Complexity and Social Movements

Complexity and Social Movements
Author: Graeme Chesters
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 349
Release: 2006-11-22
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1134287801

Fusing two key concerns of contemporary sociology: globalization and its discontents, and the 'complexity turn' in social theory, authors Chesters and Welsh utilize complexity theory to analyze the shifting constellation of social movement networks that constitute opposition to neo-liberal globalization. They explore how seemingly chaotic and highly differentiated social actors interacting globally through computer mediated communications, face-to-face gatherings and protests constitute a 'multitude' not easily grasped through established models of social and political change. Drawing upon extensive empirical research and utilizing concepts drawn from the natural and social sciences this book suggests a framework for understanding mobilization, identity formation and information flows in global social movements operating within complex societies. It suggests that this 'movement of movements' exhibits an emergent order on the edge of chaos, a turbulence that is recasting political agency in the twenty-first century.

Complexity and Social Movements

Complexity and Social Movements
Author: Graeme Chesters
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 206
Release: 2006-11-22
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 113428781X

Making use of complexity theory concepts from the natural and social sciences, this informative book provides a framework for understanding mobilization, identity formation and information flows in global social movements.

Social Movements: The Key Concepts

Social Movements: The Key Concepts
Author: Graeme Chesters
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 344
Release: 2010-10-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 113689330X

Social Movements: The Key Concepts provides an insightful, contemporary introduction to some of the frequently encountered terms and groups that are central to the study of collective action and social and political activism. Following an A-Z format, the entries defined and discussed are drawn from the following areas: the ‘old’ social movements of the nineteenth century the ‘new’ social movements of the 1960s and 1970s the rise of contemporary ‘network’ movements. Key American, European and global social movements are addressed, with each entry related to contemporary developments and emergent tendencies within the field. Including helpful references for further study, this concise and up-to-date guide is of relevance for those studying a range of disciplines, including sociology, politics, cultural studies and human geography.

Understanding Southern Social Movements

Understanding Southern Social Movements
Author: Simin Fadaee
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2016-02-12
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1317484096

Southern social movements have played an important role in shaping world history and politics. Nevertheless, scholarly literature on movements of the global South remains limited and restricted to testing the social movement theory which was developed in the North. This Northern-centric approach largely fails to provide a meaningful understanding of Southern movements because it is not directly applicable to the differing historical backgrounds, culture and socio-economic structures found in the South. Much of the uniqueness and complexity of Southern social movements has therefore been overlooked. This collection analyses recent events and developments in Southern social movements, introducing well-researched case studies from fifteen countries of the global South. Arranged in two parts, the volume examines firstly movements which focus on rights and quality of life issues, and secondly the post-2011 wave of uprisings which started with Tunisian and Egyptian movements. Contributing to ongoing discussions about the Northern-centric nature of social movement theory and the social sciences more generally, the authors enter into dialogue with the debate on local and national levels, as well as globalizing processes. Through an interdisciplinary approach this book broadens the theoretical and empirical perspectives for the study of social movements and will appeal to sociologists, political scientists, scholars and students of social movements, and social activists.

What is a Social Movement?

What is a Social Movement?
Author: Hank Johnston
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 171
Release: 2014-04-10
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0745682340

Social movements play a central role in the scope and direction of social change. They were instrumental in the creation of the modern state and, today, are major forces in politics and culture. Environmentalism, gay rights, alterglobalization, and Islamic fundamentalism are all movements with far-reaching impacts on contemporary society. What is a Social Movement? traces how the study of movements such as these - of their structures, their ideas, and their repertoires of protest - have grown in recent years to become a major focus in the social sciences. It deftly navigates the organizational, ideational, and cultural complexity of political and social movements, and offers a succinct but comprehensive overview of the hows, whys, and wheretofores of studying them. The book analyzes how politics and culture frequently intersect as people participate in movements that call for change and pursue group interests. By focusing on movement organizations and networks, on what they do, and how they articulate their ideas of justice and collective interests, What is a Social Movement? lays the essential groundwork for understanding this significant and exciting field of research, where it came from, and where it is headed.

Citizenship and Social Movements

Citizenship and Social Movements
Author: Lisa Thompson
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2010-01-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1848133901

Debates over social movements have suffered from a predominate focus on North America and western Europe, often neglecting the significance of collective action in the global South. Citizenship and Social Movements seeks to partially redress this imbalance with case studies from Brazil, India, Bangladesh, Mexico, South Africa and Nigeria. This volume points to the complex relationships that influence mobilization and social movements in the South, suggesting that previous theories have underplayed the influence of state power and elite dominance in the government and in NGOs. As the contributors to this book clearly show, understanding the role of the state in relation to social movements is critical to determining when collective action can fulfil the promise of bringing the rights of the marginalized to the fore.

Technology, Media and Social Movements

Technology, Media and Social Movements
Author: Taylor & Francis Group
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 128
Release: 2020-09-30
Genre:
ISBN: 9780367664152

This book offers an interdisciplinary set of contributions from leading scholars, and explores the complex relationship between media, technology and social movements. It provides a valuable resource for scholars and students working in this rapidly developing field. Providing theoretical engagement with contemporary debates in the field of social movements and new media, the book also includes a theoretical overview of central contemporary debates, a re-evaluation of theories of social movement communication, and a critical overview of media ecology and media approaches in social movement scholarship. The theoretical contributions are also developed though empirical case studies from around the world, including the use of Facebook in student protests in the UK, the way power operates in Anonymous, the "politics of mundanity" in China, the emotional dynamics on Twitter of India's Nirbhaya protest, and analysis of Twitter networks in the transnational feminist campaign 'Take Back The Tech '. This book was originally published as a special issue of Social Movement Studies.

Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change

Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change
Author: Patrick G. Coy
Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing
Total Pages: 371
Release: 2008-06-16
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1846638933

Presents a series of papers focused on the complex dynamics of coalitions and the interorganizational relations within social movements. This volume includes a section, which focuses on strategic decision making in social movements, including with regard to strategic alliances.

Social Movements and Europeanization

Social Movements and Europeanization
Author: Donatella della Porta
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2011-06-23
Genre: History
ISBN: 0191619698

Are social movement organizations euro-sceptical, euro-pragmatic, or euro-opportunist? Or do they accept the EU as a new level of governance to place pressure on? Do they provide a critical capital, necessary for the political structuring of the EU, or do they disrupt the process of EU integration? This book includes surveys of activists at international protest events targeting the European Union (for a total of about 5000 interviews); a discourse analysis of documents and transcripts of debates on European politics and policies conducted during the four European social forums held between 2002 and 2006 and involving hundreds of social movement organizations and tens of thousands of activists from all European countries; about 320 interviews with representatives of civil society organizations in six EU countries (France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy) and one non-member state (Switzerland), and a systematic claims analysis of the daily press in selected years between 1990 and 2003. The empirical research shows the different paths of Europeanization taken by social movements and civil society organizations.

Statemaking and Social Movements

Statemaking and Social Movements
Author: Charles Bright
Publisher:
Total Pages: 424
Release: 1984
Genre: History
ISBN:

An interdisciplinary dialogue about politics, social movements, and the transformative relationship between states and societies.