Showing papers on "Social movement published in 2017"
TL;DR: The authors examined the energy democracy agenda in the United States to understand how and to what extent the mix of policy instruments currently proposed among energy democracy advocates corresponds to the overarching goals of the movement.
Abstract: Energy democracy is an emergent social movement advancing renewable energy transitions by resisting the fossil-fuel-dominant energy agenda while reclaiming and democratically restructuring energy regimes. By integrating technological change with the potential for socioeconomic and political change, the movement links social justice and equity with energy innovation. Through a policy mix lens, this research examines the energy democracy agenda in the United States to understand how and to what extent the mix of policy instruments currently proposed among energy democracy advocates corresponds to the overarching goals of the movement. This assessment compares 22 policy instruments to 26 intended outcomes for energy democracy. The mix of policy instruments holds potential for advancing renewable energy transitions based on the combined goals of resist-reclaim-restructure, although current policies relate unevenly across the set of intended outcomes. Bolstering the energy democracy agenda will likely require developing new policies, strengthening existing policies, and integrating efforts to simultaneously resist dominant energy systems while also supporting their democratic and inclusive replacement. This research increases the visibility of the energy democracy movement and clarifies and assesses the core claims and policy instruments advanced by its advocates, contributing to policy design for renewable energy transitions and energy democracy.
296 citations
Book•
16 May 2017
TL;DR: Tufekci as mentioned in this paper describes how the internet helped the Zapatista uprisings in Mexico, the necessity of remote Twitter users to organize medical supplies during Arab Spring, the refusal to use bullhorns in the Occupy Movement that started in New York, and the empowering effect of tear gas in Istanbuls Gezi Park.
Abstract: A firsthand account and incisive analysis of modern protest, revealing internet-fueled social movements greatest strengths and frequent challenges To understand a thwarted Turkish coup, an antiWall Street encampment, and a packed Tahrir Square, we must first comprehend the power and the weaknesses of using new technologies to mobilize large numbers of people. An incisive observer, writer, and participant in todays social movements, Zeynep Tufekci explains in this accessible and compelling book the nuanced trajectories of modern protestshow they form, how they operate differently from past protests, and why they have difficulty persisting in their long-term quests for change. Tufekci speaks from direct experience, combining on-the-ground interviews with insightful analysis. She describes how the internet helped the Zapatista uprisings in Mexico, the necessity of remote Twitter users to organize medical supplies during Arab Spring, the refusal to use bullhorns in the Occupy Movement that started in New York, and the empowering effect of tear gas in Istanbuls Gezi Park. These details from life inside social movements complete a moving investigation of authority, technology, and cultureand offer essential insights into the future of governance.
262 citations
Book•
[...]
07 Mar 2017
TL;DR: Critical race theory (CRT) as discussed by the authors was one of the first social movements to recognize the deficiencies of law in crafting remedies for racial injustices, or even law's ability to recognize that such problems existed or fell under its provenance.
Abstract: Like a number of other social movements, critical race theory (CRT) received its name after it was well underway As with a fast moving river, strong tributaries had contributed to its force Legal scholars of color at various law schools had begun to examine the deficiencies of law in crafting remedies for racial injustices, or even law's ability to recognize that such problems existed or fell under its provenance
Keywords:
civil rights;
legal theory;
race
256 citations
TL;DR: This article argued that U.S. Millennials comprise a new political generation with lived experiences and worldviews that set them apart from their elders, based on Karl Mannheim's theory of generations.
Abstract: Building on Karl Mannheim’s theory of generations, this address argues that U.S. Millennials comprise a new political generation with lived experiences and worldviews that set them apart from their...
213 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine how social media users interact with Black Lives Matter by using hashtags and thus modify the framing of the m... focus on the social media presence of Black lives Matter (BLM).
Abstract: This paper focuses on the social media presence of Black Lives Matter (BLM). Specifically, we examine how social media users interact with BLM by using hashtags and thus modify the framing of the m...
