Social Movements

Social Movement
• Is defined as a set of attitudes and self-conscious actions by people
seeking to change society.
• Involve a larger number of people mobilized to endorse or resist any
social and cultural change.
• Is a group action
• It can be large, maybe formal or informal, formed by individuals or
different organizations which have the same political or social issues
being advocated.
• Most often, these movements are in favor of either institutional or
societal change.
Social Movement
• A network of informal interactions between a plurality of individuals,
groups and/or organizations, engaged in a political or cultural conflict
on the basis of a shared collective identity
• As a series of contentious performances, displays and campaigns by
which ordinary people make collective claims on others.
• Are a major vehicle for ordinary people’s participation in public
politics.
Three Major Elements of Social Movement
• Campaigns- a sustained, organized public effort collective claims of
target authorities;
• Repertoire- employment of combinations from among the following
forms of political actions; creation of special-purpose associations
and coalitions, public meetings, solemn processions, vigils, rallies,
demonstrations, petition drives, statements to and in public media,
and pamphleteering; and
• WUNC displays- participants’ concerted public representation of
worthiness, unity, numbers, and commitments on the part of
themselves and/or their constituencies.
Types of Social Movements
• According to Scope
• Reform Movement- movements which advocate changing some norms or
laws in an institution or community. Examples of such a movement would
include a trade union with a goal increasing the rights of the laborers, a green
movement that advocates setting of ecological laws, or a movement
supporting the implementation of capital punishment, or the right to
abortion. Some reform movements may aim for a change in custom and
moral norms, such as censure of pornography.
Radical Movement
• Movements dedicated to changing the value systems in a
fundamental way. Good example of this would be the American Civil
Rights Movement that demanded for full implementation of civil
rights and equality under the law to all Americans, without
discrimination as to race.
According to Change
• Innovation Movement- these are movements which aim to introduce
or change particular norms, and values. An example is the
Singularitarianism Movement. This movement is advocating
measured action to effect and ensure the safety of the technological
singularity.
• Conservative Movement- this refers to movements that want to
preserve existing norms, and values like that of the anti-technology
19th century movement called Luddites. This movement opposed the
spread of the genetically modified food. Their members are
conservative because their reasons are aimed at fighting specific
technological changes.
According to Targets
• Group-Focus Movements- fixed on moving groups or society in
general like advocating change in the nation’s political system. Most
of the members of this group join a political party but still remain
outside the reformist party political system.
• Individual-Focused Movements- this type of movement is focused on
affecting the individuals. Examples of this are the different religious
movements.
According to Methods of work
• Peaceful Movements- from the word itself-peaceful- which means
movements that are nonviolent. Their means of protest are
diplomatic and they campaign for nonviolent resistance. Many social
movements like the Indian Independence movement are examples of
peaceful movements.
• Violent Movements- a number of social movements would fall under
this category where members of the group usually resort to violent
means of protesting and campaigning for their views. This type of
movement is usually armed and in extreme cases can take a form of
paramilitary or even terrorist organization. An example of this would
be the Al-Qaida.
According to Age
• Old Movements- are movements that have existed for many years or
even centuries. Most of the oldest recognized movements have
existed since the late 18th and 19th centuries and these movements
struggled for changes in their respective social groups- the working
class, peasants, whites, aristocrats, Protestants, men.
• New Movements- are movements that came into realization just at
the turn of the second half of the 20th century. Examples of new
movements are the feminist movement and environmentalist
movement.
According to Range
• Global Movements- these are social movement whose objectives and
goals are aimed globally. Examples of these movements are the First
Internationals, and World Social Forum Movements among others.
Global movements pursue change at a global level.
• Local Movements- are social movements that are local in terms of
scope. The focus of these movements are on local or regional
objectives like protecting a natural park or area, and lobbying for the
lowering of tolls in a certain tollway
Levels of Social Movements
• Local level movements- are those actions that push change in a local
area such as the one that happened in Winnipeg, Manitoba in
Canada. Winnipeg’s inner city is well known for having a poor
aboriginal population, with a very low level of income and education,
and where drugs, gangs, and violence are commonplace.
• It is also a home to a number of social movements, mostly grassroots
community organizations type of social movement.
• Winnipeg Boldness Project- investment in early childhood care in the
Point Douglas community.
Regional Level
• Are social movements that are bigger in area and scope compared to
that of a local movement.
• One of these is the resources for Central Canada at the expense of
Alberta which they found inequitable.
• Another one is the sense of alienation of western people because
Canadian federal politics was mostly dominated by the interests of
Quebec and Ontario.
National Level
• Is a bigger in scope because the movement concerns the whole
nation or country and it involves national politics or economy.
• A well-known national social movement is the Idle No More which is a
group of aborigines.
• The movement started when a group of aboriginal women protested
the Conservative government’s C-45 omnibus bill.
• This bill is presented though it lacked the necessary consultation from
the aboriginal group and made changes in provisions in the Indian
Act, the Navigation Protection Act, and the Environmental
Assessment Act.
Global Level
• Concern all the people around the world.
• Their issues are not only contained in local, regional, or national level
but on a global scale.
• These large and wider forms of civic participation and involvement
are being interpreted as a unique phenomenon of the emergence of a
global civic society.
• Ex. The Debt Relief Movement that aimed to raise the issue of debt
cancellation among world leaders, countries and institutions,
multilateral and bilateral donors and creditors.
Environmentalism
• Is a social movement whose advocacies are inline with concerns for
the environment- its protection and improvement.
• Promotes the lawful preservation, restoration and improvement of
the natural resources.
• Coal Smoke Abatement Society- is the oldest environmental group
which was form in1898. It was founded by Sir William Blake
Richmond.
• It is more of a non-government organization than a social movement.
Feminism
• Feminism is the simple term for the women’s liberation movement.
• It is a feminist movement which is a series of political campaigns to
push for reforms on issues involving women such as reproductive
rights, domestic violence, fair labor practice, political suffrage, and
sexual harassment.
• The movement is present in almost every country but it may vary in
terms of priorities and range. It may be political, ideological, or social,
but either of the three, all share a common goal- to define, establish,
and achieve equal political, economic, cultural, personal, and social
rights for all women all over the world.