states and social movements

State

A specific type of political and administrative form of organisation over a given territory.

Government

Specific leaders in office (e.g. the Starmer government, the Trump administration).

Regime

Type of political system.

Max Weber's definition of the state

A human community that (successfully) claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory.

Clark, Golder, Golder definition of the state

A state is an entity that relies on coercion and the threat of force to rule in a given territory.

Territory

States must have fixed territory marked by borders.

Sovereignty

States are the ultimate authority within their specifically demarcated territories.

External Sovereignty

Sovereignty relative to outside powers.

Internal Sovereignty

Sovereignty relative to domestic challengers.

Legitimacy

Recognized right to rule, where citizens accept the rule of the state in exchange for protection and services.

Types of Legitimacy

Three types of legitimacy (Weber): Traditional, Charismatic, Rational-legal.

Bureaucracy

Large set of recruited/appointed officials whose role is to implement laws.

Functions of States

Money and Taxes, Trade, Regulation, Law and order, National Security, Welfare, Infrastructure, Citizenship, Legal Obligations.

State-building

The process of how modern states emerged and became universal.

Emergence of Modern States

The modern state emerged in Europe between the 15th and 18th century.

Charles Tilly's statement

War makes states and states make war.

Pathways to State Formation

Different pathways include centralization (France), unification (Germany, Italy), breaking up of a larger empire (Austria-Hungary).

Role of Nationalism

Nationalism played a key role in the emergence of the modern nation-state.

Sovereign Territoriality

The principle that states are the main actors on the international stage, established by the Treaty of Westphalia (1648).

League of Nations

An intergovernmental organization founded after World War I to promote peace and cooperation among countries.

United Nations

An international organization founded in 1945 to promote peace, security, and cooperation among nations.

State Model Universalization

The spread of the state model via conquest, colonialism, and decolonization, questioning the legitimacy of distant monarchs.

Independence Movements

Movements during the 1950-60s aimed at achieving political independence from colonial powers.

Pre-colonial Polities in Africa

Diverse forms of political organization such as kingdoms and tribes with fluid territorial boundaries and limited power projection.

Colonial Legacies

The impact of colonialism resulting in weak state apparatus, heterogeneity, and low legitimacy in post-colonial states.

State Capacity

The ability of the state to achieve its objectives, including control over territory, protection from threats, taxation, and maintaining order.

Strong States

States that effectively achieve their objectives and maintain control and legitimacy.

Weak States

States that struggle to achieve their objectives and maintain control over their territory.

Failed States

States that cannot perform expected functions, losing sovereignty over parts of their territory, as defined by the Fragile States Index.

Fragile States Index

An index measuring the fragility of states based on their capacity to perform functions and maintain sovereignty.

OECD States of Fragility

A report defining fragility as the combination of exposure to risk and insufficient coping capacities of the state.

Dimensions of Fragility

Fragility occurs on six dimensions: Economic, Environmental, Political, Security, Societal, and Human.

External Sovereignty

The recognition of a state's authority by other states.

Internal Sovereignty

The state's ability to exercise control over its territory and population.

Phantom States

States that have internal sovereignty but lack external recognition, such as Transnistria and Northern Cyprus.

Comparative Politics Approaches

Methods used to compare states based on their functions and performance indicators.

Indicators for State Performance

Metrics such as the Fragile State Index used to systematically measure how well states perform their functions.

Nationalism and Territorial Claim

The relationship between nationalism and the assertion of territorial rights.

Nationalism and Populism

The connection between nationalism and populism, particularly how populism relates to state features.

Global Order and Nationalism

The question of whether nationalism challenges the global order of nation-states today.

Social Movements

Streams of public collective unconventional participation that target demands at policymakers primarily through community, street, and media events, often involving disruption of regular social life, e.g., through blockades and sit-ins.

Definition of Social Movements

Collectivities acting with some degree of organization and continuity outside of institutional or organizational channels for the purpose of challenging or defending extant authority, whether it is institutionally or culturally based, in the group, organizations, society, culture, or world order of which they are a part.