178 citations
TL;DR: The paradoxical relationship of populist movements to civil society and to religion is discussed in this paper, where the authors argue that while populist movements and religious associations emerge and flourish in civil society, the logic of populism and of politicized religion is antithetical to the underlying principles of civil society.
Abstract: This chapter addresses the paradoxical relationship of populist movements to civil society and to religion. It argues that while populist movements and religious associations emerge and flourish in civil society, the logic of populism and of politicized religion is antithetical to the underlying principles of civil society and, ultimately, to democracy itself. The chapter identifies the specific logic of populism ideal typically, and analyzes the difference between populist and other, self-limiting social movements. It explores the contemporary link between populism and religious identity politics. The chapter analyzes the tensions and affinities between populist logic and political religion. If the populist temptation and the lure of politicizing religion may be to stay, a vibrant open civil society remains the best hope for resisting these challenges and generating alternatives. Civil society is a contested concept. But every conception involves three parameters – plurality, publicity, and privacy, however variously they are interpreted.
166 citations
TL;DR: A review of more than 200 articles, books and reports sheds light to why and how communities resist mining and how their forms of resistance change over time as discussed by the authors, revealing that local communities react not only to perceived environmental impacts but also to their lack of representation and participation in decisions concerning their development path, lack of monetary compensation and distrust with the mining company and the state.
161 citations
TL;DR: The authors applied an intersectional framework to a content analysis of over 400,000 tweets related to #SayHerName, a dialogue that centres Black cisgender and transgender women victims of state-sanctioned violence.
Abstract: Social media activism presents sociologists with the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of how groups form and sustain collective identities around political issues throughout the course of a social movement. This paper contributes to a growing body of sociological literature on social media by applying an intersectional framework to a content analysis of over 400,000 tweets related to #SayHerName. Our findings demonstrate that Twitter users who identified with #SayHerName engage in intersectional mobilization by highlighting Black women victims of police violence and giving attention to intersections with gender identity. #SayHerName is a dialogue that centres Black cisgender and transgender women victims of state-sanctioned violence. Additionally, #SayHerName is a space for highlighting Black women victims of non-police violence. Therefore, we propose that future research on social media activism should incorporate intersectionality as a basis for understanding the symbols and languag...
136 citations
TL;DR: The course as discussed by the authors provides an undergraduate level introduction to the study of youth political socialization and political activism, focusing on how youth are socialized to participate in politics and why youth and college campuses are so important.
Abstract: This course provides an undergraduate level introduction to the study of youth political socialization and political activism. Young people are the backbone of most social movements from the Civil Rights and anti-Vietnam War movements to more contemporary examples like Black Lives Matter, #Occupy, and the anti-gun violence movement. The first half of the course presents an overview of theories of youth political socialization, political participation, and their role in social movements. The course specifically explores concerns about the state of youth political participation and the realities of participation, theories regarding how youth are socialized to participate in politics (and the impediments to participation), the history of youth in social movements (specifically why youth and college campuses are so important). The second half builds on this structure to review areas where youth are bringing new energy to political participation. The syllabus includes discussion in how youth have updated tactics, continue to redefine what counts as political, and incorporate new (intersectionality) and old (economic inequality) concerns into movements. The course is built around a midterm and final exam, as well as a research paper on a youth-oriented social movement that is broken up into several smaller "proposals" throughout the semester. Students are also assessed on their participation in class discussion over the substantive issues. The course serves as a point of connection between courses on youth and society, political sociology, political communication, and social movements.
118 citations
Book•
25 Sep 2017TL;DR: Zepeda-Millan as mentioned in this paper analyzes the background, course, and impacts of this unprecedented wave of protests, highlighting their unique local, national, and demographic dynamics, finding that because of the particular ways the issue of immigrant illegality was racialized, federally proposed anti-immigrant legislation (H.R. 4437) helped transform Latinos' sense of latent group membership into the racial group consciousness that incited their engagement in large-scale collective action.
