1Collective Action and Social MovementsSociology 1001: IntroductionCharles Tilly‘From Mobilization toRevolution’Douglas McAdam‘Freedom Summer’Collective Action  When people engage in collective action, they act in unison to bring about or resist social, political, and economic change Some are routine Non-violent and follow established patterns of behavior in bureaucratic structures Some are non-routine ‘usual conventions cease to guide social action and people transcend, bypass or subvert established institutional patterns or structures’ What are examples of each?Breakdown Theory One of three conditions must be met for non-routine collective action A group must be economically deprived or socially rootless Often relativerather than absolute deprivation Their norms must be strained or disrupted They must lose their capacity to act ‘rationally’ by getting ‘caught up’ in the crowd LeBon and Crowd Behavior2Assessing Breakdown Theory Deprivation Levels of deprivation, relative or other, are not typically associated with the frequency or intensity of collective action Contagion Non-routine collective action may be violent and wild but it is clearly structured Strain Non-routine collective action often reflects deeply held norms rather than a breakdown in normsSocial Movements BT has it that people rebel after social breakdown occurs In reality, people often find it difficult to turn discontent into an enduring social movement SMs emerge only with a stable membership and an organizational baseSolidarity Theory Most collective action is part of a power struggle The struggle intensifies as disadvantaged groups become more powerful Power accrues through increased membership, better organization, increased access to resources Resource mobilization refers to a process by which groups engage in more collective action as their power increases3Solidarity Theory (cont’d) Collective action tends to occur in the context of political opportunities Moments of political decision making (i.e., elections) Support from influential allies Destabilization of political bases Conflict and fragmentation of elitesSolidarity Theory (cont’d) Collective action produces government reactions These take the form of social control measures Concessions Co-optation Violent repressionFraming Discontent What lies between the capacity to mobilize resources and the recruitment of movement members? Frame alignment is the process by which individual interests, beliefs, and values either become congruent with the activities, ideas, and goals of the movement or fail to do so SM leaders reach out to other organizations that they see as sympathetic Activists can stress popular values or positive beliefs Can stretch activities or objectives4Determinants of Collective Action and Social Movement FormationSOCIAL BREAKDOWN (Why?)(industrialization, urbanization, mass migration, unemployment, etc)SOCIAL REORGANIZATION (How?)(redistribution of power among groups)COLLECTIVE ACTION AND SOCIAL MOVEMENT FORMATIONPOLITICAL OPPORTUNTIES (When?)(electoral instability, elite divisiveness, shifting coalitions, etc.)FRAMING (Who?)(alignment, bridging, amplification, extension)SOCIAL CONTROL(concessions, co-optation, repression‘New’ Social Movements Goals Promote the rights of humanity as a whole Peace, security, sustainability, environmentalism Promote the rights of the ‘ignored’oppressed Women’s movement, Gay rights movement Universal citizenship‘New’ Social Movements (cont’d) Membership Attract a large number of non-oppressed Highly educated, wealthy people from social, educational, and cultural fields More knowledgeable (?), but less connected Globalization Potential Traditional SMs were national New SMs are increasingly involved in international politics Eg.