Power in Movement: Social Movements and Contentious Politics

by Sidney Tarrow

• ISBN13: 9780521629478
• ISBN10: 0521629470
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-05-13
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Unlike political or economic institutions, social movements have an elusive power, but one that is no less real. This study surveys the history of the social movement, puts forward a theory of collective action to explain its surges and declines, and offers an interpretation of the power of movement that emphasizes its effects on personal lives, policy reforms and political culture. While covering cultural, organizational and personal sources of movements' power, the book emphasizes the rise and fall of social movements as part of political struggle and as the outcome of changes in political opportunity structure. This second edition has an entirely new chapter, major additions to the bibliography, new illustrative materials in many of the chapters and a new conclusion.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Contentious politics and social movements: Part I. The Birth of the Modern Social Movement: 2. Modular collective action

3. Print and association

4. Statebuilding and social movements

Part II. From Contention to Social Movements: 5. Political opportunities and constraints

6. The repertoire of contention

7. Framing contention

8. Mobilising structures and contentious politics

Part III. The Dynamics of Movement: 9. Cycles of contention

10. Struggling to reform

11. Transnational contention/conclusion: the future of social movements.