What Are Social Movements

7/31/2019 What Are Social Movements

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Source: https://globalsociology.pbworks.com/w/page/14711254/Social%20Movements

What Are Social Movements?

In social movements, large groups of people who are usually without political

power and influence decide to promote or resist social change through

unconventional means. They identify a problem, determine that responsible

parties are failing to address it adequately, and therefore take action,

themselves. To be more efficient, participants structure their activities

into social movement organizations (SMOs). SMOs share the goals of the

social movement and work toward these goals. For instance, the environmental

social movement structured formal organizations such as Greenpeace, the

Sierra Club, or Earth First!. SMOs may specialize on different aspects of the

movements cause such as fundraising, lobbying or organizing grassroots

campaigns.

The table below summarizes the differences between collective behavior and

social movements.

Similarities Differences

Participants engage inunconventional behavior thatdefies social norms andexpectations

SocialMovements

CollectiveBehavior

Organized Disorganized

Such participation is stronglyinfluenced by otherparticipants behavior

Deliberate Unplanned

Such participation relievesstrain or tension in society orcommunity or organizations.

Long-lasting Brief

Social movements are more widespread in industrialized nations because

diverse populations are less bound by larger societal traditions and customs.

Subcultural and countercultural movements abound, and conflicts of interests

between groups are inevitable. Conflicts arise when demands for social change

by certain groups spark contrary demands to maintain the status quo by other
https://globalsociology.pbworks.com/w/page/14711254/Social%20Movementshttps://globalsociology.pbworks.com/w/page/14711254/Social%20Movementshttps://globalsociology.pbworks.com/w/page/14711254/Social%20Movementshttps://globalsociology.pbworks.com/w/page/14711254/Social%20Movements


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groups. According to Sidney Tarrow (1994), most societies experience times

when social movements are rare and other times when many social

movements emerge to promote social change in what he calls waves of

protest. Such waves of protest can be sparked by any form of social

disorganization provoked by war, economic recession, political crises,

technological innovations or rapid population change (such as the Baby Boom).

The 1930s and 1960s were such periods of massive social changes and waves

of protest in the United States and Western Europe.

In the 1930s, the Great Depression caused poverty for large numbers of

workers. Dreadful economic conditions launched numerous social movements

to promote legislation (such as regulations of the stock market and labor laws)

and changes in the social structure. In contrast, the 1960s were a period of

economic affluence for the United States, yet conflicts were pervasive and

promoted the rise of social movements such as the anti-war movement, the

womens rights movement, the Civil Rights movement or the emerging gay

rights movement to name the most important. Economic prosperity freed

people from basic survival issues, and they concerned themselves more with

issues of social justice. Such movements were at least partially successful but

also sparked the counter-movement called the conservative revolution that

culminated with the election of Ronald Reagan as President in 1981. More

recently, waves of protest have emerged on issues regarding the economic,

social and political consequences of globalization (Zald, 1992).

In other words, social movements are organized responses to social, economic

and political conditions where excluded groups experience strain, feel a sense

of unfairness, but do not necessarily have access to channels of power that

would allow them to find satisfactory resolutions to their perceived issues.

Theories of Social Movements

Relative Deprivation Theory

Relative deprivation theory, developed by Denton Morrison (1971) is a

more general theory about why individuals join social movements. A person

experiences relative deprivation when she feels that she is not receiving her


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fair share of what seems to be available. Therefore, the people who are the

worst off are not necessarily the ones experiencing relative deprivation. For

instance, research in the Civil Rights movement showed that African Americans

who were the most active were not most deprived but were fairly well-off, such

as college students or religious leaders but they were the ones who felt the

most relatively deprived.

Key to the idea of relative deprivation is the notion ofexpectations, that is,

what people think they deserve and want in life. If these expectations are met,

people do not experience discontent or relative deprivation. On the other hand,

if people compare themselves to their reference groups and find that they

have less, they will experience relative deprivation. If an individual feels that

everyone else seems to be wealthier or generally seems to have it better, they

will experience relative deprivation.

