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6 Anarchism as a “new social movement”? The conception of society just sketched, and the tendency which is its dynamic expression, have always existed in mankind, in opposition to the governing hierarchic conception and tendency – now the one and now the other taking the upper hand at different periods of history. (Peter Kropotkin) The new? Few sociological perspectives excel at summarizing the character of current anarchist movements, with the exception of those grouped under the moniker of “new social movement” (NSM) theories. This chapter presents the
4 The significance of social movement theory to anarchism Revolutions are brought about by those who think as people of action and act as people of thought. (Emma Goldman) What is social movement theory? Even though anarchism is itself a social theory, anarchism has been underutilized by sociologists developing sociological theories (Williams 2014). Likewise, anarchist movements – themselves the social application and embodiment of anarchist theories – have not been interpreted via sociological social movement theories. Of course, activist theorizing happens
32 2 Sociology and the Catholic social movement in an independent Irish state Introduction This chapter examines the emergence of sociology as a subject taught in southern Irish universities and adult education courses in the 1930s and 1940s. It also takes in the wider context of this development –the growth of a Catholic social movement with ambitions to reshape the state’s institution and policies in line with the principles expounded by papal encyclicals. Negatively influential in blocking state intervention projects in fields such as health, this movement
9 Camps as social service and social movement An extraordinary variety of private and voluntary work camp movements flourished in the interwar years. Many young men and women from the middle and upper classes left their comfortable homes to live among the poor, labouring through their long vacations to build playgrounds, swimming pools and libraries.1 Others created or joined work camps to prepare for a new life, whether as Jewish settlers, Nordic patriots or English communitarians. Some had more self-serving motives: in Sussex, a Commander Lacy helped to found
, C. ( 2019 ), ‘ Labour Activism and Social Movement Unionism in the Gig Economy: Food Delivery Workers’ Struggles in Italy ’, Partecipazione e Conflitto , 12 : 3 , 819 – 44 , doi: 10.1285/i20356609v12i3p819 . Cusolito , A.P. , Gévaudan , C
Whether called pressure groups, NGOs, social movement organisations or organised civil society, the value of ‘groups’ to the policy process, to economic growth, to governance, to political representation and to democracy has always been contested. However, there seems to be a contemporary resurgence in this debate, largely centred on their democratising potential: can groups effectively link citizens to political institutions and policy processes? Are groups an antidote to emerging democratic deficits? Or do they themselves face challenges in demonstrating their legitimacy and representativeness? This book debates the democratic potential and practice of groups, focusing on the vibrancy of internal democracies, and modes of accountability with those who join such groups and to the constituencies they advocate for. It draws on literatures covering national, European and global levels, and presents empirical material from the UK and Australia.
The black flag means negation, anger, outrage, mourning, beauty, hope, and the fostering and sheltering of new forms of human life and relationship on and with the earth. This book aims to destroy many of the assumptions and stereotypes about anarchism, anarchists, and anarchist movements. It introduces Mario Diani's definition of a social movement: networks of individuals and organizations, united by some shared identity, that engage in extra-institutional action with the interest of changing society. Social movements must be composed of individuals. The book provides new insights into individual participants in anarchist movements by investigating what the micro-level characteristics of contemporary anarchists are, and how these characteristics differ from those of anarchists in past movements. The anarchist movement can be interrogated from many vantage points (especially macro- and meso-analyses), in both longitudinal and cross-sectional contexts. The book explores the usefulness (or lack thereof) of social movement theories for understanding anarchist movements. It challenges the assumption that the state is a strategic location of opportunity from the perspective of radical, anti-state movements. The essential dimensions of "new social movement" (NSM) theories are discussed, with highlights on the differences between the contemporary anarchist movement and other NSMs. The book also explores ideas from major social capital theorists, and considers the value of social capital. Whereas most sociological research on anti-authoritarian diffusion and isomorphism has focused on mainstream organizations or reformist social movements, anarchist movements pose a particular challenge to the earlier findings focused on the non-anarchists.
Along with the suffrage campaign, women's liberation activism is one of the most renowned aspects of women's political history. The women's liberation movement (WLM) has often been linked with the 'big city'. This is the first book-length account of the women's liberation movement in Scotland, which charts the origins and development of this important social movement of the post-1945 period. In doing so, it reveals the inventiveness and fearlessness of feminist activism, while also pointing towards the importance of considering the movement from the local and grassroots perspectives. This book has two central arguments. First, it presses for a more representative historiography in which material from other places outside of the large women's liberation centres are included. Second, it highlights that case studies not only enrich our knowledge about women's liberation but they also challenge the way the British movement has been portrayed by both participants and historians. The book commences with contextualising the subject and summarising recent research into the movement in the United Kingdom. It looks at the roots of the movement by offering portrayals of the women who went on to form women's liberation groups in Scotland. The book then analyses the phenomenon of 'consciousness-raising' (CR) and the part it had to play in the WLM's development. The focus then moves to exploring where, when and why women's liberation groups emerged. The campaigns taken up by the WLM were to defend abortion rights and campaign against violence against women.
The Portuguese Revolution of 1974-1975 was a critical juncture in the second half of the European twentieth century. It was the first in a series of authoritarian collapses that would bring the whole of western and central Europe into liberal democracy, and the so-called Revolution of the Carnations was also many other things. This book is the first in-depth study of the widest urban movement of the European post-war period, an event that shook the balance of Cold War politics by threatening the possibility of revolution in Western Europe. The Socialist Party (PS) and the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) set about dismantling the idea that there had popular movement embodying the possibility of different society. A significant policy shift in the field of housing lay the foundations for a change in the relations and meanings of urban citizenship. Popular mobilisation over the summer and autumn of 1974 was key in undermining a project of limited liberalisation and strengthening the hand of those in Armed Forces Movement (MFA) and civilian parties. After the April 1975 elections, the conflicting claims between revolutionary and electoral legitimacy, between the street and the ballot box, created an increasingly polarised atmosphere, and claims of imminent coups and plots were discussed. The Lisbon urban social movement did not disappear on 25 November 1975. Exploring the origins, trajectory and demise of the urban movement in Lisbon has been a way to question and revisit the role of popular collective actors in Portugal's revolution and transition to democracy.
This book provides a series of rich reflections on the interaction between the radical ideas and political action in Ireland. It aims to provide insights into how selected mobilising classics have framed or have the potential to frame Irish social movement discourses and oppositional activity. The book provides an account of the contributor's personal encounters with the classic text, some by word of mouth from their parents, others through copies passed around in activists' groups, and others still through serendipitous reading. The classic text were published over a period that spans three centuries. Thomas Paine's The Rights of Man, published in 1791, is the oldest text considered, whereas Our Common Future, published in 1987 by the UN-established World Commission on Environment and Development, is the most recent. In Hilary Tovey's commentary on Our Common Future, the work of a committee, she reveals tensions within the classic text and argues that its key concept 'sustainable development' is an inspirational but confused one. Orla McDonnell's essay on The Myth of Mental Illness by Thomas Szasz considers his ideas about the huge social costs of the medicalisation of 'the problems of living'. In contrast, Orla O'Donovan's reflections on Ivan Illich's Tools for Conviviality, consider how his ideas can springboard our thinking beyond the prisons of visionlessness or circumscribed political imaginations. Eileen O'Carroll's essay on William Thompson's Practical Education for the South of Ireland traces early Irish articulations of socialist feminism.