Abstract: In the spring of 2006, millions of Latinos across the country participated in the largest civil rights demonstrations in American history. In this timely and highly anticipated book, Chris Zepeda-Millan analyzes the background, course, and impacts of this unprecedented wave of protests, highlighting their unique local, national, and demographic dynamics. He finds that because of the particular ways the issue of immigrant illegality was racialized, federally proposed anti-immigrant legislation (H.R. 4437) helped transform Latinos' sense of latent group membership into the racial group consciousness that incited their engagement in large-scale collective action. Zepeda-Millan shows how nativist policy threats against disenfranchised undocumented immigrants can provoke a political backlash - on the streets and at the ballot box - from not only 'people without papers', but also naturalized and US-born citizens. Latino Mass Mobilization is an important intervention into contemporary debates regarding immigration policy, social movements, and racial politics in the United States.
115 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a framework for an urban political reading and a theorization of urban uprisings is developed, and a re-centring of the urban political is proposed.
Abstract: This introductory symposium article develops a framework for an urban political reading and a theorization of urban uprisings. We argue that there is a need to foreground the notion of the urban political as central to the theoretical and practical demands of urban research today. First, we revisit critical urban theory in light of recent urban insurrections and point out a lack of sustained theoretical engagement with the political. Second, based on this critique, we argue for what we call a 're-centring of the urban political' to rethink urban theory in ways that consider the city as a site of political encounter, interruption and experimentation, even when, or perhaps especially when, these ways fall outside institutional forms or lack the organizational form or legitimacy of social movements. Thus, we attempt to place politics at the heart of radical urban political theory and practice today in order to make sense of urban subjects, events and claims that elude established government practices and institutionalized structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyze the process of emergence and spread of community consultations exploring how they challenge the governance of mining activities in Latin America and claim that community consultations are being institutionalized in the context of mining conflicts.
TL;DR: The grey literature as mentioned in this paper is defined as literature which is produced by all levels of government, academics, business and industry, but which is not controlled by commercial publishers, and it is often missed by scientists but more important to activists and advocates within social movements and the non-profit sector who frequently engage with or seek to influence policymakers.
Abstract: A number of authors interested in how to translate evidence into policy identify the importance of policy narrative and argue that advocates of scientific evidence need to tell good stories to grab the attention and appeal to the emotions of policymakers. Yet, this general call for better narratives is incomplete without concrete examples and evidence of their effectiveness. This article shows how these processes are described in the “grey” literature—defined as literature which is produced by all levels of government, academics, business and industry, but which is not controlled by commercial publishers. This literature is often missed by scientists but more important to activists and advocates within social movements and the non-profit sector who frequently engage with or seek to influence policymakers. The article outlines some of the ways in which an understanding of policymaker psychology and factors such as group dynamics and political context are reflected in the grey literature, and the implications of this for understanding the role of storytelling in political advocacy. It highlights practical advice about storytelling that emerges from the literature, and presents four case studies illustrating aspects of storytelling in action. It concludes by identifying the implications for scientists and other advocates of “evidence informed policymaking”, practitioners and policymakers.
TL;DR: This article analyzed online political communication by the right-wing populist movement Pegida and German political parties and found that there are considerable overlaps in the audiences of the Pegida movement and the new challenger in the party system, AfD.
Abstract: Previous research has acknowledged the use of social media in political communication by right-wing populist parties and politicians Less is known, however, about its pivotal role for right-wing social movements which rely on personalized messages to mobilize supporters and challenge the mainstream party system This paper analyzes online political communication by the right-wing populist movement Pegida and German political parties We investigate to which extent parties attract supporters of Pegida, to which extent they address topics similar to Pegida and whether their topic use has become more similar over a period of almost two years The empirical analysis is based on Facebook posts by main accounts and individual representatives of these political groups We first show that there are considerable overlaps in the audiences of Pegida and the new challenger in the party system, AfD Then we use topic models to characterize topic use by party and surveyed crowdworkers to which extent they perc
TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of social media on civic and political participation are examined, and the authors suggest that social networking sites are popular tools to engage citizens in political campaigns, social movements, and civic life.
