Social movements such as environmentalism, feminism, nationalism, and the anti-immigration movement are a prominent feature of the modern world and have attracted increasing attention from scholars in many countries. Comparative Perspectives on Social Movements, first published in 1996, brings together a set of essays that focus upon mobilization structures and strategies, political opportunities, and cultural framing and ideologies. The essays are comparative and include studies of the former Soviet Union and eastern Europe, the United States, Italy, the Netherlands, and Germany. Their authors are amongst the leaders in the development of social movement theory and the empirical study of social movements.

This book examines why citizens resort to the often risky and demanding strategy of using disruptive protest when other channels of political intervention appear to be available. It analyzes the relationship between protest movements and the formal political system.; This book is intended for postgraduate and undergraduate sociology and politics students on courses in political sociology, comparative politics and social movements. Also of strong interest within social psychology, social anthropology, contemporary history and social geography.

Frames of Protest brings together important empirical research and theoretical essays by leading sociologists, political scientists, and media specialists that focus on social movement frames and framing practices. Frames are new ways of understanding political and social relations that emphasize injustice and the need for change. As such, they are crucial for the development of social movements and protest. Frames of Protest is the only book to focus exclusively on this major research perspective in social movement and protest studies. Thirteen chapters encompass the major themes in the framing perspective to offer a state-of-the-art review. Three chapters present evidence for the determining influence of framing in social movement mobilization. Next, framing activities by the state and the mass media are analyzed. Then, two research reports examine the effect of political opportunities on framing-in Poland under the Communists and in New York City's ethnic politics. Several chapters by leading theorists present a lively debate about the relationship of ideologies to collective action frames. The book closes with a hands-on discussion about analyzing textual materials and interview transcripts to do frame analysis that lends itself to longitudinal and cross-case comparisons.

The author of this volume offers an exploration and application of contemporary social-movement theory and examines the different ways that European and North American scholars have thought about social movements since the Second World War. Also incuded in the text is an examination of three movements that captured attention during the 1980s, West German Greens, Poland's Solidarity and Peru's Shining Path.

Unlike political or economic institutions, social movements have an elusive power, but one that is no less real. From the French and American revolutions through the democratic and workers' movements of the nineteenth century to the totalitarian movements of today, movements exercise a fleeting but powerful influence on politics and society. This study surveys the history of the social movement, puts forward a theory of collective action to explain its surges and declines, and offers an interpretation of the power of movement that emphasises its effects on personal lives, policy reforms and political culture. While covering cultural, organisational and personal sources of movements' power, the book emphasises the rise and fall of social movements as part of political struggle and as the outcome of changes in political opportunity structure.

Provides a new way of thinking about parties formed by social movements, and their evolution over time.

Although the fields of organization theory and social movement theory have long been viewed as belonging to different worlds, recent events have intervened, reminding us that organizations are becoming more movement-like - more volatile and politicized - while movements are more likely to borrow strategies from organizations. Organization theory and social movement theory are two of the most vibrant areas within the social sciences. This collection of original essays and studies both calls for a closer connection between these fields and demonstrates the value of this interchange. Three introductory, programmatic essays by leading scholars in the two fields are followed by eight empirical studies that directly illustrate the benefits of this type of cross-pollination. The studies variously examine the processes by which movements become organized and the role of movement processes within and among organizations. The topics covered range from globalization and transnational social movement organizations to community recycling programs.