🍉Interest Groups and Policy Unit 10 – Social Movement Strategies and Tactics

Key Concepts and Definitions

• Social movements organized collective efforts to promote or resist social change through various strategies and tactics
• Collective action involves coordinated activities by individuals or groups to pursue a common goal or interest
• Repertoires of contention refer to the set of protest-related tools and actions available to social movement actors at a given time and place
• Framing processes involve the construction of meaning and interpretation of issues to mobilize supporters and persuade others
• Resource mobilization theory emphasizes the importance of organizational resources, networks, and opportunities for social movement emergence and success
• Political opportunity structures refer to the openness or receptivity of the political system to social movement demands and actions
  • Includes factors such as elite alignments, institutional access, and state capacity for repression
• Collective identity formation involves the creation of a shared sense of "we-ness" among movement participants based on common experiences, values, or grievances

Historical Context of Social Movements

• Social movements have played a significant role in shaping political, economic, and cultural change throughout history
• Early examples of social movements include the labor movement, women's suffrage movement, and abolitionist movement in the 19th and early 20th centuries
• The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s challenged racial segregation and discrimination in the United States through various strategies and tactics (sit-ins, boycotts, marches)
• The anti-war movement of the 1960s and 1970s protested U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War and advocated for peace and non-intervention
• The environmental movement emerged in the 1960s and 1970s to address issues of pollution, conservation, and sustainability
• The feminist movement of the 1960s and 1970s fought for women's rights, equality, and liberation from patriarchal oppression
• The LGBTQ+ rights movement has sought to challenge discrimination and advocate for the rights and inclusion of sexual and gender minorities
• Contemporary social movements have addressed a wide range of issues, including economic inequality, racial justice, climate change, and immigration reform

Types of Social Movements

• Reform movements seek to modify or improve existing social, political, or economic institutions and practices without fundamentally challenging the status quo (e.g., labor movement, civil rights movement)
• Revolutionary movements aim to overthrow existing power structures and replace them with a new social, political, or economic order (e.g., communist revolutions, anti-colonial movements)
• Reactionary movements seek to resist or reverse social change and maintain traditional values, norms, or hierarchies (e.g., white supremacist movements, anti-abortion movements)
• Identity-based movements focus on the rights, recognition, and empowerment of specific social groups based on shared characteristics or experiences (e.g., women's movement, LGBTQ+ rights movement, disability rights movement)
  • Often emphasize the importance of collective identity formation and pride in group membership
• Issue-based movements coalesce around specific policy issues or social problems (e.g., environmental movement, anti-war movement, gun control movement)
• Alter-globalization movements critique the negative impacts of economic globalization and advocate for alternative forms of global justice and solidarity (e.g., World Social Forum, Occupy movement)
• New social movements emerged in the late 20th century and focus on post-material values, lifestyle politics, and cultural change (e.g., animal rights movement, slow food movement)

Organizational Structures

• Social movement organizations (SMOs) are formal groups that mobilize resources and coordinate activities to pursue movement goals
• Centralized structures involve a hierarchical leadership and decision-making process, with power concentrated in a small group of leaders or an executive committee
  • Can provide clear direction and coordination but may limit grassroots participation and innovation
• Decentralized structures distribute power and decision-making among multiple local or regional groups, often with a loose network of communication and collaboration
  • Can foster local autonomy and adaptation but may lack overall coherence and strategic direction
• Grassroots organizing emphasizes the participation and leadership of ordinary people and communities affected by the issues, rather than professional activists or elites
• Coalitions and alliances involve the collaboration of multiple SMOs or groups around a common goal or campaign, often on a temporary or issue-specific basis
• Informal networks and affinity groups are loosely organized clusters of individuals who share a common identity, interest, or tactical approach (e.g., anarchist collectives, feminist consciousness-raising groups)
• Hybrid structures combine elements of centralization and decentralization, with a core leadership providing overall direction while allowing for local autonomy and innovation (e.g., Greenpeace, Amnesty International)
• Online organizing has become increasingly important, with social media platforms and digital tools used for mobilization, communication, and tactical coordination (e.g., #BlackLivesMatter, #MeToo)

