Social Movements lecture 1 -cre 287 fall 2024

 Social Movements

a.      Social movements are great forces for social change

b.      Often hindered by both governments and opponents

 

1.    Understanding Social Movements

a.      Social movement =organized effort by a large number of people to bring about or impede social, political, economic, or cultural change

b.      Major difference between social movements and special-interest groups       

                        i.      Special interest groups normally operate within the system

1.      Conventional political activities such as lobbying, election campaigning

                         ii.      Social movements work outside the system, engaging in various kinds of protests, including demonstrations, picket lines, sit-ins, and sometimes outright violence.

                        iii.      It's a form of political action by other means because they lack the resources and access to the political system that interest groups typically enjoy

2.      Types of Social Movements

a.      Reform social movements -seek limited, though significant, changes in some aspect of the political, economic, or social system

                           i.      Want to improve conditions within an existing political structure

                           ii.      Some of our most important reform movements

1.      Abolitionist movement preceding the Civil War

2.      The women’s suffrage movement after the Civil War

3.      The labor movement

4.      Southern Civil Rights Movement

5.      Vietnam era’s antiwar movement

6.      Contemporary women’s movement

7. The gay rights movement

8.      Environmental movement

b.      Revolutionary movement wants to overthrow the existing government, creating a new one

                         i.      Responsible for great revolutions in Russia, China, and even the American Revolution

                        ii. Like reform movements, revolutionary movements are considered political movements because they seek political changes.

c.      Reactionary movement -also a political movement -tries to block social change or reverse social changes that have been achieved

                        i.  E.g., Antiabortion movement, which seeks to limit or eliminate the legality of abortion.

d.      Self-help movements and religious movements

                            i. Self-help movements involve people trying to improve aspects of their personal lives

1.      alcoholics Anonymous and Weight Watchers

                          ii.      Religious movements aim to reinforce religious beliefs among members and to convert others to their beliefs

1.      Early Christianity proselytizing

3.      The Origins of Social Movements

a.      What are the cultural, social, and other factors that give rise to social movements

                            i. They do not arise out of a vacuum, but as people become sufficiently discontented, they often push for social movements to come into being

                            ii.      Social movements attract specific individuals because of their views

4.      Discontent with existing conditions

a.      People dissatisfied with certain political, economic, or other problems begin to join social movements

b.      There must be structural strain or other social problems that produce frustration or anger

                           i.      Without this, people would not have a reason to protest, and social movements would not arise

c.      These conditions must lead to shared discontents or shared grievances

                           i.      Where sufficient people feel deprived relative to other groups

1.      Called relative deprivation

a.      They feel, relative to others, that they are not advancing as well as others, and their social conditions are not perceived as improving

b.      They become frustrated as their hopes for change or improvement do not keep pace with others or what was anticipated does not happen.

c. If social conditions are perceived as improving, then people stop. If they perceive that their lives are not getting any better, they become frustrated, which can result in protests, collective violence, or other forms of social movement activity.

d.      Relatively deprivation involves feelings/perceptions that are more important for their involvement than their level of actual deprivation.

                                                                                                            i. i. However, frustration does not necessarily lead to protests, as individuals are likelier to blame themselves for the deprivation and, thus, less likely to protest.

e.      Discontent does not always lead to social movements or other forms of collective behavior

                            i.      Prison riots, for example, do not always occur, even with a high degree of discontent.

                            ii. Thus, while discontent is a necessary component for social movements, it does not guarantee that social movements will come into being.

                            iii.      There may be many people who oppose racial, homophobic, or sexual attacks..but few actually participate in social movements to halt these.

