Social Movements Identity, Culture, and the State

Professor of Sociology Political Science and Planning Policy and Design at the University of California Irvine and a Fellow of the Center for the Study of Democracy David S Meyer, Associate Professor of Sociology Nancy Whittier, Associate Professor of Sociology Belinda Robnett — 2002

"Why do social movements take the forms they do? How do activists' efforts and beliefs interact with the cultural and political contexts in which they work? Why do activists take particular strategic paths, and how do their strategies affect the course and impact of the movement? Representing a new generation of social movement theory, the contributors to this volume build bridges between political opportunities and collective identity paradigms, between analyses of movements' internal dynamics and their external contexts, between approaches that emphasize structure and those that emphasize culture. Case studies range from civil rights and religious movements in North American and Western Europe to revolutionary movements in Burma, the Philippines, and Indonesia; labor campaigns in England and South Africa; and feminist movements in India. Combining a variety of perspectives on a wide range of topics, the contributors' synthetic approach shifts the field of social movements forward in important new directions."--Back cover.