A second key to the idea of relative deprivation is the notion oflegitimate

expectations. Relative deprivation is not simply the idea that people want

what everyone else has. It is the idea that they think they deserve it and have

a right to it. Therefore, if they do not get what they think they deserve, they

think that something should be done to remedy the situation. In other words,

expectations are not simple desires. For relative deprivation to emerge,

individuals have to perceive their expectations as legitimate.

A third key is the notion ofblocked expectations, those goals that individuals

cannot meet through conventional means. Feelings of relative deprivation

result. If expectations are perceived as legitimate AND easy to satisfy, there is

no need for social movement. However, if expectations are perceived as

legitimate but blocked, individuals will experience discontent and frustration.

They will be more likely to want to remedy an unfair situation.

Morrison also identifies structural conditions that increase the probability of

emergence of social movements (Locher, 2002:256-257):

Large numbers of people must experience relative deprivation;

There must be a high degree of interaction and communication between

people experiencing relative deprivation;


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The more socially alike individuals experiencing relative deprivation, the

easier it will be for them to get together and create a movement;

Movements are more likely to form in a rigidly stratified society because

differences between classes are obvious.

The society must have large numbers of voluntary associations to givepeople a sense that collective activity can make a difference and

actually produce beneficial change. Also, a social movement benefits

from organizational leadership skills of associations.

Resource Mobilization Theory

In 1973, Anthony Oberschall published Social Conflict and Social Movementsin

which he formulated the resource mobilization theory focusing on the social

and structural factors affecting a movement's success or failure rather than thefactors motivating people to join social movements. Oberschall points out that

relative deprivation cannot fully explain social movements because there is no

perfect society that satisfies all its citizens. Discontent is a common feature.

For Oberschall, the key factor in a social movements success or failure is its

capacity to mobilize and efficiently manage resources.

Resources include things such as money, offices, communication equipment

(fax, telephones), computers, volunteer time, media access, network contacts,

and alliances. Such resources are usually acquired and managed by social

movement organizations (SMOs). SMO efficiency is crucial to the success of the

social movement.

Social movements cannot succeed without help from participants and

outsiders. Oberschall identifies categories of people (human resources) that

can be mobilized for the social movement (see table below).

Oberschalls Types of Human ResourcesAdherents Believer in the movements goals

ConscienceAdherents

Believer in the movements goals who do notstand to benefit from its success

Constituents Adherents who provide resources to themovement (time, money, etc.)

Conscience Adherents who provide resources to the


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Constituents movement but do not stand to benefit fromits success

BystanderPublics

Individuals who do not participate in themovement and do not particularly care aboutthe movements goals

Free-riders Bystanders who would benefit if themovement succeeds but do not participate init

Opponents Individuals outside the movement whooppose the movements goals and maycreate a counter-movement to oppose it

For a movement to be successful, it must mobilize and use resources to turn

bystander publics and free-riders into adherents and constituents while

neutralizing the actions of opponents. For instance, a social movement might

conduct marches and demonstrations or sit-ins that will receive media

coverage. This requires organization to coordinate transportation, printing and

distribution of leaflets, and security services to ensure against disorder that

might damage the movements image.

Additionally, the SMO may have to fight legal battles and retain lawyers, thus

leaving no room for amateurship. Such different strategies involve constant

acquisition and management of resources that, according to Oberschall,

depend on factors of social structure. For instance, mobilization is easier insocieties with relaxed social control exhibited by free speech, freedom of

assembly, and civil liberties in general. Mobilization simply cannot occur if a

strong and repressive government prevents it. Also, mobilization is encouraged

by outside help. The more assistance a movement receives even from

individuals who will not benefit from its success, the more efficient mobilization

will be. Outside assistance is especially crucial if it comes from groups and

individuals with a higher or more respectable standing.

Consequently, in Oberschalls theory, ideas alone do not determine a social

movements success; ideas becoming widely accepted and institutionalized in

the laws of society determine that success. If this happens, the major SMOs

become part of the political landscape as interest groups who no longer have

to establish their legitimacy.


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Political Process Theory

Political process theory focuses rather on macro-sociological issues that

make social movements possible. For McAdam, economic and especially

political factors are central to the emergence of social movements. More

specifically, McAdam identifies three of such factors (Locher, 2002: 265):

Organizational strength: the more organized a group is, the more

likely its members are to form a social movement and the more likely

the movement will succeed;

Cognitive liberation: the more members think their chances of

success are good, the more likely they are to make their movement will

succeed;

Political opportunities: the more mainstream political allies a socialmovement has, the more likely it will succeed.

