The Diffusion of Social Movements: Actors, Mechanisms, and Political Effects

by Edited by Rebecca Kolins Givan , Kenneth M. Roberts , Sarah A. Soule

• ISBN13: 9780521130950
• ISBN10: 0521130956
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-07-26
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

It is widely recognized that social movements may spread - or 'diffuse' - from one site to another. Such diffusion, however, is a complex and multidimensional process that involves different actors, networks, and mechanisms. This complexity has spawned a large body of literature on different aspects of the diffusion process, yet a comprehensive framework remains an elusive target. This book is a response to that need, and its framework focuses on three basic analytical questions. First, what is being diffused? Second, how does diffusion occur? Finally, what is the impact of diffusion on organizational development and shifts in the scale of contentious politics? This volume suggests that diffusion is not a simple matter of political contagion or imitation; rather, it is a creative and strategic process marked by political learning, adaptation, and innovation.

Author Biography

Rebecca Kolins Givan is Assistant Professor at Cornell Universitys School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Kenneth M. Roberts is professor of Government and the Robert S. Harrison Director of the Institute for the Social Sciences at Cornell University. Sarah A. Soule is the Morgridge Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Table of Contents

List of Tables	p. vii
List of Figures	p. ix
Contributors	p. xi
Preface and Acknowledgments	p. xiii
Introduction: The Dimensions of Diffusion	p. 1
Diffusion and the Framing of Contentious Politics
Transnational Networks and Institutions: How Diffusion Shaped the Politicization of Sexual Harassment in Europe	p. 19
Temporality and Frame Diffusion: The Case of the Creationist/Intelligent Design and Evolutionist Movements from 1925 to 2005	p. 34
Framing Labor's New Human Rights Movement	p. 56
Framing the GMO: Epistemic Brokers, Authoritative Knowledge, and Diffusion of Opposition to Biotechnology	p. 78
Mechanisms of Diffusion
Dialogue Matters: Beyond the Transmission Model of Transnational Diffusion between Social Movements	p. 99
The Diffusion of Different Types of Internet Activism: Suggestive Patterns in Website Adoption of Innovations	p. 125
Transnational Networks, Diffusion Dynamics, and Electoral Change in the Postcommunist World	p. 140
Diffusing the Rumor Bomb: ôJohn Kerry Is Frenchö (i.e., Haughty, Foppish, Elitist, Socialist, Cowardly, and Gay)	p. 163
Diffusion, Scale Shift, and Organizational Change
From Protest to Organization: The Impact of the 1960 Sit-Ins on Movement Organizations in the American South	p. 187
Dynamics of Diffusion: Mechanisms, Institutions, and Scale Shift	p. 204
General Bibliography	p. 221
Index	p. 251
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