Abstract: Social networking sites are popular tools to engage citizens in political campaigns, social movements, and civic life. However, are the effects of social media on civic and political participation ...
TL;DR: This article argued that awareness of the issue developed during an especially inopportune period in American politics, and the organizations that arose to address the issue were ill suited to the kind of grassroots mobilization characteristic of successful movements.
Abstract: The issue of climate change poses something of a puzzle. For all the attention accorded the issue, climate change/global warming has spawned surprisingly little grassroots activism in the contemporary United States. Drawing on social movement theory, the author seeks to explain this puzzle. The prevailing consensus among movement scholars is that the prospect for movement emergence is facilitated by the confluence of three factors: the expansion of political opportunities, the availability of mobilizing structures, and cognitive and affective mobilization through framing processes. The author then applies each of these factors to the case of climate change, arguing that (a) awareness of the issue developed during an especially inopportune period in American politics, (b) the organizations that arose to address the issue were ill suited to the kind of grassroots mobilization characteristic of successful movements, and (c) the amorphous nature of the issue played havoc with efforts at strategic framing.
TL;DR: This paper analyzed 31.65 million tweets about Ferguson across four meaningful time periods: the death of Michael Brown, the non-indictment of police officer Darren Wilson, the Department of Justice report on Ferguson, and the one year aftermath of Brown's death.
Abstract: Recent events related to police brutality and the evolution of #BlackLivesMatter provides an empirical case to explore the vitality of social media data for social movements and the evolution of collective identities. Social media data provide a portal into how organizing and communicating generate narratives that survive over time. We analyse 31.65 million tweets about Ferguson across four meaningful time periods: the death of Michael Brown, the non-indictment of police officer Darren Wilson, the Department of Justice report on Ferguson, and the one year aftermath of Brown’s death. Our analysis shows that #BlackLivesMatter evolved in concert with protests opposing police brutality occurring on the ground. We also show how #TCOT (Top Conservatives on Twitter) has operated as the primary counter narrative to #BlackLivesMatter. We conclude by discussing the implications our research has for the #BlackLivesMatter movement and increased political polarization following the election of Donald Trump.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine when and how a critical mass of social and political stakeholders mobilizes against a corporate organization and the impact of such mobilization on the organization's market valuations.
Abstract: This paper examines when and how a critical mass of social and political stakeholders mobilizes against a corporate organization and the impact of such mobilization on the organization’s market val...
TL;DR: In an urbanizing world, the inequalities of infrastructure are increasingly politicized in ways that reconstitute the urban political as discussed by the authors, and a key site here is the politicization of human waste.
Abstract: In an urbanizing world, the inequalities of infrastructure are increasingly politicized in ways that reconstitute the urban political. A key site here is the politicization of human waste. The centrality of sanitation to urban life means that its politicization is always more than just service delivery. It is vital to the production of the urban political itself. The ways in which sanitation is seen by different actors is a basis for understanding its relation to the political. We chart Cape Town's contemporary sanitation syndrome, its condition of crisis, and the remarkable politicization of toilets and human waste in the city's townships and informal settlements in recent years. We identify four tactics—poolitical tactics—that politicize not just sanitation but Cape Town itself: poo protests, auditing, sabotage, and blockages. We evaluate these tactics, consider what is at stake, and chart possibilities for a more just urban future.
TL;DR: The authors examines the antecedent and contingent causes sparking the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong, and concludes that two contingent events generating pre-emptive and backlash mobilization were the main causes of the movement.
Abstract: This paper examines the antecedent and contingent causes sparking the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong. Spurred by two contingent events generating pre-emptive and backlash mobilization, the ...