For McAdam, availability of these three factors depends on the political system

as a whole. Political connections are more crucial than material resources, and

political leverage is the major resource for a social movements success.

New Social Movements Theory

The New Social Movements Theory emerged at the end of the 1960s to

account for changes in the composition, focus and strategies in some social

movements in the Western world (Melucci, 1989; McAdam et al, 1988; Larana

et al, 1994; Scott, 1995). New social movements themselves are a response to

the massive social changes brought about by globalization. New social

movements are diverse but share common foci:

Focus on social and cultural issues instead of the economic issues of

traditional social movements.

Focus quality of life (environment, peace) and self-

determination (contemporary womens rights, gay rights) because of

roots in high-income countries where survival is a less important issue.

Accordingly, members tend to reject bureaucratic organizations and

adopt a more participatory style.


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Membership largely composed of educated middle-class

individuals who see themselves as having multiple identities (in terms

of class, race, gender, sexual orientation) that they use and combine to

promote multiple but interrelated causes.

Distrust for authorities, the government, the business

community or the scientific community; although they do not seek

to overthrow the government or radically change the social order,

movements challenge the legitimacy of institutions of power and

promote their own experts (Garner, 1996) or create their own

independent research institutes as SMOs.

Focus on multiple issues seen as interdependent. For instance, the

ecofeminist movement associates environmental issues with patriarchy

(Merchant, 1992; Mies and Shiva, 1993), that is, male dominance in

society (see section on gender and militarization that defines nature as

conquered and possessed, rather than as a partner for the common

good). The environmental justice movement makes connections

between environmental issues and race problems through the concept

of environmental racism, a practice that puts minority groups more at

risk of environmental damage than dominant racial or ethnic groups; for

instance, more hazardous waste sites or chemical plants are located in

minority areas (Bullard and Wright, 1992).

Similarly, labor rights integrate human rights considerations into their

activism while new social movements link terrorism and the rise of

religious fundamentalism to the overwhelming power and influence of

western countries (the United States in particular) over poorer countries.

Both a global and local orientation, as reflected in the slogan think

global, act local, that might be evidenced by championing both global

environmental standards and local recycling regulations in their

communities.

Efficient use of new communication technologies to establish

global connections and networks; such global networks coordinated the

massive demonstrations against the World Trade Organization in Seattle


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in 1999, against the G8 Meeting in Genoa (Italy) in 2002 and the

worldwide protests against the War in Iraq in 2003.

The major strength of the theory is to include the influence of macro-

sociological factors (economic, political and cultural globalization) in analyzinghow collective actions and social movements form, focus, and strategize. The

theory also captures how such macro-sociological change is reflected in micro-

sociological concerns for social movement participants. For instance, the issue

of identity is at the core of debates in many societies:

At the global level (are we becoming citizens of the global village? How

should minorities be treated by government? What are the rights of

indigenous populations?);

At the national level (in the face of globalization, what is the meaning ofpatriotism in the sense of blind obedience to ones national

government?);

And at the personal level (Who Am I? What are my different identities

and how do they affect my quality of life and potential for self-

determination?).

The New Social Movements theory emphasizes the mixing of these different

levels. At this point, new social movements themselves are extremely diverse

so that a unifying theory is unlikely to capture such diversity under a general

theoretical banner.

Stages in Social Movements

The previous theories demonstrate that social movements do not develop

randomly but are collective responses to social, political and economic factors.

Similarly, research shows (Blumer, 1969; Mauss, 1975; Tilly, 1978) that social

movements follow specific patterns of development.

Preliminary or Incipiency Stage


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Social movements usually start with a general feeling

that something is wrong. That feeling generates strain or tension or, as we

have seen, a sense of relative deprivation. Such feelings can be related to

social, economic or political disruptions. At this stage, leaders might emerge toorganize participants or a specific figure might be able to reinterpret individual

feelings of discontent as social issues.

