Movements, Countermovements, and the Structure of Political Opportunity

Meyer, David S.; Staggenborg, Suzanne

doi:10.1086/230869

Cited by 1,018 publications

(647 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Past social movements train activists for current struggles, pass on knowhow that becomes the content of tactical repertoires, and leave a cultural legacy that opens and closes doors to current movements (Isaac and Christiansen 2002;Voss and Sherman 2000). Contemporaneous social movements affect one another by molding political opportunity structures, providing and competing for resources, and generating allies in coalitions and opponents in countermovements (Evans and Kay 2008;Isaac, McDonald, and Lukasik 2006;Meyer and Staggenborg 1996). Future social movements matter because these are where a movement may have its most definitive impact.…”

Section: Mobilization In a Multi-movement Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hybrid Activism: Social Movement Mobilization in a Multimovement Environment

Heaney

Rojas

2014

American Journal of Sociology

105

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Antiwar movements mobilize in environments in which many of their potential supporters maintain loyalties to other social movements. Social movement organizations must find ways to attract supporters from these allied movements if peace demonstrations are to achieve critical mass. We argue that organizations with hybrid identities -those whose organizational identities span the boundaries of the antiwar movement and one or more other social movements -are vital to mobilizations for peace. Our analysis draws upon original data from surveys of 5,410 antiwar demonstrators conducted in 2007-2009, combined with publicly available data on 526 organizations that helped to mobilize them. Regression analysis using a two-stage mixed-process estimator shows that individuals with past involvement in non-antiwar movements are more likely to join hybrid organizations than are individuals without involvement in non-antiwar movements. Regression analyses using Tobit and Negative Binomial panel estimators establish that organizations with hybrid identities occupy relatively more central positions in interorganizational co-contact networks within the antiwar movement, and contact significantly more participants in demonstrations, than do their peer organizations. A movementlevel examination of the distribution of hybrid organizations helps to pinpoint some of the strengths and weaknesses in antiwar organizing. For example, numerous hybrid organizations form on the basis of gender and religious identities, but few organizations form to connect with environmental, African-American, and Latino activists. We conclude by proposing a broader research agenda on hybrid organizations, as well as on the role of individual biographies in social movements. Keywords

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Section: Mobilization In a Multi-movement Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hybrid Activism: Social Movement Mobilization in a Multimovement Environment

Heaney

Rojas

2014

American Journal of Sociology

105

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“…Following the impressive (and ultimately successful) protest led by the merchants, Sumangala's public performance of authority at the mosque could be seen as a strategic maneuver to reaffirm his position in the local power structure at a time when he is estranged from the local minister and the Dambulla merchants are becoming increasingly influential figures in local politicking. At another level, the attack on the mosque could be seen as the exploitation of a 'political opportunity ' (see, Bedi 2013:45;Meyer & Staggenborg 1996) by creating such a spectacle, Sumangala prompted the government to prove they were either as dedicated to post-war cohabitation as they had publicly professed to be, or, that they were committed to the nationalist rhetoric of SinhalaBuddhist primacy they also promulgate and on which their political support base rests.…”

Section: Sumangala and Recognising Politicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

On sacred ground: the political performance of religious responsibility

Heslop

2014

Contemporary South Asia

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“…Scholars have called for greater attention to the role of private actors as agents of protest control in studies of social movement repression (Earl, 2004(Earl, , 2006Ferree, 2005;Meyer & Staggenborg, 1996). It is particularly important to examine how these private agents affect social movement tactics, and ultimately how the activities of private opponents impact social movement success.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%