Handbook of Social Movements Across Disciplines

269 Pages·2017·3.97 MB·English

by  Klandermans

Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research
Conny Roggeband
Bert Klandermans Editors
Handbook of Social
Movements Across
Disciplines
Second Edition
Handbooks of Sociology and Social
Research
Series Editor
John DeLamater
University of Wisconsin-Madison, MADISON, Wisconsin, USA
EachoftheseHandbookssurveythefieldinacriticalmanner,evaluatingthe-
oreticalmodelsinlightofthebestavailableempiricalevidence.Distinctively
sociological approaches are highlighted by means of explicit comparison to
perspectives characterizing related disciplines such as psychology, psychia-
try,andanthropology.Theseseminalworksseektorecordwherethefieldhas
been,toidentifyitscurrentlocationandtoplotitscourseforthefuture.Ifyou
areinterestedinsubmittingaproposalforthisseries,pleasecontacttheseries
editor, John DeLamater:[email protected].
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/6055
Conny Roggeband Bert Klandermans
(cid:129)
Editors
Handbook of Social
Movements Across
Disciplines
Second Edition
123
Editors
ConnyRoggeband Bert Klandermans
Department ofPolitical Science Department ofSociology
University of Amsterdam VU-University
Amsterdam Amsterdam
TheNetherlands TheNetherlands
ISSN 1389-6903
Handbooks of SociologyandSocial Research
ISBN978-3-319-57647-3 ISBN978-3-319-57648-0 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-57648-0
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2017938561
1stedition:©SpringerScience+BusinessMedia,LLC2010
2ndedition:©SpringerInternationalPublishingAG2017
Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeor
part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of
illustrations,recitation,broadcasting,reproductiononmicrofilmsorinanyotherphysicalway,
andtransmissionorinformationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,
orbysimilarordissimilarmethodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped.
Theuseofgeneraldescriptivenames,registerednames,trademarks,servicemarks,etc.inthis
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are
exemptfromtherelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse.
Thepublisher,theauthorsandtheeditorsaresafetoassumethattheadviceandinformationin
thisbookarebelievedtobetrueandaccurateatthedateofpublication.Neitherthepublishernor
the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material
containedhereinorforanyerrorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade.Thepublisherremains
neutralwithregardtojurisdictionalclaimsinpublishedmapsandinstitutionalaffiliations.
Printedonacid-freepaper
ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbySpringerNature
TheregisteredcompanyisSpringerInternationalPublishingAG
Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland
Contents
1 Displinary Approaches to Social Movements. Introduction
to Second Expanded and Updated Edition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Conny Roggeband and Bert Klandermans
2 Sociological Understandings of Social Movements:
A North American Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Deana A. Rohlinger and Haley Gentile
3 Protest and Social Movements in Political Science . . . . . . . . 33
Kateřina Vráblíková
4 Anthropology and the Study of Social Movements. . . . . . . . 57
Ton Salman and Willem Assies
5 Individuals in Movements: A Social Psychology
of Contention. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Jacquelien van Stekelenburg and Bert Klandermans
6 Historians and the Study of Protest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Brian Dill and Ronald Aminzade
7 Communication Sciences and the Study
of Social Movements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Jonathan Cable
8 Social Movements: Organizations and Organizing. . . . . . . . 203
Frank G.A. de Bakker, Frank den Hond
and Mikko Laamanen
9 Law and Social Movements: An Interdisciplinary
Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Scott L. Cummings
v
1
Displinary Approaches to Social
Movements. Introduction to Second
Expanded and Updated Edition
Conny Roggeband and Bert Klandermans
Abstract
When we published the first edition of this handbook a decade ago, we
noted the rapid growth of scholarly interest in social movements and
collective action in particular since the 1990s and the proliferation of
social movement studies across the social scientific disciplines. In the
decadethatliesbetweenthefirstandsecondeditionofthishandbook,the
field of social movement studies was boosted by new important
mobilizations across the globe that spurred research and led to an
impressive number of recent publications.
