Lecture 11 - Politics and Social Movements Flashcards
How do Sociologists view Politics?
Includes (1) the formal political process, and (2) a broader set of power relations that includes how people negotiate their lives with family, social groups, and institutions (“the personal is political”)
What are Social Movements?
Social movements are attempts to modify/overthrow existing power relations, often by working outside the formal political process
What happened in the protests in Seattle?
Protests were able to physically stop and disrupt the meeting of the WTO
Protests frequently _____________________ and sometimes_______________________
Challenge laws and intentionally violate them
What was the justification for police activity in Toronto G20 protests?
Vandalism on public property, riots, peaceful protest turned into riot and police couldn’t distinguish who were rioters and who were peaceful protesters
What is a Protest?
An organized public demonstration expressing strong objection to an official policy or course of action
What is a Riot?
A violent disturbance of the peace by a crowd
Why does public disorder emerge, according to the Le Bon Tradition?
Public Disorder is a by-product of the highly contagious state of “mindlessness” supposedly resulting from immersion in a crowd (mob mentality)
What is Weber’s definition of Power?
Power is the ability to realize one’s will, despite the resistance of others
Politics is …
Power
The State exerts a considerable amount of power because:
It sets the rules, and has right to tax, imprison, kill
The Rise of the modern state related to the:
Industrial Revolution
What are Bureaucracies?
Organizational form that developed alongside the state that have formal roles and statuses, and often multiple goals
What are 2 of the 7 essential features of bureaucracies?
- ) Formal System of Rules
5. ) Separation of the person from the office
Who are the Bourgeoisie?
Own the means of production (middle class)
Who are the Proletariat?
Have only labour to exchange in the marketplace (working class)
What is Marx’s Historical Materialism?
Those who controlled material resources (money, property, land, goods) can realize their will over others, exercise and challenge power
What was Marx’s view on Material Processes?
The Power of individuals depends on their class position and relationship to the means of production
What was Weber’s view on Material Processes?
Industrial societies were stratified, but power flows from Class, status, and party (not just class like Marx)
What was Mills’ view on Material Processes?
Power could be held and controlled because of interlocking hierarchies of the economy, army, and stat
What is Hegemony (domination)?
Working-class do not revolt under difficult circumstances because elites manufacture consent. Political and cultural forces (state, schools, religious organizations, and media) help generate hegemonic ideals
Why do Social Movements need the Media?
- ) Mobilization
- ) Validation
- ) Scope Enlargement
What does media have control over when covering social movements?
- ) Framing
- ) Selection Bias
- ) Description Bias
How do Institutional Processes shape political outcomes?
- ) Patterns of Behaviour that order people’s lives in predictable ways
- ) Path Dependence
What is Globalization?
A social process in which traditional constraints posed by geography, economic activity, culture, and social configurations have diminished and been replaced by international processes
What is Transnationalism?
We may see more interaction across borders, but these changes aren’t global (a more limited claim than globalization)
What is Framing Theory?
Need for “collective action frames” to identify grievances, promote a cause, shape a common identity
What are the three core framing tasks?
- ) Diagnostic frames define social problems, injustes
- ) Prognostic frames articulate solutions and strategies for positive social change
- ) Motivational frames compel people to join the social movement
What is Framing Alignment?
People can be mobilized when the frames of participants are made congruent, complimentary - when frames resonate
What is the Political Process Approach?
Politics can be characterized by:
- ) Opportunities - social event or process that shows the need for mobilization and change
- ) Constraints - anything that may act as a barrier to the mobilization and survival of a social movement
What is Hactivism?
Subversive use of computers and networks for political ends
What is Slacktivism?
Minimal symbolic efforts (“likes”) for political ends
What is Digital Activism?
Mobilization where protest platform is online and relies on visual components
What was the problem with Idle No More Protests?
There was no specific goal that they wanted. They were powerful, but there wasn’t any specific leader leading the protest to a particular goal
Why do some movements succeed and others fail?
Unity and Diversity have trade-offs
What is the main point about early forms of collective action?
Often poorly organized and sporadic, tied to local affairs and grievances with local elites
What is the main point about the future of social movements?
Politics and social movements are often transnational