Such was the role played by Betty Friedan with her book The Feminine

Mystique (1963) that redefined womens conditions in the United States and

crystallized the contemporary feminist movement. Rachel Carson played a

similar role for the environmental movement in her book, Silent Spring (1962)

by drawing attention to the impact of human societies on the environment.

Coalescence Stage

At this stage, members start to organize themselves and to raise public

awareness concerning the problem. In order to coordinate and structure their

efforts, they might create social movement organizations (SMOs). Such

structuring requires leadership, tactics and alliances to maximize efficiency of

the movement. Raising public consciousness on the issue also involves

adopting strategies to use mass media, a potentially powerful recruiting tool. Inorder to attract media attention, members might engage in collective

behaviors such as marches, demonstrations and sit-ins.

Institutionalization or Bureaucratization Stage


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At this point, the movement becomes more formally organized, especially if

recruiting strategies have been successful and membership has increased. If

initially, movement leaders were selected based on charisma, now leadership

is based more on rational-legal authority; leaders might become less

prophets and more administrators. Bureaucratization also involves increased

division of labor (different task roles for the organization), increased hierarchy

(less equality between members). The organization might replace volunteers

with paid staff. Such a move might help the movement gain in respectability,

but such a managerial turn might also displease initial members and there

might be a loss of enthusiasm for the cause. Also at this stage, the

organization shed most radical and extreme members.

Decline

Even if social movements last longer than collective behavior, they are also

temporary. Even though they might last for decades, eventually they end

(Locher 2002). However, they do not disappear randomly. There are different

ways that a social movement can end.

Success

Social movements sometimes succeed. The cause they promote might become

accepted, and laws might be passed that promote their views. For instance, in

1920, American women gained the right to vote, thus ending the suffrage

movement. The Civil Rights movement is also considered successful since the

U.S. Congress passed major civil rights laws to equalize the social standing of

African Americans vis--vis whites.

When movements are successful, they might become part of the system of

political institutions. The NAACP was essential to the struggle for Civil Rights.

Once the struggle was over, it ceased as a social movement organization to

become a political interest group for the African American community. The

NAACP is now a mainstream organization.

Co-optation


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Political authorities may try to undermine a social movement by adopting a

soft version of the movements agenda. In addition, they might offer the

movements leaders rewarding positions if they work inside the system rather

than challenging it from the outside (Meyer, 1993). Of course, movement

leaders who accept such positions might then be accused of selling out by

movement members.

Goal Displacement

Social change can be slow, and it is tough to maintain morale and enthusiasm

for a cause that might not succeed. Goal displacement occurs when a

movement focuses on maintaining itself and its organization rather the cause it

was created to promote.

Fragmentation

Although members of a social movement might share political, social, or

cultural views, they might disagree on strategies, alliances or leadership, so

conflicts sometimes arise. If conflict becomes impossible to

manage,fragmentation might occur, and splits into separate movements

(Frey et al, 1992).

Repression

When the authorities consider a movement too challenging to the status quo,

they might simply decide to userepressive strategies of harassment, illegal

surveillance, multiple arrests, imprisonment, or outright violence. In South

Africa, during apartheid, the white government used all these different

strategies to control and neutralize anti-apartheid efforts. Repressive strategies

are more likely to be used by non-democratic governments, unconcerned forthe legality of their methods.

However, in the United States, democratic government has used repression

tactics against certain social movements, the labor movement, the Civil Rights

movement, and the anti-war movement. As Locher (2002: 245) mentions, in

May 1970, National Guardsmen killed 13 unarmed antiwar protesters at Kent


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States University in Kent, Ohio. At other times, counter-movements have

exercised violence against progressive movements. The Ku Klux Klan is known

as a racist movement but in the 1920s and 1930s, it was known for its brutality

against labor movement organizers.

Types of Social Movements

Depending on the kind of change desired (partial/limited or total/radical) and

the target (individuals or society as a whole), there are different types of social

movements: Alternative, Redemptive, Reformative, and Revolutionary-

Transformative.