Whenwepublishedthefirsteditionofthishand- sive number of recent publications.1 These draw
bookadecadeago,wenotedtherapidgrowthof our attention to contemporary trends of global-
scholarly interest in social movements and col- ization and digitalization of protest and cyberac-
lectiveactioninparticularsincethe1990sandthe tivism. Also, current research provides fresh
proliferationofsocialmovementstudiesacrossthe perspectivesonolderorenduringfeaturesofcol-
socialscientificdisciplines.Inthedecadethatlies lective action such as networking, the role of art
betweenthefirstandsecondeditionofthishand- andperformanceinprotest,ortheuseofrightsand
book, the field of social movement studies was legal action by social movement activists. The
boostedbynewimportantmobilizationsacrossthe ongoing nature of protests and movements con-
globethatspurredresearchandledtoanimpres- stantly raises new research themesand questions
and presents new theoretical challenges that
requirecreativethinking,borrowingandcombin-
ingconceptsandtoolsfromofthedifferentsocial
C.Roggeband(&) scientificdisciplines.
DepartmentofPoliticalScience,University
This second edition therefore covers a wider
ofAmsterdam,Amsterdam,TheNetherlands
e-mail:[email protected] rangeofdisciplinesthatbringimportantinsights,
conceptsandtheoreticaltoolswiththem,making
B.Klandermans
DepartmentofSociology,VU-University social movement a fieldof distinctive theoretical
DepartmentofSociology,Amsterdam,
TheNetherlands
e-mail:[email protected] 1Google scholar gives 168,000 hits for publications on
socialmovementsbetween2007and2017.
©SpringerInternationalPublishingAG2017 1
C.RoggebandandB.Klandermans(eds.),HandbookofSocialMovementsAcrossDisciplines,
HandbooksofSociologyandSocialResearch,DOI10.1007/978-3-319-57648-0_1
2 C.RoggebandandB.Klandermans
pluralism(DellaPorta2016).Newdevelopments different premises. The updated and new contri-
in fields like communication sciences, organiza- butions to this handbook make an important
tionstudiesorlawleadtoafurtherdiversification effort in mapping these disciplinary and cross-
of social movement studies, while the field also disciplinary approaches and in explaining and
continues to expand within sociology and polit- illustrating how these specific theoretical tools
ical science where it principally developed and concepts serve to understand contemporary
(Scalmers 2015). Sociology remains the theo- contentious action and protest.
retical “home front” of social movement studies,
but spillover effects and trading with other dis-
Expansion Across Disciplines
ciplines are central to the development of the
field. As a result, social movements studies in and Further Specialization
socialpsychology,anthropology,organizationor
communication studies are no longer mere aux- A quick search in Google Scholar learns us that
iliary sciences to sociology, but have increas- social movement studies over the last two dec-
ingly developed as distinctive subfields. The ades has become flourishing area of scholarship
emergence of social movement scholarship in a across the social sciences (Table 1.1).
widerscopeofdisciplinesbringsinalargesetof The increase in publications indicates that
new theoretical and conceptual tools to the social movement studies is developing as a dis-
debate that help us understand and analyze cur- tinctive subfield in most of the social sciences.
rent protest. This underlines the importance of Social movement scholars working from these
this project in mapping specific theories and disciplines often combine social movement the-
insights to study social movements that emerge ory as developed within sociology and political
across disciplines, while at the same time keep- science with a range of theories and concepts
ing a close eye on the specific disciplinary from their own disciplines. The recognition of
assumptions, methods and limits that these hold. sociology as founding discipline explains why
The clarification of these differences is a neces- scholars from other disciplines are familiar with
sary requisite for crossing boundaries, stimulat- and often make use of sociological concepts and
ing dialogue and developing interdisciplinary theories,butthatthereverseisstilllesscommon.
