, a feminist mobilisation spearheaded by women from the Brazilian Union of Rural Workers in alliance with other social movements, trade unions, and international organisations in the years 2015 and 2019 – considered to be the time of the rise of the new right. From a theoretical approach that regard the performance of social movements based on the concepts of actions of social reproduction and forms of collective action, we analyse the Marcha beyond its most visible expression – that is, a large street protest in the city of Brasilia, and the negotiations with state agents (forms of collective action). Rather, we understand this movement as also involving a long process of organisation, mobilisation, political formation activities, and politics of alliances with other social actors (actions of social reproduction). By analysing them interdependently and vis-à-vis the political opportunity structures at the time of the rise of the new right, we will better understand how social movements acted considering the new context.</p><p>Keywords: Social Movements. New Rights. Collective Actions. Social Reproduction Actions. Marcha das Margaridas.</p><p><strong>LES MOUVEMENTS SOCIAUX POPULAIRES FACE A LA MONTEE DE LA NOUVELLE DROITE: la Marcha das Margaridas</strong><br /><br />L’article analyse la Marcha dasMargaridas, une mobilisation féministe qui a eu lieu au Brésil entre 2015 et 2019, période considéré comme celle de la montée de la nouvelle droite brésilienne. Dirigée par des femmes qui se réclament défenseuses de la campagne, des forêts et des eaux, la Marcha était organisée par des femmes du Mouvement Syndical des Travailleuses et Travailleurs Ruraux, en alliance avec d’autres mouvements sociaux, des centrales syndicales et des organisations internationales. L’approche théorique propose une analyse à partir du concept de “actions de reproduction sociale” et de “répertoires d’action collective”. Cela signifie qu’il faut analyser la Marcha au-delà de son expression la plus visible, à savoir, une grande marche à Brasília accompagnée des négociations avec les agents de l’État (répertoire d’action collective). La Marcha implique également un long processus d’organisation, de rassemblement, de formation et des politiques d’alliances avec d’autres acteurs sociaux (actions de reproduction sociale). Analyser ces éléments de manière interdépendante en fonction de la structure des opportunités politiques, et dans la période de montée de la nouvelle droite brésilienne, nous aide à mieux comprendre comment les mouvements sociaux populaires ont agi dans ce nouveau contexte. </p><p>Mots-clés: Mouvements Sociaux. Nouvelle Droite. Repertoires D’action  Collectives. Actions De Reproduction Sociale. Marcha Dasmargaridas.</p>


Author(s):  
Kira D. Jumet

This chapter introduces the argument, situates the study in the theoretical literature, and outlines the path of the book. The chapter introduces key definitions and concepts, such as revolution, social movements, and rebellions. The chapter also demonstrates that individual decisions to protest are affected by structural factors and that emotions affect how people make decisions. By explaining the relationship between structural factors and rational choice decision-making, this chapter sets the stage for how political opportunities, mobilizing structures, and framing processes intersected with emotions to influence individuals’ decisions to either engage or not engage in collective action during the Egyptian Revolution.


2008 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hella Dietz

AbstractStarting with Hans Joas’ theory of creative action and Alberto Melucci's theory of collective identity (with slight modifications), the paper specify the conditions for a useful application of newer theories of social movements. Using this (neo-) pragmatist perspective, and drawing on the example of the development of civic opposition in Poland, it endeavours to question and expand the explanatory potential of the theories of relative deprivation, political opportunity structures, network analysis and framing analysis.


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