Alternative Social Movements

Type of change: partial/limited

Target: individuals

Alternative social

movementsare least threatening to the status quo and power structure

because they only seek limited change in individuals and are not concerned

with changing the system. The Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E)

movement is a reform movement because it targets a segment of the

population (children, teenagers) for limited behavior change (attitudes toward

drug and alcohol abuse). Alternative movements tend to have a narrow focus

of interest (one type of behavior) and limit their action to that focus.


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Redemptive Social Movements

Type of change: total/radical

Target: individuals

Redemptive social movements have a limited focus (specific individuals)

but by radically altering those individuals behavior, they seek to change the

whole person. Fundamentalist religious movements and cults are examples of

redemptive movements. When religious movements emphasize conversion or

being born again, they indicate that they expect a complete individual

transformation, radical inner change.

Reformative Social Movements

Type of change: partial/limited

Target: society

Reformative movements seek to change certain limited aspects of the social

structure in order to improve society as a whole. Members of reformative

movements usually try to achieve their goals and effect change from within thesystem; they do not try to destroy it.

Commonly, reformative movements use the legal system to promote their

ideas and will try to challenge what they consider to be unfair laws (Greenberg,

1994). If they do resort to unconventional social actions (marches, sit-ins,

demonstrations), they will try to avoid violence.

Reformative movements are quite common in democratic countries because

democracies guarantee freedom of speech and assembly and voluntary

political participation. Reformative movements can be either progressive,

(promoting change) or reactionary (trying to resist change or reverse changes

already in place).


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The Civil Rights movement, the womens Suffrage movement, the

contemporary Womens rights movement, and social movements such as

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (M.A.D.D.) are examples of progressive

reformative movements. They all worked from within the system to promote

social change for the system as a whole.

The anti-abortion rights movement, the anti-feminist movement (such as the

Eagle Forum), the Christian Right movement, and the Ku Klux Klan are all

reactionary reformative movements. Reactionary reformative movements

often emerge as a reaction against social change (Lo, 1982; Lyman, 1995). The

Ku Klux Klan emerged after the Civil War against the Reconstruction and the

rights granted to the black population. It re-emerged again in the 1960s with

the first legal victories of the Civil Rights movement. Similarly, the anti-choice

movement was revitalized after the Supreme Court decision Roe vs. Wade

which made abortion legal in 1973 in the United States.

Revolutionary/Transformative Social Movements

Type of change: total/radical

Target: society

Revolutionary

movementsare not interested in working within the system. For members of


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such movements, the system itself is the problem and it cannot be fixed;

therefore, the only solution is to get rid of the system and replace it with a

system that members think is better.

Revolutionary movements are the most extreme of all social movements and

they may openly advocate revolution, that is, the violent overthrow of an

existing regime and the reorganization of society as a whole.

The Bolshevik revolution (left) in Russia in 1917 was led by revolutionary

groups. Fidel Castro gained power in Cuba through a revolution that got rid of

the Batista dictatorship.

Both the American and the French revolutions replaced monarchical rules with

(imperfect) democracies. In the United States, militia movements are

considered revolutionary because they actively promote the destruction of the

American government.

These four types of social movements are summarized inthe table below:

Type of Change

Targ

et

Partial /

Limited

Radical /

TotalIndividual

Alternative Redemptive

Society Reformative Revolutionary

The Significance of Social Movements

Looking back at the history of the United States, there is no doubt that socialmovements have played an enormous part in shaping this country and its

culture and continue to do so; recently, for instance, the gay rights movement

has scored legal, political and cultural victories, not just in the United States

but in other Western countries as well. Sodomy laws have been declared

unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court, the state of Vermont voted to

legalize domestic partnerships, as have several western European countries. At


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the same time, there is also the emergence of a counter-movement as

religious right groups oppose such changes.

Such changes underline the fact that, for the most part, in democratic societies

different groups have the power to influence their institutions and the culture

of their countries in different ways providing that they are organized to do

so and understand the system (legal, political, cultural, and economic) in which

they operate.

There is also no doubt that the process of globalization is shaping the way

social movements organize and the type of social movements that emerge out

of this radical process of change. Religious fundamentalist movements are on

the rise worldwide precisely as a reactionary response to sweeping cultural

changes. Environmental and womens rights movements have broadened their

scope to promote progressive changes. We now turn to the specifics of social

movements in the global context.

Documents

What Are Social Movements