Constitutive Elements of Social Movements

Social movements can be defined by four constitutive elements: (1) a mobilized network of groups and organizations; (2) resting on a sense of collective identity; that (3) aims to bring about or resist fundamental changes of society; (4) by using primarily techniques of public and collective protest.

Repertoires of Contention

The complete set of protest tactics available to a social movement at any given time. A limited set of routines that are learned, shared and acted through a relatively deliberate process of choice.

Purpose of Studying Social Movements

To develop empirically grounded theories (general statements) about collective behaviour.

Outcomes of Social Movements

To explain outcomes: mobilization, protest, collective action, strategies, framing.

Political Activity of Social Movements

Social movements capture vast political activity happening outside institutional channels (political parties and states).

Role of Social Movements

Social movements play a crucial role in pushing back against democratic backsliding and autocratization around the world.

Systematic Comparison in Social Movements

Allows us to identify patterns and regularities in social movements' origins, structures, dynamics, and outcomes.

Complexity of Social Movements

Recognizing the complexity and multiple functions of movements.

Interactions in Social Movements

Taking into account the interactions between social movements and the state, and social movements and other actors.

Frontstage vs. Backstage in Social Movements

Thinking about the 'frontstage' (what movements do in public) vs. 'backstage' (how movements organize and develop their tactics).

Early Theoretical Explanations

Late 19th century - early 20th century [the 'classical approach'].

Mass Psychology

Relative deprivation, crowds as angry mobs driven by emotions, not rationality, collective or 'herd' mentality, and 'contagion' where people in crowds imitate each other.

Example of Riots

Riots in London, 1886.

Resource Mobilization Theory

Movements as rational and strategic; focuses on the capabilities and resources of groups to explain the rise and success of movements.

Political Process Model

Developed to explain the rise of movements by focusing on how they interact with the broader political context and processes.

Political Opportunity Structures

The totality of environmental factors that facilitate or constrain collective action, highlighting changes in the openness of the political system.

Framing

Communicative devices that give a specific meaning to a situation or process, aimed at sensitizing and activating followers.

Collective Identity

A social construction that is constantly negotiated and reshaped through interactions, influencing self-images and external perceptions.

Critique of Resource Mobilization Theory

Resources are not sufficient; it discounts the role of culture & identity and overstates the importance of elite sponsorship.

Application of Resource Mobilization Theory

The Civil Rights Movement (1950s-60s) relied on mass protests, boycotts, and leaders to end racial segregation.

Critique of Political Process Model

Overly structural; minimizes the role of agency of leaders/activists and places too much emphasis on state institutions.

Environmental Factors in Political Opportunity Structures

Changes in institutional actors, repression, shifts in institutional rules, and destabilizing events influence collective action.

Critique of Political Opportunity Structures

Treats political opportunities as objective features that compel movement action, ignoring the need for visibility and perception.

Application of Political Process Model

Explaining the rise of LGBTQ movements in the MENA region by analyzing the political context and opportunities.

Frames in Framing Theory

Specific meanings given to situations that motivate collective action through shared understandings.

Saliency in Collective Identity

The importance of collective identity varies and is influenced by symbols and stories that create social boundaries.

Gustave Le Bon's Quote

Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim.

Charles Tilly's Interaction Components

Interests, organization, and opportunity explain a contender's level of mobilization and collective action.

Professional Social Movement Organizations (SMOs)

Key to sustained collective action, providing resources and organization for movements.

Resources in Social Movements

Includes money, outsider support, access to media, experts, time/effort, and community networks.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

A significant event in the Civil Rights Movement that exemplified mass protests against racial segregation.

Changes in Political Opportunity Structures

Result from divisions within elites, repression, shifts in rules, and destabilizing events like war or economic crises.

LGBTQ Movements in MENA

The rise of LGBTQ movements in the MENA region can be analyzed through the lens of the political process model.

Conscious Strategic Efforts in Framing

Groups fashion shared understandings of the world to legitimate and motivate collective action.

Negotiation of Collective Identity

Collective identity is reshaped through interactions and the interplay of self-images and external perceptions.