A theoretical framework for comparisons of social movement participation

This article attempts to draft a framework for the comparison of movement participation. The standards of comparison I developed at the movement level were the magnitude of mobilization potentials, the composition of multiorganizational fields, organizational characteristics, and action orientation. Utilizing this framework, I compared mobilization campaigns for three different types of activities conducted by three different movements: a campaign conducted by a labor union for, possibly, a strike, a campaign of the Dutch peace movement in a local community for a national demonstration, and campaigns by women's groups in a community for a variety of activities. I explain differences in motivational dynamics and levels of participation in terms of differing movement characteristics. Finally, I discuss the advantages of comparative work on social movements.     

Between political opportunities and strategic dilemmas: the choice of ‘double track’ by the activists of an occupied social centre in Italy

According to the political opportunity structure (POS) framework, mobilization tends to intensify when channels of access to the authorities open, leading the protest actors to hope for success. This happened during the protest campaign aimed at the reopening of the occupied Social Centre ‘Experia’ in Catania (Italy), after the eviction by police, because unexpectedly moderate centre-left political actors supported mobilization and the centre-right local government accepted to put the issue on the institutional agenda; nevertheless the social centre was not reopened. In order to explain why the mobilization was unsuccessful, we analysed the protest campaign combining the POS framework with the approach to strategic dilemmas by James Jasper; if opportunities and restraints of the political system influence the choices and behaviours of unconventional actors, in their turn the actions and decisions made by movement activists affect the POS. In this case, the social centre activists filtered the constraints and opportunities of the local political system through their cognitive lenses and faced some dilemmas (Naughty or Nice?, Extension, Shifting goals), whose strategic choices extended or reduced these constraints and opportunities, thus affecting the opening and closure of the POS. The failure of the solution attempted by the social centre activists to keep both options of the various dilemmas, i.e. the strategy of ‘double track’, demonstrates how it is very difficult to be successful by maintaining dilemmas rather than making the strategic choices they demand, when the local institutional POS is substantially closed.     

Past Activeness,Solidarity, and Local Development Efforts1

Abstract Actions by local groups and leaders constitute an essential but poorly understood element of many rural development strategies. Previous studies suggest that local development efforts can influence community change, but questions remain about why localities differ in mobilization to achieve development goals. Drawing upon community field theory and human ecology, this study uses data for rural school districts in Pennsylvania to examine the argument that activeness in the past and development of solidarity can contribute to a higher probability of local mobilization than would be predicted by ecological characteristics alone. Hierarchical regressions support this argument for some local actions, while canonical correlations show a generalized pattern strongly associated with past activeness and solidarity.     

Migrant Mobilization for Homeland Politics: A Social Movement Approach

From the campaign of Chilean exiles all over the world to overthrow the regime of Augusto Pinochet in the 1970s to the contemporary mobilization of the Kurdish diaspora in Western Europe, various cases demonstrate the persistence of homeland ties among migrants, especially those who experienced repression and displacement by the government in their countries of origin. Diverse frameworks and concepts in both the humanities and the social sciences have been deployed to explain the involvement of migrants in politics in their home countries, from “long‐distance nationalism” to “transnational activism.” Each points to different dynamic processes and causal mechanisms. In recent years, scholars have advocated the use of a social movement framework in the analysis of migrant mobilization, despite the marginalization of such studies in theory development. In this article, I examine the concepts put forward by the political process model (PPM) as they apply to the analysis of migrants' involvement in politics in their native land. I propose ways for PPM to be useful in the explanation of the dynamics and processes of homeland‐oriented migrant mobilization.     

Routes into activism in post-Soviet Russia: habitus,homology, hysteresis

This paper develops Bourdieusian notions of habitus, capital and field, along with the allied concepts of hysteresis and homology, to examine routes into public activism in post-Soviet Russia. Focusing on a neighbourhood campaign against construction projects in the Moscow district of Izmailovo, we argue that mobilization was driven by activists whose formative years took place during the Soviet period, and this resultant Soviet habitus enabled them to sustain their mobilization, despite the unpropitious circumstances. Our data shows that activists’ engagement was first triggered by perceived discrepancies between Soviet ideals and post-Soviet realities (hysteresis), and then supported by the mutual recognition of actors whose grievances echoed similarities in their structural positions (homologies). However, although mobilization gained momentum, it was unable to achieve definitive success in the face of negative social capital, or what Russians call administrativniy resurs: the arbitrary use of public office power that characterizes a number of social fields in post-Soviet Russia. We argue that understanding post-Soviet mobilization requires an understanding of the continued significance of Soviet ideals, as well of the role of the intergenerational transfer of civic ideals amid Bourdieusian ‘class struggle’.     