approaches and research. This exercise is all the Thebookchaptersdiscussthedevelopmentof
more critical seen the further diversification of specific disciplinary approaches to social move-
the field. While the expansion of the field ments. We asked the authors of the chapters to
potentially bringsinnew theoreticalinsights and describe the core focus of the discipline, to
methodological innovation, it may also have identify the distinctive topics and questions that
more troublesome implications. The establish- are raised and the concepts and methodological
ment of social movement studies as field within tools used. In addition, we asked for a short
different disciplines also leads to specific overview of the development of the field, and to
approaches and standards of explanations that reviewkeystudies.Thechaptersalsodiscussthe
complicate dialogue, cross-fertilization and current research agenda, gaps and unanswered
learning. Disciplinary boundaries often limit questions. This sample demonstrates that further
knowledge transfer and therefor result in a seg- disciplinary specializations allow social move-
mentation that hinders cross-fertilization or syn- ment scholars to forward more precise analyses
thesis. Too often, scholars make similar and interpretations.
arguments but talk past each other because they DeanaRohlingerandHaleyGentile(Chap. 2)
belong to different disciplines, quote different review how sociologists have studied the emer-
bodies of literature and use a different vocabu- gence of social movements and participation in
lary. It is therefore important to identify overlap collective action. They outline the earlier more
and topics of shared interest, but also to explore “structural” approaches that developed within
how shared concepts may be informed by sociology like resource mobilization theory and
1 DisplinaryApproachestoSocialMovements… 3
Table1.1 Numberofpublicationsonsocialmovementsinthedifferentdisciplines(1975–2015)a
1975–84 85–94 95–2004 2005–2015
Sociology 6610 11,700 35,800 56,200
Politicalscience 2000 5410 18,900 29,700
Anthropology 1620 4120 14,900 24,900
History 2650 8111 16,800 17,700
Socialpsychology 1210 1940 5850 16,900
Organizationstudies 50 133 719 5150
Law/legalscholarship 77 451 1690 5480
Communicationsciences 5 26 131 864
aWeusedGoogleScholartosearchforcombinationsofsocialmovementsandthedifferentdisciplines.Thisisarguably
aratherimpreciseinstrumentforanumberofreasons.First,thepresenceofthesearchworddoesnotsimplyindicate
thatthepublicationisindeedusingadistinctivedisciplinarylens.Also,forsomedisciplinesitismoredifficulttodecide
whichsearchkeywordstousethanforothers.Thisisthecaseforhistoryorlaw.Forlawwedecidedtoaddhistorians
andforlawlegalscholars
political process theory and had important spil- Kateřina Vráblíková (Chap. 3) notes that
lover effects to other disciplines, Next, they dis- contentious politics remained a rather marginal
cuss the more recent “cultural turn” that brought topic in political science compared to sociology.
attention to issues like framing and frames, In her chapter she maps the current attention to
emotion, and collective identity. This cultural social movements in the discipline by analyzing
turn according to Rohlinger and Gentile brings the abstracts of the two major political science
important conceptual advancements like a more conferences in the United States (APSA) and
relational approach that allows for dynamic Europe (ECPR). This makes clear that overall,
multi-level analyses of participation. Also, it politicalscientists demonstrate a remarkably low
draws attention to the mobilizing role of affects interest in social movements and protest. Most
and emotions in collective action. These inno- attentiontoprotestandsocialmovementsispaid
vations bring with them methodological chal- by scholar working on political violence. Her
lengeslikehowtoquantifyindividualfeelingsor analysis reveals what are the key topics and
analytically separating overlapping and mutually puzzles, theoretical and analytical approaches,
reinforcing processes of framing and identifica- and methods and data that dominate present day
tion.Assessingthecurrentstateofthefieldinthe political science scholarship on movements and
US and Europe, Rohlinger and Gentile point to protest. Vráblíková points out that despite the
two importantcurrentissues.The first istherole very similar and partly overlapping objects of
of mass media and new social media, an area study, literature about interest groups, civil
with important overlaps with communication society and political participation do not usually
science. Sociologists pay particular attention to refer to studies and concepts from social move-
how social movement organizations build their ments and vice versa. According to Vráblíková
legitimacy with media outlets or use different the field of social movement studies would
media, and the role of media in the spread of benefit from more cross fertilization between
movement ideas. The second issue is the some- political science and sociological approaches to
what understudied issue of movement strategy social movements. She argues that linking the
that benefits from newer more relational methodological diversity and flexibility of social
approaches that help explain why movement movement literature with the political science
activistmakechoicesthatdonotseembeneficial focus on individual-level surveys would yield
to them. important new insights. Also, it would broaden
4 C.RoggebandandB.Klandermans
the scope of the social movements field by psychological consequences of protest are still
integrating other contentious act and actors understudied. Sustained participation, despite its
beyond social movements. importanceforthelongertermsuccessforsocial
Ton Salman and Willem Assies (Chap. 4) movements, is absent in the literature. Disen-
introducethereadertothevariouswaysinwhich gagement, Van Stekelenburg and Klandermans
anthropology contributes to the study of social argue,isrelatedtothedeclineingratificationand
movements. With its focus on the role of culture commitment.
