Social+movements

Chapter 7 discusses the most prominent; it’s an atheoretical chapter
 * Environmental movement
 * Peace and third world
 * Women’s movement
 * LGBT
 * Youth

Tracking movements--another view:
 * Left after WWII
 * 1968
 * Far right resurgence
 * Post materialism and materialism
 * Anti-globalization
 * Fathers’ rights (in Britain)
 * Pro-regularization (of immigrants, on the Continent)

These are contentious, non-institutional, and sometimes extra-constitutional movements

What are they, essentially?
 * A form of politics—instrumental in seeking goals?
 * Expressive, anomic, frustration, alienation and irrational?
 * Society remaking itself? The key drivers of historicite?

What is the importance of social movement groups?
 * In democratic theory?
 * As interest groups, part of a pluralist gov’t
 * Compare corporatism…
 * As new intermediary organizations, replacing traditional interest groups
 * Replacing political parties?

What explains their rise?
 * US behavioralism and rational choice political science
 * Collective action problems and social movements
 * Other approaches are more sociological, more political—and more useful
 * Macro-social factors eg: shift from industrial to post-industrial society?
 * Resource mobilization
 * How available are funds, followers, etc? What strategies does the group use to attract support?
 * Political opportunity structure
 * How strong is the state vis a vis the group? Is the group likely to be included with moderate action? Is violence the best way to get attention?
 * What kind of alliances are possible with mainstream interest groups (unions, etc)

For the French sociologist Tourraine, social movements by definition change history, they’re not just ‘interest groups’ like any other
 * Speak for a social group
 * Enter into opposition with some other group
 * Address an issue of interest to society as a whole