“Movement Schools” and Dialogical Diffusion of Nonviolent Praxis: Nashville Workshops in the Southern Civil Rights Movement

Isaac, Larry W.; Cornfield, Daniel B.; Dickerson, Dennis C.; Lawson, James M.; Coley, Jonathan S.

doi:10.1108/s0163-786x(2012)0000034010

Cited by 22 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Although research into the diffusion of nonviolent tactics to other countries or other movements has progressed (Chabot ; Gallo‐Cruz ; Gleditsch and Rivera ; Isaac et al. ), the field still lacks a framework for understanding how the tactical choices by one organization affect choices of other organizations. This is an imperative first step for understanding why movements unfold as they do, allowing further exploration of why some movements develop into large‐scale campaigns while others do not, and why some turn violent after nonviolent resistance.…”

Section: Studies Of Strategies Of Resistancementioning

confidence: 99%

Strategies of Resistance: Diversification and Diffusion

Cunningham

Dahl

Frugé

2017

American J Political Sci

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Why do organizations choose to use nonviolence? Why do they choose specific nonviolent tactics? Existing quantitative work centers on mass nonviolent campaign, but much of the nonviolence employed in contentious politics is smaller-scale nonviolent direct action. In this article, we explore the determinants of nonviolence with new data at the organization level in self-determination disputes from 1960 to 2005. We present a novel argument about the interdependence of tactical choices among nonviolent options in self-determination movements. Given limitations on their capabilities, competition among organizations in a shared movement, and different resource requirements for nonviolent strategies, we show that organizations have incentives to diversify tactics rather than just copy other organizations. The empirical analysis reveals a rich picture of varied organizational resistance choices, and a complex web of interdependence among tactics.

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Section: Studies Of Strategies Of Resistancementioning

confidence: 99%

Strategies of Resistance: Diversification and Diffusion

Cunningham

Dahl

Frugé

2017

American J Political Sci

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“…While the internet certainly provides an important platform for these processes (Cohen and Rai 2000: 6), as Cumbers et al (2008: 191) assert, place-based sites in which face-to-face interactions unfold 'remain critical in developing trust, understanding deeper affinities, as well as organizational coherence for more sustained translocal interactions between activists'. Notions such as 'free spaces' (Polletta 1999), 'scenes' (Leach and Haunss 2009), 'meetings' (Haug 2013), 'serially linked movement schools' (Isaac et al 2012) and 'contact zones' (De Sousa Santos 2005) all refer to place-based sites where face-to-face interactions occur. Routledge (2003) speaks of 'convergence space' to denote the arrangements of virtual and place-based sites and the interactions developing within.…”

Section: Global Movements Identities Intelligibility Practices Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite strong associations with the organizations that launched them, these seminars and workshops are detachable and mobile infrastructures. This distinguishes them from the 'free spaces' or 'serially linked movement schools' that depend on specific institutions like churches in Southern black communities in the USA (Isaac et al 2012;Polletta 1999: 4). In addition, scholars who focus on place-based sites where face-to-face interactions occur argue that examining these accentuates the importance of the often-overlooked backstage leaders in collective action.…”

Section: Insights From the Study Of Sites And Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, in analysing the entangled geographies of global justice networks, Cumbers et al (2008: 196) stress the role of socalled 'imagineers' -the key activists who 'organize conferences, mobilize resources (for example funds) and facilitate communication and information flows between movements and between movement offices and grass-roots communities'. Likewise, Isaac et al (2012) identify 'mentors' as being pivotal in the movement schools, contributing to the diffusion of the nonviolent Gandhian praxis in Southern civil rights movements in the USA. Similarly, Haug (2013: 709) argues that a focus on meetings reveals the centrality of organizers and facilitators who 'may not be the same as the charismatic leaders that [sic] represent the movement to the general public'.…”

Section: Insights From the Study Of Sites And Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bringing about the global movement for the rights of nature: sites and practices for intelligibility

Espinosa

2017

Global Networks

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Legal scholars, environmental organizations, indigenous groups and activists from around the world are energizing an emergent global movement on the rights of nature. To face the environmental crisis, these heterogeneous actors are coming together to reconceptualize nature as a legal subject. In this article, I examine Democracy Schools and Awakening the Dreamer Symposia (ADS) to establish where and how this emergent movement is being organized. The meaning structures, knowledge stocks and identity cues that characterize it are made intelligible to potential adherents through these seminars and workshops. Interpretive analysis reveals that Democracy Schools and ADSs are distinctively mobile and replicable infrastructures. The concept of ‘stagings' was developed to help examine cultural and spatial dynamics in heterogeneous and extensive collective action.

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“…These studies depict diffusion occurring through three mechanisms: relational diffusion (whereby information flows through interpersonal ties and networks), non‐relational diffusion (where information flows through media technologies), and mediated diffusion (where a third party bridges two unconnected groups). Some scholars have focused on the relational diffusion of Gandhian ideas to the US civil rights movement through key African‐American leaders who lived in India (Fox, ; Isaac et al, ). Regarding mediated diffusion, Gallo‐Cruz () has documented how international non‐governmental organizations have facilitated the growth of global non‐violence networks.…”

Section: Historical Development Of Non‐violent Civil Resistance Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nonviolent Civil Resistance and Social Movements

Nepstad¹

2013

Sociology Compass

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Research on non-violent civil resistance has burgeoned in recent years. This field has much in common with the study of social movements, and yet there has been little cross-fertilization between these literatures. In this article, I review the historical development of non-violence studies from its Gandhian roots, through an emphasis on strategic non-violence, to current empirical research that has generated new insights into the strategic interactions between non-violent movements and their opponents, the effects of repression, the factors shaping movement outcomes, and cross-national tactical diffusion. I summarize key findings and implications for the field of social movements. I conclude by charting out new areas of inquiry that future researchers ought to explore.Recently, a growing number of movements have successfully used non-violent tactics and strategies. These movementsincluding the "velvet revolutions" in Eastern Europe, the "color revolutions" in former Communist regions, and the Arab Spring revoltshave energized the field of non-violence studies, also known as civil resistance studies. Although non-violence studies offer insights into social movements, these two fields are largely disconnected. Therefore, in this article, I will (i) cover the historical development of non-violence studies; (ii) summarize its main findings, briefly indicating how this complements social movement studies; and (iii) delineate areas of inquiry that future researchers ought to pursue. What is non-violent civil resistance and why study it?A quick look at the non-violence literature reveals that many terms are used: people power, non-violent action, satyagraha, and unarmed insurrections. Although each has distinct connotations, scholars have used "civil resistance" as an umbrella term to cover many forms of non-violence. Adam Roberts defined civil resistance as [A] type of political action that relies on the use of non-violent methods. . .. It involves a range of widespread and sustained activities that challenge a particular power, force, policy, or regimehence the term 'resistance.' The adjective 'civil' in this context denotes that which pertains to a citizen or society, implying that a movement's goals are 'civil' in the sense of being widely shared in a society; and it denotes that the action concerned is non-military or non-violent in character (Roberts, 2009, p. 2).

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“Movement Schools” and Dialogical Diffusion of Nonviolent Praxis: Nashville Workshops in the Southern Civil Rights Movement

Cited by 22 publications

References 12 publications

Strategies of Resistance: Diversification and Diffusion

Strategies of Resistance: Diversification and Diffusion

Bringing about the global movement for the rights of nature: sites and practices for intelligibility

Nonviolent Civil Resistance and Social Movements

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