Civil society & Social Movements [Hanspeter Kriesi ]

Social movements Have Action Repertoires of their own. Explain

action repertoires, - the set of tactics, strategies, and methods they use to achieve their goals. These repertoires evolve over time and are influenced by historical experiences, cultural norms, available resources, and the political environment.

• Charles Tilly. He argued that collective actions (like protests, strikes, sit-ins, or petitions) are not random but instead follow established patterns that movements use based on past successes and failures.

Collective Behavior vs Action Repertoires

1. Collective Behavior:

• Spontaneous, unstructured social actions (e.g., riots, panics, crowds).

• Occurs in response to sudden events or emotions.

• Less organized, unpredictable, and short-lived.

2. Action Repertoires:

• Planned, structured tactics used by social movements.

• Based on historical patterns and strategic choices.

• More organized, goal-oriented, and sustainable over time.

Key Difference: Collective behavior is often impulsive and short-term, while action repertoires are deliberate and used repeatedly by movements to achieve change.

what did [ Meyer & Tarrow ] say?

“Social movement society”

Social protests is a perpetual element of modern life

shift in democratic polities, social movements are more frequent

Protest behavior:

collective actions taken by individuals or groups to express dissent, demand change, or challenge authority.

____ and _____: transforms social movement into an instrument within conventional politics.

“Professionalization and Institutionalization: transforms social movement into an instrument within conventional politics.”

• Professionalization:

  • Movements develop formal leadership and paid staff.

  • NGOs, advocacy groups, or lobbying organizations emerge.

• Institutionalization:

  • Movements integrate into the political system.

    • They influence policymaking through lobbying, legislation, or political parties.

Impact of Professionalization and Institutionalization

• Positive: Increased legitimacy, political influence, and sustainability.

• Negative: Risk of losing grassroots activism, bureaucratization, and reduced radicalism.

  • Grassroots Activism(Bottom-up, community-driven efforts): Community-driven, decentralized, and direct-action focused.

  • Bureaucratization: Formal structures, leadership, and rules emerge, making movements more organized but less flexible.

  • Reduced Radicalism: As movements integrate into mainstream politics, they often adopt moderate strategies, losing their initial disruptive edge.

Specifying Character of Conflict [2]

Character of Conflict

1. Open-ended Conflict:

   • Unpredictable and evolving, without a clear resolution.

   • Can escalate, de-escalate, or transform over time.

   • Example: Long-standing social justice movements (e.g., climate activism, civil rights).

2. Narrow Range/View:

   • Seen as a form of Contentious Politics (Tilly & Tarrow).

   • Focuses on organized challenges against authority.

   • Includes protests, strikes, and political mobilization.

   • Example: Labor movements challenging workplace policies.

Conflict in social movements can be fluid or structured, depending on historical, political, and strategic factors.

Contentious Politics.

Definition: Collective actions that challenge authority outside formal institutions.

Key Features:

• Group-based: Collective, not individual efforts.

• Oppositional: Challenges power structures.

• Political Impact: Seeks policy or social change.

• Non-Institutional: Uses protests, strikes, revolutions.

Examples: Arab Spring, Black Lives Matter.
Scholars: Charles Tilly, Sidney Tarrow.

Snow “___” or ___ (2) of ___ and ___ (2)

• Social Movements as Challengers or Defenders(2) of Existing Institutional Authority 

  • Political, corporate, religious, educational realm 

•  and Cultural Authority 

  • Systems of belief, practices 

Existing Institutional Authority vs Cultural Authority 

Social movements can either challenge or defend existing authority in two key areas:

1. Institutional Authority:

   • Political: Pro-democracy movements vs. authoritarian defenders.

   • Corporate: Labor unions vs. pro-business groups.

   • Religious: Reformist religious movements vs. traditionalists.

   • Educational: Student protests vs. school policy enforcers.

2. Cultural Authority:

   • Belief Systems: Feminist movements vs. traditional gender roles.

   • Practices: LGBTQ+ rights vs. conservative moral defenders.

   • Social Norms: Anti-racism activists vs. cultural purists.

Challengers vs Defenders

Movements can act as forces of change (challengers) or preservation (defenders), shaping both institutional and cultural landscapes.

Why is womens movement considered narrow range, but is not as narrow as it seems?

