Social Movements in Advanced Capitalism The Political Economy and Cultural Construction of Social Activism

by Buechler, Steven M.

• ISBN13: 9780195126037
• ISBN10: 0195126033
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-07-08
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Sociology and social movements are twin siblings of modernity that viewthe world as a social construction to be understood and transformedrespectively. Based on this premise, Buechler argues for the centrality ofsocial movements to the shape of the modern world as well as the discipline ofsociology. Building on a critical overview of current social movement theory,this book presents a structural model for analyzing social movements in advancedcapitalism. This model provides a historically specific analysis that locatedmovements in global, national, regional, and local structures. The heart of thebook draws on diverse theoretical traditions within sociology (world systemtheory, critical theory, neo-Marxism, class/race/gender theories, theories ofeveryday life) to specify the structural constraints and opportunities thatcomprise the environment in which movements mobilize and contest for power.Movement dynamics are explored in terms of their dialectical relationship withthese multiple levels of structure. The book also addresses the recent shift andfalse dichotomies between political and cultural dimensions of social movements.This thoughtful introduction to the sociological study of social movements is anexcelent supplementary text for advanced undergraduate and graduate students incourses on collective action and social movements.

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Sociology of Social Movements

Social Movements and Sociology: Siblings of Modernity

Social-Historical Structures and Collective Action

Global Structures: The World-Capitalist System

National Structures: Crisis, Colonization and Post-Fordism

Regional Structures: Class, Race, and Gender

Local Structures: The Politics of Everyday Life

The Political and the Cultural in Collective Action

The Political: State Politics and Social Poltics

The Cultural: Identity, Ideology and Organization

Epilogue

References

Index

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