The Social Movement Reader: Cases and Concepts Jeff Goodwin and James Jasper pp. 3-7

Definition of Social Movements Defining Social Movements (SM): “SM are conscious, concerted, and sustained efforts by ordinary people to change some aspect of their society by using extra-institutional means.” (3)

Studying Social Movements Why study social movements? SM get at the heart of human motivation: why do people cooperate with each other? Doing so addresses the Hobbesian question: “why do people cooperate with each other when they might get as many or more benefits by acting selfishly or alone?” Collective Action Problem (Mancur Olson)

Studying Social Movements Other reasons to study Social Movements: Social movements often: …are first to raise or introduce new ideas. …ask the hard or pressing questions parties and politicians are disinclined to ask. …force political insiders to address new issues or problems. …promote social change …express changing values.

History of Research on Social Movements History of Research on Social Movements “Before the 1960s, most scholars who studied social movements were frightened of them.” Mob or Movement? “They saw them as dangerous mobs who acted irrationally, blindly following demagogues who sprang up in their midst.” (5) Elites “feared political action outside or normal, institutionalized channels.”

History of Research on Social Movements SM and 1960s: Scholarly View of SM Begins to Change Civil Rights Movement encouraged many to change their understanding of SMs. Changing Scholarly View “As a result, scholars began to see aspects of SM they had overlooked when they used the lens of an angry mob.”

Changes in SM Theory Economic Turn (1): Collective Action/Free Rider Problem Mancur Olson (1965) “asked when and why individuals would protest if they were purely rational, in the sense of carefully weighing the costs and benefits of their choices.” Olson’s analysis were overly individualist, but it did “recognize that rational people could engage in protest.” (6)

Changes in SM Theory Economic Turn (2): Resource Mobilization: “John McCarthy and Mayer Zald worked out another economic vision of protest, taking formal organizations as the core of social movements and showing that these Social Movement Organizations (SMO) act like firms.” “SMO try to accumulate resources, hire staff…and ‘sell’ their point of view to potential contributors.” “Because of their emphasis on…the mobilization of time and money, they came to be known as ‘resource mobilization’ theory.”

Changes in SM Theory Political Analysis: “Political Process” SM were making claims directly to the state. SM are seen as rational, as “normal politics that used extra-institutional means.” A New Focus: Political Opportunity The focus on the interaction with the state raised the idea of “opportunities” provided by the state (such as a lessen in repression, or divisions among elites).

Changes in SM Theory Cultural Analysis: While the economic and political approaches had focused on protesters as rational actors, “scholars now saw the work that goes into: …creating symbols, …convincing people they had grievances, …and establishing a sense of solidarity among participants.

Changes in SM Theory Two Cultural Approaches: 1) Framing 2) Collective Identity Framing: How do protestors “frame” issues so they “resonate with or makes sense to potential recruits.” Collective Identity: Organizers either use or create Collective Identities to “arouse interest in and loyalty to their cause.” (6)

Defining Social Movements International Analysis: Many SM are international in scope: environmental, WTO, etc. Yet, mostmodels still assume a national focus. Emotions of Protest: What role does anger, outrage, compassion, joy, excitement play in SM formation?