Narrating political opportunities: explaining strategic adaptation in the climate movement

This article advances theory on social movements’ strategic adaptation to political opportunity structures by incorporating a narrative perspective. Our theory explains how people acquire and use knowledge about political opportunity structures through storytelling about the movement’s past, present, and imagined future. The discussion applies the theory in an ethnographic case study of the climate movement’s mobilization around the UN Climate Summit in Paris, 2015. This analysis demonstrates how a dominant narrative of defeat about the prior protest campaign in Copenhagen, 2009 shaped the strategizing process. While those who experienced Copenhagen as a success preferred strategic continuity, those who experienced defeat developed a “Copenhagen narrative” to advance strategic adaptation by projecting previously experienced threats and opportunities onto the Paris campaign. Yet by relying on a retrospective narrative, movement actors tended to overlook emerging political opportunities. We demonstrate that narrative analysis is a useful tool for understanding the link between structure and agency in social movements and other actors affected by (political) opportunity structures.

     

Social License to Operate in Crowdfunding Campaigns

Organizations and individuals need to engage their communities to gain the social license to operate (SLO). In crowdfunding, SLO is reflected in funding by the members of communities of interest around crowdfunding campaigns. Thus campaign creators’ success relies on obtaining SLO from their communities. This article examines how crowdfunding campaign creators engage their communities to gain and maintain SLO to secure funding for their campaigns. Content analysis of 68 successful and unsuccessful Kickstarter campaigns shows how successful campaign creators build their communities by the use of weak ties and have abundant relational and episodic engagement with their communities to obtain SLO. The results also show how successful campaign creators practice dialogic engagement to maintain their SLO over time. This study expands public relations to crowdfunding by framing crowdfunding as a community engagement practice and operationalizing SLO as tangible funding.     

Integrated care workforce development: university-community collaboration

ABSTRACT

Behavioral health workforce shortages to provide quality care services for children, adolescents, and transitional age youth are well established. This paper highlights the workforce shortage and the need to infuse interprofessional education to engage in integrated care for children, adolescents and transitional age youth with behavioral health needs. A specialized training curriculum to build behavioral health workforce in Nevada was conceptualized and delivered through 10 workshops under the auspices of the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) funded Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) grant funded in 2014. To train existing workforce and in alignment with the spirit of the grant to build behavioral health workforce and existing workforce, workshops were extended to social service providers in the community. In an effort to enhance university-community collaboration, workshop presenters were invited from various units in the University and from social service agencies in the community. Implications of such training are addressed from a policy, practice, research, and university-community collaboration perspective.     

Mobilizing in transnational space: a social movement approach to the formation of diaspora

Abstract In this article I suggest analysing the formation of diaspora communities as an instance of mobilization processes thereby countering essentialist concepts of diaspora that reify notions of belonging and the‘roots’of migrants in places of origin. Taking the imagination of a transnational community and a shared identity as defining characteristics of diaspora and drawing on constructivist concepts of identity, I argue that the formation of diaspora is not a‘natural’consequence of migration but that specific processes of mobilization have to take place for a diaspora to emerge. I propose that concepts developed in social movement theory can be applied to the study of diaspora communities and suggest a comparative framework for the analysis of the formation of diaspora through mobilization. Empirical material to substantiate this approach is mainly drawn from the Alevi diaspora in Germany but also from South Asian diasporas.     

Beyond organization-centred public relations: Collective action through a civic crowdfunding campaign

Public relations scholars have called for a shift from organization-centred approaches and practices to community, – or collective-based ones. With the Internet, the latter have become more frequent although under-researched or not well understood. This article addresses those gaps by researching a community-based campaign in New Zealand and by underpinning the research with collective action theory. Methodologically, it combines netnography, thematic analysis, and interviews with major players, to analyze a civic crowdfunding campaign. It provides an account of how two amateur activists not only initiated and managed this campaign, but also raised US$1.5 million (NZ$2.27) within three weeks to buy a private beach and gift it back to the New Zealand public. The article seeks to add to both PR scholarship and practice. It adds to the former by analysing the campaign and identifying success factors for civic crowdfunding campaigns more generally; and to the latter by accounting for a different kind of activist and community-based PR that goes beyond organization-centred approaches to offer gratifying community-centered work that improves the reputation of PR for contributing to the common good.     

