Social Movement Flashcards
o The overall centralized political & social apparatus of decision-making and administration.
State
o The specific branch of State tasked with making decisions and setting policy.
o The ‘political’ part.
Government
Whilst the State includes all institutions setting rules for social life, ______ more narrowly refers to the particular people who make specific decisions about individual topics.
Government thus includes Parliament, Prime Minister etc.
Government
o Carry out policy, keep peace, maintain law & order.
o Police, health service, bureaucracies etc.
State institutions
states vary according to degree of control:
* Control over public life, e.g. politics, media, debate.
* Control over private life, e.g. family, social clubs, leisure.
In ______ state, citizen’s entire identity may be bound up with state/ruling Party, and may be expected to sacrifice self for the nation.
Not necessarily true in authoritarian states.
Totalitarian states
o Public sphere mostly open: citizens can say what they want, vote freely etc.
o Strong protections for private sphere, which government shouldn’t be involved in.
Liberal Democracy
o Strong central leader, little public opposition; may rely on force for compliance.
o Largely allows citizens to live private lives (though may monitor them).
Authoritarianism
o One-party centralized state in which distinction of state and party is blurred.
o Limited private life, and may be absorbed into state
Totalitarianism
In _______ societies, every citizen has a set of civil liberties and civil rights, stipulated by law.
This guarantees a private sphere of life for the individual.
liberal-democratic
- In _____ most of our lives are lived in private realm; we are less immersed in national/public realm.
- Liberal democracies thus assume that we are, above all, individuals, before we are members of nation, group, society.
- These rights and liberties may thus also protect individuals or minorities against ‘tyranny of the majority’ oppressing them
Modern societies
o Legal protections against interference in individual life by the state.
o ‘Negative’: they restrain government.
Civil liberties
o Legally-enforced guarantee of fair, equal treatment for all members of society.
o ‘Positive’: govt acts to protect them.
Civil Rights
o The rest of society, considered as a broad whole.
o (Usually) includes economy, religion, media etc.
o Not centrally-administered; more spontaneous.
Civil Society
suggests that we participate indirectly in shaping government by way of broader institutions of civil society – in particular through the public sphere.
18th century saw rise of new ‘public sphere,’ in cafés and newspapers across Europe.
These allowed debate and discourse: they gave a space for us to share opinions.
Thus, even though people weren’t taking direct part in government, they were able to affect it by expressing their views in different fora, even between elections.
presents this public sphere as an institutional form for the discourse ethics.
Jürgen Habermas
o A third space between private home life and political state, in which free debate takes place to form the public voice and influence the powerful.
Public Sphere
_____ try to understand obedience and authority on their own terms:
* How are they constituted in a society?
* What structures and institutions are involved?
* Why do people obey?
Sociologists
When examining power and its institutional forms, many sociologists may try to remain value-neutral (Weber).
_____ however, assume that such institutions are oppressive, and try to undermine them.
Critical Theorists
o Those in positions of power are usually doing it to benefit themselves or their group.
o Those who obey are coerced or tricked.
Critical theories
o Those in power have diverse motives and methods of achieving their goals.
o Those who obey have reasons for doing so.
Symbolic Interactionism
o Institutions of power are there to benefit society as a whole, by keeping it stable.
o Obedience is a sign of a harmonious society.
Structural Functionalism
Social change could occur through the state.
However, not all social change happens in this way.
Sometimes ______ arise without the state’s involvement and sociologists wonder how and why people join them.
Social movements
o Sustained challenges to existing holders of power in the name of a wronged population.
o This population could be a group who feels that its rights have not been respected.
o Members of movements engage in protesting, occupying buildings, sending emails to political leaders, and striking to achieve social change.
Social movements
In many ways, _____ are like routine politics.
* Both seek to garner public support for their issues that might involve efforts to change laws.
* Movement interests might even be incorporated into the agendas of political parties.
Social movements
______ often fight for public goods.
*These are things that are non-excludable and non-rivalrous.
- One person cannot reasonably prevent another from consuming the good (nonexcludable)
- One person’s consumption of the good does not affect another’s (nonrivalrous).
Social Movements
Sociologist and Political Scientist
- Dynamics of Contention
- Contentious politics
- Coercion, Capital, and European States, AD 990–1992
- From mobilization to revolution
Charles Tilly (1929-2008)
______ theorized that social movements require five main elements:
1. Offering sustained challenge to power holders demonstrating commitment.
2. Engaging those with power by people with less power.
3. Representing a wronged population.
4. Disrupting the daily routines of power holders using tactics outside regular politics.
5. Depending on the worthiness, unity, numbers, and commitment of its members (WUNC).
Charles Tilly
Early work on social movements argued that participation in movements was irrational. Given the highs relative to the low benefits, coupled with a small chance for the movement’s success, researchers believed participation had to be based on irrational thought.
The Collective Action Problem
Collective action (free rider) problem
Developed by ____
- People will avoid going to protests because they don’t believe they can make a difference by doing so.
- People tend to avoid participating in collective action because they still benefit from whatever is gained whether they contribute or not.
- This suggests collective action is unlikely to occur even when large groups of people have common interests.
Mancur Olsen.
Many people participate in ______ and they do so in various ways.
* Some might join social movement organizations.
* Others may not join an organization but still attend events like protests.
* Others do things to support social movement causes.
Social Movements
Different methods of engaging in social movements vary along two main dimensions:
- The risk associated with the activity
- The cost of engaging
o Potential participants must weigh what risks they are willing to take for the level of risk they are comfortable with will determine how or if they participate.
- The risk associated with the activity
o Potential participants must think about how much in terms of time and resources they are willing to incur in order to participate in a social movement.
- The cost of engaging
Participation requires four main elements:
- Ideology
- Resources
- Biographical availability
- Social ties and identity
o Ideological commitment is important because it makes people at least cognitively available to participate in a movement.
o Ideology is a significant part of why people participate in protests.
Ideology