Narrow range —> assumption that it only addresses gender equality or women’s rights in isolation.

not as narrow as it seems because:

1. Challenges Cultural Authority – It fights patriarchal values, reshaping societal beliefs.

2. Engages in Political Struggles – Mobilizes women to demand equal rights, democracy, and peace.

3. Addresses Broader Social Issues – Tackles education, healthcare, labor rights, and violence affecting entire communities.

open ended vs narrow range

• Open-Ended: Fluid, evolving, with no fixed outcome (e.g., feminism adapting to new issues).

• Narrow-Range: Focused, defined within specific limits (e.g., women’s movement seen only as gender equality activism).

feminism vs womens movement

Feminism is the belief system(ideology), while the women’s movement is the organized action based on that ideology.

Three Constitutive Components of social movements

1.Collective Goal : Group of People with conflictual orientation towards an opponent

2. Collective Identity: set of common beliefs and goals

3. Collective actions : Repertoire of collective actions

1.Collective Goal :

• Movement participants must be connected: share common goal

• [Diani & Bison] Social movement in Conflictive Collective Action: based on dense informal interorganizational networks.

• Conflictive Collective Action

Conflictive collective action refers to organized group efforts that involve direct confrontation, opposition, or struggle against authorities, institutions, or dominant social norms. These actions often arise in response to perceived injustice, oppression, or exclusion.

2. Collective Identities

• Social movements require all participants in dense informal networks to share a strong common identity.

• Collective Identity

  • based on informal networks that reinforces itself.

• Social movements vs Coalitions: element of collective identities distinguishes movements from coalition.

• Social movements vs Coalitions: element of collective identities distinguishes movements from coalition.— WHY?

• Social Movements: Defined by collective identity, shared values, and long-term commitment (e.g., feminism, civil rights).

• Coalitions: Temporary alliances between groups with different identities but a common short-term goal (e.g., labor unions and environmental groups uniting for policy change).

Key Difference: Collective identity unites movements, while coalitions are strategic and issue-based.

3. Collective Action

• Any goal-directed activity engaged jointly by two or more individuals. Common objective

  • Non institutionalized collective action: do not have access to decision making arenas in parliament or state administration

Media’s Role

All political actors fight for public attention. However, groups like social movements, which lack regular access to decision-making, are especially reliant on it.

3 P’s( and explain)

• Public Sphere: political communication between decision-makers and citizens, but no decisions are made here.

• Public Debate: part of the political process.

• Political Contest : attention of public on political issues, its support for political actors, and their public opinion

2 types of strategies to draw attention to a social movements cause

• (1) Protest Politics : protest events in public sphere

  • (2) Information Politics: Gathering credible information and using it strategically at carefully chosen locations."

Publicity created by protest pursues 2 objectives.

• (1) Public Debate

• (2)Increase Standing and Legitimacy

Ideas to gain resonance and legitimacy, explain

1. Resonance ( The ability of a movement’s ideas to connect emotionally and intellectually with the public.)

   1. attracts public attention and emotional engagement.

2. Legitimacy (The perception that a movement is credible, justified, and worthy of support.)

   1. secures media coverage, allies, and policy influence.

Standing vs Right Framing

1. Standing (Voice in Media):

   • The ability of a movement to gain visibility and credibility in public discourse.

     • Standing ensures a movement is heard.

2. Right Framing (Effective Messaging):

   • Creating central ideas (frames) that shape how the public perceives the movement.

   • Frames must be relatable, compelling, and aligned with public values.

     • Right Framing ensures it is understood and supported.

Public Debate is not the ___ ___

Public Debate is not the ultimate goal.

• social movements does utlimate goal does not stop at creating discussion/ conflict, it aims for change.

what does Non institutionalized protest politics mean

• no (direct) access to decision making arena, uses public arena.

• collective actions taken outside formal political channels to demand change

  • challenge authority without relying on traditional institutions like elections, lobbying, or legal systems.

[Charles Tilly] Problem of “3 constitutive components of social movement”

Collective Goal, Collective Identity, Collective Action these don’t always develop at the same time. A movement may:

• Keep its goal and identity but shift tactics, moving away from protests.

• Gain institutional access (like political representation) and focus on policy change instead of street activism.

Example: A student movement for education reform may start with protests but later work within the government to push policy changes.

What happens when organizations abandon protest politics and obtain institutionalized access to decision making arenas?

Effects of Abandoning Protest Politics

• Shift from activism to policymaking (lobbying, negotiations).

Opposite Development: Losing Institutional Access

• Established actors lose power and turn to protests for leverage.

Audience Democracy & Blurred Lines

• Both politicians and movements use protests to gain attention.