Enclave deliberation and social movement mobilization: the DDays in Occupy Central

ABSTRACT

Scholars have called for a synergy between studies of deliberative democracy and social movements for their mutual enhancement. The existing literature generally applies the principle of deliberation to evaluate social movements, but few studies have examined the corresponding practice of deliberative democracy within a movement. The Occupy Central (OCLP) campaign in Hong Kong is a rare case in which the organizers incorporated Deliberation Days into a social movement; however, participant self-selection turned it into an instance of ‘enclave deliberation’. This paper studies the impact of enclave deliberation on social movements based on the case of the OCLP campaign and argues that enclave deliberation can be a powerful tool for mobilization, particularly for gaining public support and for recruiting core participants. However, the coherence and support of the movement can decline when enclave deliberation is used to make decisions for the general public, because enclave deliberation incorporates only a small spectrum of like-minded participants who might not seriously engage with opposing views. The findings of this study imply that enclave deliberation could facilitate mobilization, but it has its inherent limitations for decision-making in a movement. Given the selective nature of social movements, deliberation within social movements is likely to be enclave deliberation in most cases. This study thus has significant implications for the practice of deliberation in social movements in other contexts.     

TRANSIENCE AND THE POSTMODERN SELF

The occupational community of resort workers offers a glimpse into the global postmodern workforce: individuals who relocate around the world, impelled by their career aspirations or their search for the intense experience of the beauty, exotic nature, and extreme recreation in various international destinations. These people have abandoned the conventional lifestyle anchored in security, continuity, and tradition and embarked upon a lifestyle of transience. Drawing on four years of participant observation and depth interviews in a luxury Hawaiian resort as well as supplemental interviews with resort workers around the United States, we articulate the four dimensions of these workers' lives that primarily engage their transience: work, ideology, family, and friendships. From these patterns we draw conclusions about the nature of the global postmodern workforce and community, and about the social psychological nature of the postmodern self.     

Muslims in post-war Sri Lanka: understanding Sinhala-Buddhist mobilization against them

This study attempts to understand the recent mobilization against the Sri Lankan Muslim community by Sinhala-Buddhist organizations. In doing so, it adds to the discussion about the relationship between second-order minorities and the state and how identities can be manipulated pre- and post-conflict. States, led by majority ethnic groups, may choose to work with second-order minorities out of convenience in times of crisis and then dispose of them afterwards. The article will attempt to look critically at some state concessions to Muslim political leaders who supported successive Sri Lanka’s ruling classes from the independence through the defeat of the Tamil Tigers in 2009. It will also examine the root causes of the Sinhala-Buddhist anti-Muslim campaigns. Finally, it will discuss grassroots perspectives by analysing the questionnaire on the anti-Islam/Muslim campaign that was distributed to youth, students, unemployed Muslims and workers in the North-Western and Western provinces.     

Editorial

This issue begins with an article focused on Canada rural communities.Recent literature has placed considerable emphasis on the importanceof building and mobilizing neighbourhood or community socialcapital. There is less written about how social capital canbe concretized in situations of community conflict. The articleby Ann Dale and Jennie Sparkes reports on some qualitative researchconducted into a campaign led by a Canadian community rich inhuman and social capital against a multi-national corporation.They highlight the important role in the campaign played by'critical node individuals' operating within an open diversenetwork system and able to make and sustain connections strongenough to engage in a unified campaign. The authors suggestthat certain network structures are more likely to facilitate     

When Mobilization is Not Enough: Political Mediation,Framing, and the Use of Direct Democracy Devices by the Labor Movement in Response to Anti-Union Legislation

ABSTRACT

The political context of the United States has become increasingly anti-union, and legislation that threatens the ability of unions to collect dues and collectively bargain has been introduced and passed in many states. In an increasingly hostile political climate, mobilization is not sufficient for the labor movement to achieve success in the policy arena. Labor movement campaigns that arose in 2011 in Ohio and Wisconsin in response to legislation curtailing collective bargaining rights of public employees provide two important examples of responses to anti-union legislation. Neither campaign was able to prevent the passage of the legislation through mobilization, but the labor movement campaign in Ohio still achieved a successful outcome by repealing the legislation through a binding referendum. This paper discusses how social movement theories—political mediation and framing—can help us to understand what led to the success of the movement in Ohio but not Wisconsin. I argue that the movement in Ohio was successful because in an unfavorable political context they were able to take advantage of a key opening in the political opportunity structure – the referendum – and were also able to exploit a framing opportunity provided by the scope of the legislation.     