TL;DR: Analysis of how intersectionality influences the constituencies represented in one of the largest protests ever observed in the United States: the Women’s March on Washington in January 2017 unpacks how these coalitions enable us to understand and predict the future of the anti-Trump resistance.
Abstract: Can a diverse crowd of individuals whose interests focus on distinct issues related to racial identity, class, gender, and sexuality mobilize around a shared issue? If so, how does this process work in practice? To date, limited research has explored intersectionality as a mobilization tool for social movements. This paper unpacks how intersectionality influences the constituencies represented in one of the largest protests ever observed in the United States: the Women’s March on Washington in January 2017. Analyzing a data set collected from a random sample of participants, we explore how social identities influenced participation in the Women’s March. Our analysis demonstrates how individuals’ motivations to participate represented an intersectional set of issues and how coalitions of issues emerge. We conclude by discussing how these coalitions enable us to understand and predict the future of the anti-Trump resistance.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors conceptualize social media teams as "digital vanguards", collective and informal leadership structures that perform a role of direction of collective action through the use of digital communication.
Abstract: Recent protest movements such as Occupy Wall Street in the US, the indignados/15M movement in Spain, and UK Uncut have witnessed the rise of social media teams, small activist groups responsible for managing high-visibility and collective activist social media accounts. Going against dominant assertions about the leaderless character of contemporary digital movements, the article conceptualises social media teams as ‘digital vanguards’, collective and informal leadership structures that perform a role of direction of collective action through the use of digital communication. Various aspects of the internal functioning of vanguards are discussed: (a) their formation and composition; (b) processes of internal coordination; (c) struggles over the control of social media accounts. The article reveals the profound contradiction between the leadership role exercised by social media teams and the adherence of digital activists to techno-libertarian values of openness, horizontality, and leaderlessness. ...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on the experiences of the Berliner Energietisch campaign, which in 2013 forced (and lost) a referendum aiming to extend and democratise the local state's role in Berlin's energy governance.
Abstract: Social movements in struggle around energy are currently developing an imaginary of “energy democracy” to signify the emancipatory energy transitions they desire. Deploying a scholar-activist perspective, this paper contributes to debates around the concretisation of the energy democracy imaginary by exploring the relationship of energy democracy movements to the state. To do so, I focus on the experiences of the Berliner Energietisch campaign, which in 2013 forced (and lost) a referendum aiming to extend—and democratise—the local state's role in Berlin's energy governance. Drawing on relational theories of the state, I argue that it is productive to read Berliner Energietisch as enacting an energy politics in-against-and-beyond the state. In making this argument, I draw out implications for theoretical and strategic debates around the commons and the state.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the possibility for institutional complexity to provide opportunities for social entrepreneurship and identify four strategic responses to institutional complexity: appropriation, integration, differentiation, and working-through.
03 Feb 2017
TL;DR: The authors argue that racism is more than just bad attitudes; after all, such injustice involves unfair distributions of goods and resources, and attitudes play a role in racism, but even the cognitive/affective component of ideologies should include culturally shared habits of mind and action.
Abstract: Racism, sexism, and other forms of injustice are more than just bad attitudes; after all, such injustice involves unfair distributions of goods and resources. But attitudes play a role. How central is that role? Tommie Shelby, among others, argues that racism is an ideology and takes a cognitivist approach suggesting that ideologies consist in false beliefs that arise out of and serve pernicious social conditions. In this paper I argue that racism is better understood as a set of practices, attitudes, social meanings, and material conditions, that systematically reinforce one another. Attitudes play a role, but even the cognitive/affective component of ideologies should include culturally shared habits of mind and action. These habits of mind distort, obscure, and occlude important facts about subordinated groups and result in a failure to recognize their interests. How do we disrupt such practices to achieve greater justice? I argue that this is sometimes, but not always, best achieved by argument or challenging false beliefs, so social movements legitimately seek other means.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyze the June 2013 wave of political protests in Brazil, highlighting student movement participation, and they make three arguments: first, this was not a single student movement, but a cycle of protest, consisting of many different actors, issues, and forms of demonstration.
