Social Movements final

Question 1

What are social movements?

Answer 1

• political and social action
• collective action
• Tilly and Wood (2012): can include marshes, rallies, petitions, protests, strikes, WUNC displays and claim making

Question 2

What are the four components of WUNC?

Answer 2

Worthiness, Unity, Numbers, Commitment

Question 3

What does worthiness stand for?

Answer 3

Using mothers, children, elderly and religious leaders displays high levels of worthiness. Displaying worthiness is a communication strategy

Question 4

What does unity stand for?

Answer 4

standing out, wearing the same t-shirt, holding the same signs, holding hands (solidarity), chanting the same message

Question 5

What does numbers stand for?

Answer 5

many people in the protest, petitions, “we represent”, social media, in the way one speaks about history, small events in multiple places (representing a global movement)

Question 6

What does commitment stand for?

Answer 6

multiple protests - repeatedly over a long period of time - (not just one protest but weekly ones), striking (e.g. Greta Thunberg), hunger strikes, sacrifice, boycotting companies etc., willing to get arrested, willing to engage in risky action and violence (however, this may harm your worthiness)

Question 7

What is mass society theory (Kornhauser, 1959)?

Answer 7

Mass movements mobilise people who are alienated from the going system, who do not believe in the legitimacy of the established order, and who therefore are ready to engage in efforts to destroy it. Alienation occurs as people move to new cities and society becomes more complex, the traditions of religion and family and breaking down, making people feel isolated and this results with them acting out. Idea of social movements as deviance

Question 8

What is collective behaviour (value added) - Smesler (1962)?

Answer 8

1. Conditions of structural conduciveness permit or encourage certain types of collective behaviour
2. Structural strain create real or anticipated deprivation (relative deprivation)
3. Growth and spread of a generalised belief makes situation meaningful - Spread of a collective belief about what (or who) the problem is, along with ideas surrounding how to fix the problem
4. Precipitating factors - dramatic event.
5. Mobilisation for action
6. Social control may act to prevent collective behavior
   Not rational, but a reaction

Question 9

What is the theory of relative deprivation (Gurr, 1970)?

Answer 9

• The poorest are not always the once to mobilise, not do people always protest when conditions are worst
• People mobilise when there is a significant difference between their expectations and conditions
• Based on comparison: how people feel in comparison to other people in society

Question 10

What is resource mobilisation?

Answer 10

Movements are more successful if they have access to resources (e.g. money, allies, support from other organisations). Movements are like organisations/businesses and they need numbers, skills and connections

Question 11

Evaluation of resource mobilisation

Answer 11

• theory cannot be universally applied
• theory overlooks how some movements that lack resources still mobilise
• some theories are sparked by political unrest
• overlooks wider context and cultural factors

Question 12

What is political process theory/political opportunity structure?

Answer 12

The emergence of a social movement depends on:

• The level of organisation within the aggrieved population (existing social ties impact participation and insurgency)
• The collective assessment of the prospects for successful insurgency within the same population (insurgent consciousness)
• The political alignment of groups within the larger political environment (structure of political opportunities available of insurgent groups)

Question 13

Outline McAdam’s critique of resource mobilisation theory

Answer 13

McAdam argues that movements are rational actors who are able to determine what they need to mobilize. It is not the people suffering that protest, but those who have the means to process. McAdam critiques RM for overlooking the historical/social context

Question 14

How is political process different from the classic social movement model?

Answer 14

The classic model argues that people rise up because of system strain (e.g. relative deprivation). They react to changing economic conditions, a psychological feeling of stress and alienation. The political process model argues that political unrest (not strain) is the key factor in mobilisation

Question 15

What is insurgent consciousness?

Answer 15

The collective assessment of the prospects for successful insurgency within the same population

Question 16

What are the effects of new technologies on social movements?

Answer 16

• localisation (a weakening identification of local activists to the movement as a whole)
• networked individualism
• strategic advantage for poor organisations

Question 17

What are the eight states of social movements?

Answer 17

1. Normal times
2. Prove the failure of institutions
3. Ripening conditions
4. Social movement take off
5. Identify crisis of powerlessness
6. Majority public support
7. Success
8. Continuing the struggle

Question 18

What is framing?

Answer 18

A process that movements engage in in order to mobilise new people, influence authorities, communicate their messages, express their identity

Question 19

What is frame bridging?

Answer 19

Frame bridging: connecting two frames (e.g. environmental justice and social justice become environmental justice OR environmental racism)

Question 20

What is frame alignment?

Answer 20

Frame alignment: aligning frames with dominant cultural ideas

Question 21

What is frame transformation?

Answer 21

Frame transformation: using frame to transform meanings

Question 22

What is Freire’s argument in ‘The Pedagogy of the oppressed?

Answer 22

The task of the oppressed is to liberate themselves and their oppressors - the idea that those at the top are stuck in the system and can’t see beyond it. On the other hand, those that are oppressed understand the extent of their oppression so they have the power to dismantle it

Question 23

What is collective action?

Answer 23

• Politics as expression of interests, ideologies, organisations
• Action = resources (i.e. organisations and money) + networks + collective identity
• Collective Action Frames
• Challenge is recruitment and mobilization.

Question 24

What is connective action?

Answer 24

• Politics as expression of personal hopes, lifestyles and grievances via personal action frames
• Action = weak ties (ties you can access when you need to, they are good for spreading information but aren’t very good for providing support in crisis) + identity + personalised content

Question 25

What does Bernstein say about identity?

Answer 25

Identity can be seen as a resource, a goal and a strategy

Question 26

What are political consequences of social movements?

Answer 26

The effects of movement activities that alter the movement’s political environment

Question 27

What are biographical consequences of social movements?

Answer 27

Personal and biographical consequences refer to the effects on the life-course of individuals who have participated in movement activities

Question 28

What are cultural consequences of social movements?

Answer 28

• Social psychological: culture is embodied in individual values, beliefs and meanings
• Sociological: culture is formed by signs and their signified meanings
  Broader: culture frames the worldview and social situation of communities or subcultures