Mobilization Strategies

• Consensus mobilization involves efforts to build a shared understanding of the problem and the need for collective action among potential supporters
  • Includes framing processes that diagnose the issue, propose solutions, and motivate participation
• Action mobilization involves efforts to recruit and engage individuals in specific movement activities and events, such as protests, rallies, or campaigns
• Mobilizing structures are the formal and informal networks, organizations, and settings that facilitate recruitment, participation, and solidarity among movement actors
  • Includes churches, schools, unions, social clubs, and online communities
• Selective incentives are material or social rewards that encourage individuals to participate in movement activities, such as social recognition, sense of purpose, or tangible benefits
• Moral shocks are events or experiences that trigger a sense of outrage or injustice and motivate individuals to take action (e.g., police brutality, environmental disasters)
• Diffusion involves the spread of movement ideas, tactics, and frames across geographic and social boundaries, often through media coverage, personal networks, or deliberate outreach efforts
• Solidarity building involves efforts to create a sense of shared identity, mutual support, and collective efficacy among movement participants, often through rituals, symbols, and narratives
• Leadership development involves the identification, training, and empowerment of movement leaders who can inspire, organize, and represent the collective

Tactics and Direct Action

• Protests and demonstrations are public displays of collective grievances and demands, often involving marches, rallies, or pickets (e.g., March on Washington, Women's March)
  • Can generate media attention, build solidarity, and pressure targets
• Civil disobedience involves the deliberate violation of laws or norms to challenge their legitimacy or advocate for change, often through nonviolent resistance (e.g., sit-ins, blockades)
• Boycotts are the organized refusal to purchase or engage with a product, company, or institution to pressure for change or accountability (e.g., Montgomery bus boycott, BDS movement)
• Occupations involve the physical takeover and control of spaces or buildings to disrupt business as usual and assert alternative forms of power or community (e.g., Occupy Wall Street, student occupations)
• Strikes are the coordinated withdrawal of labor to disrupt production and pressure employers or the state for concessions or reforms (e.g., general strikes, hunger strikes)
• Cultural and artistic activism uses creative expression, such as music, art, theater, or humor, to raise awareness, challenge dominant narratives, and inspire participation (e.g., Guerrilla Girls, Pussy Riot)
• Direct action refers to confrontational or disruptive tactics that directly intervene in the operation of oppressive systems or institutions, often without relying on formal channels of redress (e.g., tree-sits, lock-downs)
• Prefigurative politics involves the creation of alternative spaces, practices, or relationships that embody the desired future in the present, such as cooperatives, communes, or horizontal decision-making processes

Media and Communication

• Social movements rely on various forms of media and communication to mobilize supporters, influence public opinion, and pressure targets
• Traditional media, such as newspapers, television, and radio, can provide coverage of movement activities and amplify their messages to a wider audience
  • However, movements often struggle to gain favorable or accurate representation in mainstream media outlets
• Alternative media are communication channels that are independent of corporate or state control and provide a platform for marginalized voices and perspectives (e.g., zines, community radio, blogs)
• Social media platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, have become crucial tools for movement organizing, communication, and mobilization in the digital age
  • Allow for rapid dissemination of information, coordination of actions, and building of networks and solidarity across geographic boundaries
• Framing strategies involve the strategic use of language, symbols, and narratives to shape public understanding and opinion of the issues and the movement itself
  • Includes diagnostic framing (identifying the problem), prognostic framing (proposing solutions), and motivational framing (inspiring action)
• Storytelling and personal narratives can humanize the issues and create emotional resonance with potential supporters, often through the use of testimonials, interviews, or creative expression
• Memes and viral content can spread movement messages and frames rapidly through online networks, often using humor, irony, or pop culture references to engage audiences
• Hashtag activism involves the use of social media hashtags to raise awareness, coordinate actions, and build solidarity around a particular issue or campaign (e.g., #MeToo, #BlackLivesMatter)
• Citizen journalism and participatory media involve the creation and dissemination of news and information by ordinary people, rather than professional journalists, often using mobile phones or social media platforms to document movement activities or abuses of power

Challenges and Obstacles

• Social movements often face significant challenges and obstacles in their efforts to achieve their goals and sustain their activities over time
• Repression by the state or other powerful actors can take various forms, such as surveillance, infiltration, harassment, arrests, or violence against movement activists and organizations
  • Can have a chilling effect on participation and morale, but can also sometimes backfire and generate public sympathy for the movement
• Counter-movements are organized efforts to oppose or undermine the goals and activities of a social movement, often by defending the status quo or advocating for competing interests (e.g., anti-abortion movement, climate change denial)
• Media bias or misrepresentation can distort public understanding of the movement and its issues, often by focusing on sensationalistic or negative aspects rather than substantive demands or achievements
• Internal conflicts or divisions within the movement can arise from differences in strategy, ideology, identity, or personality, and can undermine unity and effectiveness if not managed constructively
  • Can be exacerbated by issues of power, privilege, and representation within the movement itself
• Burnout and emotional exhaustion can affect individual activists who face the stress and demands of sustained movement participation, often without adequate support or self-care
• Co-optation or institutionalization can occur when movement leaders or organizations are absorbed into mainstream political or economic structures, often in ways that dilute or compromise their original goals and values
• Resource constraints, such as lack of funding, staff, or infrastructure, can limit the capacity and sustainability of movement organizations and activities
• Intersectional challenges arise when movements fail to address the multiple and overlapping forms of oppression and marginalization faced by different groups within the movement, such as women, people of color, or LGBTQ+ individuals

