POLS241 Midterm p.2 Flashcards
What is contentious politics and what is its contradiction?
-Contentious politics consists of public, collective making of consequential claims by connected clusters of persons on other clusters of persons or on major political actors, when at least one government is a claimant, an object of claims, or a third party to the claims
-coined by Sidney tarrow and Charles Tilly, referring to the pursuit of collective goods outside formal political institutions.
-Contradiction: It is distinctive in the sense that some features of contentious politics appear nowhere else in social life. When change is not possible through formal institutions (legislature, constitution… etc).
What are some types of contentious politics?
-1. Social movements: Ongoing organized collective action oriented toward a goal of social change. Mobilization means the engagement of individuals and groups in sustained contention.
-2.Revolutions: Revolutions that dramatically change social structures (political revolutions or Anti-colonial revolutions).
3.Civil wars and insurgencies: Insurgencies are contention with formalized military conflicts while civil wars entail sustained military conflict between domestic actors.
4.-Terrorism: A tactic used by some participants of revolutions that involve violence directed at nonmilitary targets.
What are grievances and discontent?
- Relative deprivation explains grievances: it holds that grievances result when a gap develops between peoples expectation and their ability to satisfy those expectations.
-Strain theory suggests that major social change causes social “strain” or conflict that increases demand for revolution.
How can we separate a revolution from a social movement?
-We can separate these from social movements because of their scope and differences in goals. Social movements are reformist but do not happen with the aim of dramatic structural transformation.
What is rational choice and collective action theory?
-From mid 1960’s, new perspective emerged that was developed by American economist Mancur Olson. Led rationalist-oriented scientists to focus on the micro-foundations of collective action.
-Based on assumption that individuals choose course of action most in line with their needs.
-Grievances alone cannot explain mobilization.
-Olson argued that rational people, might very well avoid taking action when they see that others are others are willing to act on their behalf (free rider problem or self interested peoples).
What is resource mobilization theory (RMT)
-Researched about by John Mcarthey and Mayer Zedd.
-argue that social movements success rests on the resources available to it.
-Agreed with Olson that the collective action problem was real, but they went on to argue that the expanded personal resources, professionalization, and financial support available to citizens in these societies provided them with an answer to the dilemma – professional movement organizations.
- Collective action problem was real but so were the solutions to it that social movement organizations were designed to enact.
-Grievances can be manufactured, what really matters is resources.
Describe political opportunity structures
-American scholars like Eisinger (1973), the Tilly(1975), Piven and Cloward (1977), McAdam 1982, [1999], Tarrow (1989) , and, most recently, Amenta (2006) saw collective action as both a response to, and an influence on institutional politics.
-Definition: Are features of regimes that affect the likely outcomes of actors’ possible claims.
- Opportunities that might facilitate contentious action: elite conflict and the opening of a political system, creation of new groups of communication technologies that facilitate organizing.
What are opportunities that would facilitate contentious action?
-Opportunities that might facilitate contentious action would be elite conflict and the opening of a political system, creation of new groups of communication technologies that facilitate organizing.
What are cultural framing theories?
- Cultural “framing” theories argue that previous theories like resource mobilization of political opportunity theory pay insufficient attention to variation in how social movement and revolutionary actors think about their participation, and the causal impact of how movements and revolutions are framed.
-Alberto Melucci (1980), saw movements as carriers of new cultural codes.
What is the integrated approach?
-Articulated by McAdam, Tarrow and Tilly. Needed all the theories to function properly.
-Political opportunity structure: what does the political landscape look like, and is it likely that a social movement could achieve its goals.
Mobilizing structures: “collective vehicles through which people initially mobilize and begin to engage in sustained collective action.
Framing processes: Leaders frame the problem, the solution, and the call to action to convince people to mobilize.
Protest cycles: Activism ebbs and flows over time.
What is Micheal Lipskys take on political process theory?
-Micheal lipsky in 1970’s held that ebb and flow of protest activity was a function of changes that left the broader political system more vulnerable or more receptive to the demands of particular groups.
Who are the scholars spoken upon so far and what have they done?
Benedict Anderson: Language and texts produced nationalism.
Ernest Gellner: Nationalism came from emergence of print capitalism (growing relations).
Marx Anthony: Exclusion central to nation building.
Andreas Wimmter: Emergence of nation through model of exchange relationships between political elites and the masses.
John Mcarthey and Mayer Zedd: Resource Mobilization theory (RMT).
Douglas Mcadam, Peter Esinger and Michael Lipsky: Political process theory.
Alberto Melucci: Cultural framing. Argue that the participation of revolutionary actors need to be emphasized as well as how movements and revolutions targets are framed.
Sidney tarrow and Charles Tilly: contentious politics
McAdam, Tarrow and Tilly: Integrated approach.
What are the causes of mass discontent?
- Rapid deterioration in material living conditions, which may occur for the whole population during economic depression or only some groups.
2.Invasion, victor may exploit resources and labor power (e.g. Germans and Japanese)
3.Native ruling class that is not only culturally like the imperialist power but politically and economically dependent on it.
4.Discontent resulting from unjust regime uniting classes.