Book•
01 Jan 2017
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the role of sociologically discursive discourse in globalization and post-modernity rationalization of society structure / agency and propose a model of social construction.
Abstract: Introduction THEME 1: THINKING SOCIOLOGICALLY Discourse Globalization Modernity Postmodernity Rationalization Society Structure / Agency THEME 2: DOING SOCIOLOGY Ideal Type Qualitative / Quantitative Methods Realism Reflexivity Science Social construction THEME 3: ENVIRONMENT AND URBANISM Alienation Environment Industrialization Migration Risk Sustainable Development Urbanism THEME 4: STRUCTURES OF SOCIETY Bureaucracy Capitalism Consumerism Division of Labour Education Organization Religion THEME 5: UNEQUAL LIFE CHANCES Class and inequality Gender Intersectionality Patriarchy Poverty Race and Ethnicity Social mobility Status THEME 6: RELATIONSHIPS AND THE LIFECOURSE Community Family Life Course Network Sexuality Socialization THEME 7: INTERACTION AND COMMUNICATION Culture Identity Ideology Interaction Mass Media Public Sphere THEME 8: HEALTH, ILLNESS AND THE BODY Biomedicine Medicalization Sick Role Social Model of Disability Social Self Stigma THEME 9: CRIME AND SOCIAL CONTROL Anomie Deviance Labelling Moral Panic Restorative Justice Social Control Subculture THEME 10: POLITICAL SOCIOLOGY Authority Citizenship Conflict Civil Society Democracy Nation State Power Social Movement References
TL;DR: A review of the literature on social movement coalition formation, longevity, and success can be found in this article, where five factors critical to coalition formation are identified: social ties, conducive organizational structures, ideology, culture, and identity; the institutional environment; and resources.
Abstract: Social movements rely on coalitions to help mobilize the mass numbers of people necessary for success. In this article, we review the literature on social movement coalition formation, longevity, and success. We identify five factors critical to coalition formation: (a) social ties; (b) conducive organizational structures; (c) ideology, culture, and identity; (d) the institutional environment; and (e) resources. Next, we explore the extent to which coalition survival is influenced by these same factors and argue that emergent properties of the coalition, such as commitment and trust, also facilitate longevity. Our review of the literature reveals that two factors specific to coalitions influence their success: coalition form and the nature of institutional targets. Interaction, communication technology, and the availability of physical and virtual spaces that facilitate communication are themes that run throughout our discussion, as they undergird many of the elements that shape coalition formation and survival. We conclude by evaluating the state of the research area and suggesting directions for further research.
TL;DR: The article analyzes the nature of communication flows during social conflicts via the digital platform Twitter and identifies the strategic importance of a group of amplifying intermediaries in local positions of the networks, who coexist with specialized voices and professional media outlets at the center of the global network.
Abstract: The article analyzes the nature of communication flows during social conflicts via the digital platform Twitter. We gathered over 150,000 tweets from citizen protests for nine environmental social ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors take stock of the progress that has been made within sociology to become a more globally oriented discipline and discuss the new challenges for the future that emerge as a consequence.
Abstract: With the 50th anniversary of the journal, this special issue takes stock of the progress that has been made within sociology to become a more globally oriented discipline and discusses the new challenges for the future that emerge as a consequence. From its inception, classical sociology was primarily concerned with the European origins of processes of modernity that were to become global. There was little discussion of how the global might be understood in terms of structures, processes and social movements not directly identified as European but nonetheless contributing to modernity. The challenge for sociology has been to take into account these other phenomena and to rethink its core categories and concepts in light of newly understood alternative formations of the global and the social movements that bring them about.