Impact and Outcomes

• Social movements can have a significant impact on various aspects of society, politics, and culture, both in the short-term and the long-term
• Policy changes are often a key goal of social movements, and can include the passage of new laws, regulations, or programs that address the issues raised by the movement (e.g., Civil Rights Act, Americans with Disabilities Act)
  • Can also involve the repeal or modification of existing policies that are seen as unjust or harmful
• Cultural and attitudinal shifts can occur as a result of movement activities and discourse, often by challenging dominant norms, values, and beliefs and promoting alternative ways of thinking and being (e.g., environmentalism, feminism)
  • Can be reflected in changes in language, media representation, or social practices
• Empowerment and capacity building can occur as individuals and communities gain skills, knowledge, and confidence through their participation in movement activities and organizations
  • Can lead to increased civic engagement, leadership development, and collective efficacy
• Solidarity and coalition building can occur as movements forge alliances and networks with other groups and struggles, often across issues or identities, to build broader movements for social justice and change
• Backlash and unintended consequences can also occur as a result of movement activities and gains, often by triggering resistance or retrenchment from those who benefit from the status quo or feel threatened by social change
  • Can lead to increased polarization, violence, or erosion of democratic norms and institutions
• Long-term cultural and political legacies can shape future generations and movements, often by inspiring new waves of activism, shifting the terrain of political discourse, or creating enduring symbols and narratives of resistance and hope
• Measuring and evaluating the impact of social movements can be challenging, as outcomes are often complex, contested, and unfold over long periods of time, and may involve both intended and unintended consequences

Case Studies and Examples

• The civil rights movement in the United States (1950s-1960s) used a variety of strategies and tactics, including civil disobedience (sit-ins, freedom rides), mass demonstrations (March on Washington), and legal challenges (Brown v. Board of Education) to challenge racial segregation and discrimination
  • Led to significant policy changes, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as well as cultural and attitudinal shifts around race and equality
• The anti-apartheid movement in South Africa (1960s-1990s) involved a global campaign of boycotts, divestment, and sanctions against the white supremacist regime, as well as mass mobilization and resistance by Black South Africans and their allies
  • Contributed to the eventual dismantling of the apartheid system and the transition to a multiracial democracy in 1994
• The Zapatista movement in Mexico (1994-present) emerged in response to the negative impacts of neoliberal globalization on indigenous communities in Chiapas, and has used a combination of armed struggle, grassroots organizing, and international solidarity to promote indigenous rights and autonomy
  • Has created alternative forms of governance and social organization in Zapatista-controlled territories, and has inspired other indigenous and anti-globalization movements around the world
• The global justice movement (1990s-2000s) brought together a diverse coalition of activists, organizations, and movements to challenge the dominant model of corporate-led globalization and advocate for alternative forms of global economic and political organization
  • Organized mass protests and counter-summits at major international meetings (e.g., WTO, IMF, G8), and promoted initiatives such as fair trade, debt relief, and environmental sustainability
• The Arab Spring uprisings (2010-2011) involved a wave of mass protests, strikes, and occupations across the Middle East and North Africa, often using social media to organize and communicate, to challenge authoritarian regimes and demand democratic reforms
  • Led to the overthrow of long-standing dictators in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, but also faced significant repression and backlash, with varying outcomes and legacies in different countries
• The #MeToo movement (2017-present) began as a viral hashtag on social media to raise awareness about the prevalence of sexual harassment and assault, particularly in the workplace, and has since grown into a global movement to support survivors and hold perpetrators accountable
  • Has led to high-profile resignations, firings, and legal cases, as well as wider conversations and policy changes around issues of gender, power, and consent in various industries and institutions
• The Black Lives Matter movement (2013-present) emerged in response to police violence and systemic racism against Black people in the United States, and has used a decentralized network of chapters and activists to organize protests, campaigns, and community-based initiatives
  • Has brought renewed attention to issues of racial justice and police accountability, and has influenced public discourse and policy debates around criminal justice reform, reparations, and investing in Black communities
• The Fridays for Future movement (2018-present) began with the solo school strike of Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg to demand urgent action on climate change, and has since grown into a global youth-led movement organizing weekly strikes and mass mobilizations in countries around the world
  • Has put pressure on governments and corporations to adopt more ambitious climate policies and targets, and has shifted public attitudes and media coverage around the urgency and scale of the climate crisis