Hoorcollege 13: Social Movements

Question 1

Rise of social movements

Answer 1

1. Increase since the 70s
2. Important for the role of cleavages in society and in a party system
3. Many new parties have emerged from social movements

Question 2

Contentious politics

Answer 2

1. Term to describe that politics doesn’t always work top-down, but often bottom-up too. Example is Rosa Parks deciding to not sit in the back of the bus.
2. Actors make collective claims on other actors.
3. If these claims (actions such as protests, civil disobedience, terrorism) are realised, they would affect the interests of parties involved.
4. These claims touch the government in the broadest possible sense

Question 3

What is a social movement?

Answer 3

It is an organised form contentious politics, but less organised than an interest group or political party

Question 4

Most important characteristics of a social movement

Answer 4

1. There is collective action
2. There is an orientation towards an opponent
3. There is a recurrence or repetition, not just one statement
4. There is some degree of organisation

Question 5

Old (proven false) theory on why some grievances are mobilised into social movements and why some are successful and others not

Answer 5

1. Social movements as a reaction to high transformation where there is deprivation
2. This means there are grievances against that imbalance in the system

Question 6

Three contemporary theories on why some grievances are mobilised into social movements and why some are successful and others not

Answer 6

1. Political process model
2. Resource mobilisation theory
3. Framing theory

Question 7

Political process model

Answer 7

1. Based on the idea of political opportunity structures.
2. Opportunity structures limit or empower actors.
3. These structures can be electoral/party systems, cleavages, institutions, or states.
4. They can give actors tools or restrict their actions.
5. Looks at how open or closed these structures are

Question 8

Resource mobilisation theory

Answer 8

1. Says that resources decide whether or not a social movement is successful
   Can be about:
2. Material resources: money, time, computers, transportation
3. Moral resources: their position in society is seen as pure because they haven’t dabbled into politics, is there a good/popular point to make?
4. Cultural resources: cultural capital, being comfortable with institutions and different kinds of people, important for mobilisation
5. Skill resources: knowledge, experience, skills to speak for example, labour

Question 9

Framing theory

Answer 9

1. Suggests that whether or not a social movement is successful depends on the way in which they can frame the issues the movement is concerned with in order to mobilise people.
   Three things important:
2. Diagnosis: What is the problem? Who is to blame? What are the causes? Who and what is behind it?
3. Prognosis: What is to be done? How to solve the problem?
4. Motivation: consequence of the prognosis; why will individuals act?
5. Helps to explain the success or failure of social movements, why a grievance is mobilised.
6. Sort of their ideology

Question 10

How social movements turn into movement parties and view on this

Answer 10

1. When social movements move into the electoral arena
2. Seen as irrational and dangerous for the survival of the social movement.
3. When becoming a party you may be releasing some of your social movement ideas in order for the party to survive.

Question 11

Why social movements turn to electoral politics

Answer 11

1. Due to political learning: they have goals that they see needs reorganisation of society through politics and thus need to form alliances with other parties. The ideology turns vague because of this, but has to be clear enough about the issues of the social movement.
2. They overestimate how well they will do in politics because there is a lack of information due to institutional barriers or opportunity structures
3. They see an opportunity to act, partly because the salience of that issue is high

Question 12

Party structure/characteristics of movement parties

Answer 12

1. Invest little in institutional organisation
2. Spend little time in aggregating interests
3. Attempt to engage in street action and electoral politics
4. Do decide later on to enter more electoral politics

Question 13

What happens when social movements turn into movement parties

Answer 13

They often lose their movement nature and turn into a political party for two reasons:
1. They are forced by trying to get voters through spatial competition to expand their issues
2. They have to deal with the iron rule of oligarchy which says then when you enter electoral politics, you have to centralise leadership and become more organised