5.      Social Networks and Recruitment

a.      People are much more likely to participate in social movement activity when they are asked or urged to by friends, acquaintances, and family members.

                       i.      Issues do not automatically drive people into the streets

                        ii.      It takes someone reaching out to them through social networks to pull or recruit them into social movements

                        iii.      Recruitment essential facts of social movement life -cannot succeed if it does not draw significant members into the movement

                        iv.      Electronic recruitment means have become a central focus of new forms of social movement.

b. Now there is Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, threads, GroupMe, the dark web.. etc.…that reach millions through social media, smartphone apps, etc.,  mobilizing, recruiting, and facilitating protests and other political activities.

                        i. Consider the most recent protests..see the guide to social media and social movements in the announcement.

6.      Resource Mobilization and Political Opportunities

a.      Resource mobilization theory -assumes that social movement activity is a rational response to unsatisfactory conditions in society

                      i. These related to or produce discontent

b.      but these, while necessary, are not sufficient to create a social movement

                       i.      must have leaders able to mobilize resources

1.      such as time, money, and energy

2.      and direct these into effective political action.

c.      Resource mobilization is often criticized because it ignores or underestimates the importance of harsh social conditions and discontent

                         i.      It is not either or. But both and..

                         ii.      Emotions must also be taken into consideration.

1.      People must be both emotionally connected and act rationally to pursue specific outcomes

d.      Political opportunity theory is more likely to arise when a repressive government becomes more democratic or when it weakens because of economic or foreign crisis

                         i.      Political opportunities can come into being, which increases the likelihood that people will act

1.      This explains why democracies produce more social movements than authoritarian societies

a.      Activists feel freer to engage actively without fear of reprisals, arrests, beatings, or other repressive responses from the government.

7.      The Life Cycle of Social movement

a.      Social movements differ -they go through life cycles marked by several stages

                         i.      Stage 1 emergence -the movement begins for one or more reason

                         ii.      Stage 2 coalescence -decide how to recruit new members and determine the strategies to achieve goals

1.      What media, methods, and strategies will they employ to make their demands known or achieve their objectives.

                         iii.      Stage 3: institutionalization or bureaucratization -as the movement grows, it develops an organizational structure, often with paid leaders and paid staff that replace the volunteers that began the movement

1.      Clear lines of authority

2.      Attention devoted to fund-raising

3.      They often reduce their effectiveness by turning disruptive activities that succeeded in the early stages of movement into more conventional activities—working within the system instead of outside of it.

4.      If they do not bureaucratize to some extent, they tend to lose focus and cohesiveness and lack the resources to continue.

iv.      Stage 4 decline -all social movements eventually reach this stage for one reason or another

1.      Sometimes the goals have been achieved or there is no reason to continue as the causes no longer exists

2.      Sometimes they simply fail, they lack money and enthusiasm, or they become fragmented

3.      Sometimes, they can be coopted by the government -where some partial victories are granted, or some leaders are bought off with jobs, money or etc.

a.      Or the leaders can be jailed or threatened with imprisonment                                                                     

                                i. Police violence against the Southern civil rights movement/black lives matter, campus protests surrounding Palestinians and Israel,  etc. Has worked well as arrests/incarceration or the threat of loss of jobs, scholarships, etc., has deterred activists, thus stifling descent.

8.      How Social Movements make a difference

a.      They operate outside of the political system by engaging in protests

                          i.      Rallies, demonstrations, sit-ins, and vigils are difficult to ignore

                          ii. These make it in the news and on social media and, therefore, attract more attention and followers, which brings even more pressure on government agencies, corporations, and other targets of the protests.

                          iii.      Social movement success, such as the Abolition movement that led ultimately to the Civil War and the end of slavery

                          iv.      Women’s suffrage movement -that led to women finally getting the right to vote.

                          v. The #metoomovement -more recently, that has increased our awareness of the discrimination, abuses, and ordeals faced by women.

b.      Political consequences -more people now vote, more laws on the books and being enforced protecting women’s and LGBTQ2+ rights, but there is more to be done..

c.      Cultural outcomes—our values, music forms, literature, and even fashion have changed as we have confronted child labor, environmental degradation, and global conflicts.

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