Social Movement Theory Review: Weeks 1–7

This flashcard set covers the essential vocabulary, theoretical frameworks, and key concepts used to analyze the emergence, organization, and consequences of social movements.

Social movement

A network of informal interactions between individuals, groups, and organizations sharing a collective identity and engaging in conflict to promote or resist social change, typically developing over time.

Collective identity

A shared sense of “we” among movement participants, where individuals perceive their experiences as connected to a broader shared struggle.

WUNC displays

Public demonstrations of Worthiness, Unity, Numbers, and Commitment, which Charles Tilly argues movements use to communicate их strength and legitimacy.

Repertoire of contention

The limited and historically shaped set of protest tactics (e.g., petitions, strikes, boycotts) that people know and draw upon when making collective claims.

Framing

The process through which movement actors interpret a situation and construct meaning, identifying problems (diagnostic), solutions (prognostic), and reasons for action (motivational).

Resource Mobilization Theory (RMT)

A theoretical approach emphasizing that mobilization depends on the ability to acquire and use material and non-material assets (money, time, skills, networks) rather than on grievances alone.

Political Process Approach (PPA)

An approach explaining movement development through the interaction of political opportunities, mobilizing structures, and framing processes.

Political Opportunity Structure (POS)

Relatively stable features of the external political environment, such as decentralization or state openness, that affect the possibilities for collective action.

New Social Movement Theory (NSM)

An approach focusing on movements organized around post-materialist values, identity, culture, and social recognition rather than economic redistribution.

Relative deprivation

The perception that one's situation or group status is unfairly worse compared to a standard, another group, or individual expectations.

Instrumentality and Efficacy

Participation paths based on the expectation that action will achieve a desired outcome and the belief that the group has the capacity to influence the situation.

Grievance–participation gap

The observation that dissatisfaction or injustice does not automatically lead to collective action; it often requires additional factors like anger, identity, and recruitment.

Mesomobilization

The coordination of different groups and organizations around a shared cause through structural and cultural integration.

Strength of weak ties

The idea that less intimate social relationships (acquaintances) are valuable because they connect individuals to information and networks outside their immediate close circle.

Scale shift

The expansion of collective action from a limited local level to a broader geographical, organizational, or social scale.

Transgressive tactics

Actions that move beyond routinely accepted institutional boundaries and may violate regulations, such as unauthorized occupations.

Target vulnerability

The specific weaknesses of an institutional target (e.g., a corporation's reliance on reputation or profit) that make it susceptible to movement pressure.

Political threat

External conditions where people perceive that current rights, resources, or freedoms will be lost if they do not engage in collective action.

Organizational holdovers

Organizations created during periods of political opening that survive after opportunities decline, providing capacity for resistance when threats increase.

Access → Agenda → Policy → Output → Impact

The sequence of movement influence: entering the process, getting the issue discussed, changing the law, implementing it, and finally improving the social condition.

Political mediation model

The argument that movement pressure alone is often insufficient and requires political allies and institutional actors to translate protest into policy change.

Protest as a public opinion signal

The concept that demonstrations convey information to politicians regarding the salience, unity, and numbers supporting a specific issue.

Causal attribution problem

The difficulty in determining whether a social or political change was truly caused by a movement or by alternative factors like electoral competition or economic shifts.