and meaning making in protest and collective Brian Dill and Ron Aminzade (Chap. 6)
action, anthropology gives important insights in reflectonthedistinctivewaysinwhichhistorians
how cultural features emerge as assets, con- have contributed to our understanding of social
straints and learning instances in social move- movements and collective action. They contend
ments. This emphasis on cultural dimensions, thathistoriansexplainprotestorcollectiveaction
Salman and Assies argue, helps to clarify the by constructing a plausible and persuasive nar-
recurrent debate between more structuralist and rativeaboutthesequenceofeventsleadingupto
more agency-focused approaches of social it or the motives that impelled it, rather than
movements. The authors also discuss ethnogra- linking it to institutional or other contextual
phy as a distinctive methodological contribution factors.Tostudysocialmovements,historiansdo
of anthropology to social movement studies. not generate their own data but rely on existing
Salman and Assies argue that this method is key historic sources which require interpretation.
to face the current challenges of analysing the Another distinctive feature is the focus on long
perceptions and motivations of participants with term processes of change and attention to the
regardtomovementgoalsandstrategies.Afocus temporal boundaries demarcating different his-
on the attitudes and actions of participants helps torical periods. By providing detailed historic
to understand social movements as polyvalent, descriptions of processes of change, scholars
multi-layered phenomena, and provides better augment the historical record with respect to
insight in their success and failure. established events, legitimating their particular
Jacquelien Van Stekelenburg and Bert Klan- contribution to the literature by showing how it
dermans (Chap. 5) outline the specific approach fills a gap or omission. Historians often offer
of social psychology to social movements and corrective interpretations of historical move-
protests. They argue that the social psychology ments or protest that challenges the official or
of protest has developed into rich field of established view ofanevent. Dill andAminzade
scholarshipthathasbecomemore rootedinstate argue that historical research with its close
of the art social psychology. Social psychology attention to detail that comes from grounding
focuses on the basic question of why some research in a particular temporal and spatial
individualsparticipateinsocialmovementswhile contextservestoimprove theexplanatory power
othersdonot,orwhysomeindividualsdecideto of social science theories.
quit while others stay involved. Social psychol- Jonathan Cable (Chap. 7) explores the study
ogists explain why individuals identify with a of social movements in the communication
group, and why strong group identification sciences. He outlines four central themes of
reinforces someone’s willingness to take part in protest research. A first line of research deals
protestonbehalfofthatgroup.VanStekelenburg with media representation of social movements
and Klandermans elaborate on four basic social and the factors that impact on how media report
psychological mechanisms—social identity, on protest and collective action. Cable shows
cognition,emotionandmotivation—thatmediate that media coverage has a general focus on the
between collective identity and collectiveaction. tactical approach of social movements in par-
They indicate that the emphasis in social psy- ticular when spectacular or novel tactics are
chology so far has been on the antecedents of used. Next, he reviews research on the methods
protest participation, whereas the social used by activists to communicate their messages