scholarly journals Genocide as Contentious Politics

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aliza Luft
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Political Violence ◽  
Contentious Politics ◽  
Social Movement Theory ◽  
Final Version ◽  
Movement Theory ◽  
History Of ◽  
Convergence And Divergence

Preprint, final version in Sociology Compass available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/soc4.12304/fullDespite a recent turn towards the study of political violence within the field of contentious politics, scholars have yet to focus their lens on genocide. This is puzzling, as the field of collective action and social movements was originally developed in reaction to fascism (Nazism in particular), while research on collective action and research on genocide has long shown parallel findings and shared insights. This paper reviews the history of this scholarly convergence and divergence, and suggests that recent findings of research on genocide can be improved by the consideration of concepts from social movements and collective action. It then details three theories of the micro-mechanisms that mobilize individuals for contention – framing, diffusion, and networks – and specifies how they refine existing explanations of civilian participation in genocide. In the conclusion, I suggest that a contentious politics approach to genocide would consider it one form of collective action among others, analyzable within the existing framework of collective action and social movement theory.

scholarly journals The Contribution of Social Movement Theory to Understanding Genocide

Contention ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-30
Author(s):  
Aliza Luft
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Political Violence ◽  
Contentious Politics ◽  
Social Movement Theory ◽  
Rwandan Genocide ◽  
Movement Theory ◽  
History Of Research ◽  
History Of

Recent years have witnessed a turn in the field of contentious politics toward the study of political violence, yet scholars have yet to focus their lens on genocide. Moreover, research on genocide is characterized by fundamental disagreements about its definition, origins, and dynamics, leading to a lack of generalizable theory. As a remedy, this article suggests that research on genocide can be improved by incorporating concepts from social movements. After reviewing the history of research on social movements and genocide, I analyze civilian participation in the Rwandan genocide as an example of how social movement theory helps explain civilian mobilization for genocide. Finally, I propose that a contentious politics approach to genocide would consider it one among many forms of contentious collective action, analyzable within the existing framework of social movement theory.

The Return of The Repressed: The Fall and Rise of Emotions in Social Movement Theory

2000 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff Goodwin ◽  
James Jasper ◽  
Francesca Polletta
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Social Movement Theory ◽  
Movement Theory ◽  
Catching Up ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Fertile Area

In recent years sociologists have made great strides in studying the emotions that pervade social life. The study of social movements has lagged behind, even though there are few arenas where emotions are more obvious or important. We hope to understand this lag as well as make some suggestions for catching up. To do this we examine the history of scholarship on social movements, finding that emotions were poorly specified in the early years, ignored entirely in the structural and organizational paradigms that emerged in the 1960s, and still overlooked in the cultural era of the 1980s and 1990s. Despite isolated efforts to understand the emotions of social movements, they remain today a fertile area for inquiry.

Framing DNA

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Norris
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Early History ◽  
Social Movement Theory ◽  
Wrongful Conviction ◽  
Archival Research ◽  
Movement Theory ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Common

The “innocence movement” has often been mentioned, but rarely explored in depth. In particular, scholars have yet to study the beginning of the movement thoroughly. This article explores the early history of the innocence movement, referred to as the “foundations” of the movement, suggesting that the common focus solely on DNA as the source of the movement is an overly narrow historical focus. Based on archival research and interviews with key movement participants, this article draws on social movement theory to better understand the roots of the innocence movement, including its organizational foundation, early leadership, and the identification of the “problem” of wrongful conviction as a cause worthy of collective action. These three developments re-framed DNA as a tool to seek justice through post-conviction exonerations, thus creating the foundation on which the innocence movement was built.

The Success and Sustainability of American Nationalist Movements

2018 ◽  
pp. 83-102
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Social Movement Theory ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Nationalist Movements ◽  
Movement Theory ◽  
Black Lives Matter

This chapter analyzes the viability of the selected case studies in legitimizing or mainstreaming their goals and ideology, as well as paths to success and/or failure. The chapter provides prescriptions for both movements and highlights obstacles that may impede each from achieving stated goals or solidifying political victories (electoral, legislative, or ideologically within the wider society). The phases of social movement theory first promulgated by Herbert Blumer is explained in this chapter as a method of considering future movements. The success of American social movements is traditionally marked by legislative victories or codification of change (which is what Black Lives Matter is seeking), while contemporary movements have been successful at achieving electoral victories (that of Donald Trump); this chapter explores that dichotomy as well.

A Critical Review of Social Movement Theory: Gender and Emotion in Activist Cultures

2020 ◽  
pp. 21-42
Author(s):  
Emma Craddock
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Social Movement Theory ◽  
Thick Description ◽  
Movement Theory ◽  
Media Technologies ◽  
Theory Of Practice ◽  
The Public Sphere

This chapter sets up the theoretical context of the book. It begins by establishing the key relevant debates in Social Movement Theory (SMT), including that of new versus old social movements, the influence of new media technologies on social movements and the role of emotions within social movement studies. This chapter identifies the theoretical perspective for studying activist culture, drawing on Bourdieu’s (1992) theory of practice. This will serve as the basis for developing an analysis of the affective and cultural dimensions of social movement activism. It is contended that this approach enables the development of in-depth ‘thick description’ (Geertz, 1973) and an understanding of the interactions between activists as well as between the activist field and the wider social and political context, which is a theme threaded throughout the book. The chapter highlights feminist critiques of mainstream (or ‘malestream’) SMT’s failure to recognise the importance of gender to theorising social movements. This is contextualised by a wider discussion about the gendered exclusions that exist within the public sphere.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document