Youth-Adult Partnership in Community Organizing

Abstract

This paper presents a case study of a campaign developed around sexuality education policy by a national youth-focused organization, Advocates for Youth, and its network of youth activists. The paper provides an overview of the national sexuality education debate and the specific strategies youth and adults use in partnership to advocate for a comprehensive approach to the education. The case study of the My Voice Counts!Campaign provides insight into the creation and evolution of a youth-adult partnership approach to community organizing, beginning with an online activism campaign and resulting in local youth-led projects to improve sex education policies and curricula. Following an analysis of the Campaign's accomplishments, the paper lays out recommendations for action and research to demonstrate the positive effects of this form of community practice.     

THE CREATION OF POLITICAL SOLIDARITY IN SOCIAL MOVEMENT ORGANIZATIONS*

This article examines the debate within resource mobilization theory concerning the motivation of participants in social movement organizations. Conclusions based on a case study of a Chicago community organization emphasize the importance of political solidarity in movement groups. An argument is made for a stage model of mobilization in which different types of incentives dominate motivation at different levels of involvement in the organization.     

Homeland Interests,Hostland Politics: Politicized Ethnic Identity among Middle Eastern Heritage Groups in the United States1

Why do ethnic diasporas in the United States differ in their readiness for political mobilization on behalf of homeland interests? This study develops a tiered model of politicized ethnic identity emphasizing both individual‐level traits and group/collective properties. Using Zogby “Culture Polls,” the theory is tested on three Middle Eastern heritage groups in the United States (Jews, Arab Christians, Arab Muslims). Empirical analysis confirms that individuals differ in their readiness for mobilization around Middle East issues based on the strength of ties to the ethnic community and, net of such differences, each group varies based on the contexts of exit and reception it faced at the time of immigration. The findings suggest that studies of diaspora influence on American foreign policy need to take account of the mass base rather than focus exclusively on elite behavior.     

Returning to work with HIV/AIDS: a qualitative study

In addition to being an outcome, workforce reentry is a process: People with HIV/AIDS attempting to go back to work must make initial decisions to engage in such an attempt, they then must go through a series of steps that may include re-education or retraining, job searches, résumé development, and other activities. Sustaining employment, in turn, entails its own set of activities. People attempting workforce reentry may also experience barriers on their journeys back to work, they may employ certain strengths to reach their goals, and they may use resources to facilitate preparation for work. Few studies have attempted to study this process. This study was designed to provide an initial attempt to study the process of workforce reentry. Abstracted information from the progress notes of 104 people with HIV/AIDS attempting workforce reentry was qualitatively analyzed using a grounded theory approach to identify themes. Three major themes emerged with reliability: Barriers to workforce reentry, staff-identified strengths, and resources used in workforce-reentry efforts. Although none predicted successful workforce reentry, participants in the study experienced substantial barriers in their workforce-reentry efforts, staff identified significant strengths, and participants used appropriate resources in their efforts to go back to work. Implications for workforce-reentry programs for people with HIV/AIDS are discussed.     

THE DETERMINANTS OF RELATIVE POLITICAL CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURES

This paper develops and tests a model of relative political campaign spending in an election formulated within a capital theory framework. Probability of election is treated as a function of the relative political capital stocks of the candidates, and campaign expenditure is viewed as the mechanism by which candidates optimally adjust their political capital stocks. If contributors are risk-neutral, then all factors that increase a candidate's initial political capital stock tend to decrease his relative campaign expenditures, while all factors that increase the value of the office to the candidate tend to increase his relative campaign expenditures. However, if contributors are risk-averse, then the former effect is theoretically indeterminate. Empirically, a candidate is more likely to outspend his opponent if he is an incumbent, a member of the weaker political party, and the younger candidate.