Class 7: Movements

movement-parties

Dr. Michael C. Zeller

Opening notes

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Presentation groups

Topics to me as soon as possible

Date Presenters Method
5 June: Rasmus B., Andre D., Josefine E., Ioanna L., Santiago C. surveys
12 June: Omar B., Lela E., Niclas W. network analysis
19 June: NO CLASS MEETING
26 June: Colombe I., Konstantin S., Jakob W., Veronika L. network analysis
26 June: Maksim K., Felix S., Jon L.D., Damir S., Korbinian M. case study
Date Presenters Method
3 July: Alexander V., Luis G., Oscar O., Mia C. descriptive inference
10 July: Lina S., Stephen W., Philomena B., Aarón Z. ethnography
17 July: Corinna Z., Eva M., and Rostislav N. TBD
24 July: Sebastian K., Thomas R., Emilia Z., Florian P. TBD
24 July: Lorenz F., Daniel B., Medina H. quant. text analysis
Presentations line-up
Date Presenters Method
15 May: Idil M., Zeynep P., Liesl W., Selin K., Chiara W. logistic regression
22 May: Gabriel W., Lina M., Florian S., Julian B. discourse analysis
29 May: NO CLASS MEETING

Introduction to social movements

  • collective behaviour theory
  • resource mobilisation theory
  • ‘cultural turn’ and new social movements
  • political process theory
Social Movement Hands Up GIFfrom Social Movement GIFs

Collective behaviour theory (CBT)

  • origins: something went wrong in the interwar years – what precisely and why?

    • mix of sociological and psychological approach—influenced by scholarship of Durkheim and Marx

  • some key scholars: Ted Gurr, Ralph Turner and Lewis Killian

  • movements as part of ‘emergent phenomena,’ ranging from trends and gossip, to collective action up to and including insurrection and revolution. Movements here are ‘abnormal,’ consequences and manifestations of strain, deprivation, and grievance.

  • key concepts

    • grievance
    • (relative) deprivation

Resource mobilisation theory

  • origins: shift from ‘why’ collective action to ‘how’ collective action

  • some key scholars: McCarthy & Zald, Tilly, Tarrow, McAdam

  • focus on organisations: how they mobilise and campaign in strategic pursuit of goals

  • degree of resources under the control of a movement

  • key concepts:

    • strategy and tactics
    • types of resources: material (finances, property, supplies), human (quantity and expert quality of members/activists), organisational (capacity to disseminate and enact strategy), moral (solidarity support, legitimacy and sympathetic support)

discussion: strategy and tactics

  • what strategies and tactics do movements use?

discussion: strategy and tactics

  • what (corresponding?) organisational forms do they take?
  • what strategies and tactics do movements use?

discussion: strategy and tactics

  • what (corresponding?) organisational forms do they take?
    • hierarchical vs. horizontal
  • what strategies and tactics do movements use?
    • direct action vs. indirect/demonstrative action

The ‘cultural turn’ and new social movements

  • origins: Gramscian concentration on internal life of movements, values and meaning-making; otherwise the central contribution of ‘new social movements’ is missed
  • some key scholars: Melucci, Polletta, Jasper
  • key concepts:

framing

emotion work

identity construction

The ‘cultural turn’ and new social movements

  • origins: Gramscian concentration on internal life of movements, values and meaning-making; otherwise the central contribution of ‘new social movements’ is missed
  • some key scholars: Melucci, Polletta, Jasper
  • key concepts:

framing

emotion work

identity construction

movement solidarity

Political process theory (PPT)

  • broadening from organisational focus to surrounding structure

  • some key scholars: della Porta, Tilly, Koopmans, Rucht

  • key concepts:

  • common focus on ‘protest event data’—means of comparatively measuring effects of political opportunities

Summing up

  • Not exhaustive of SMS theories. There’s also: political mediation model, field theory, relational/network approaches, etc.

Summing up

  • PPT and concepts from the other main theories provide framework for research on the far right
  • Not exhaustive of SMS theories. There’s also: political mediation model, field theory, relational/network approaches, etc.

Movement-parties

  • what does this concept mean
  • discussion: advantages and liabilities of acting as a party? as a movement?
  • what are examples (historical, contemporary)
Nbc Snl GIFfrom Nbc GIFs

Movement-parties concept

  • organised, registered as political party
    • fielding candidates, contesting elections (even if just locally)
  • mobilises members and supporters in extra-institutional activism like social movement
    • protests, cultural events beyond purpose of supporting election

combine electoral representation with extra-institutional mobilisation (H. Kitschelt 2006)

  • treating as parties neglects distinctive movement-style activism
  • treating as movements neglects unique instrumentalisation of institutional politics

Movement-parties - discussion

What are advantages and liabilities of acting as a party?

What are advantages and liabilities of acting as a movement?

Why mix? Can it minimise the liabilities and maximise the advantages of both types?

Movement-parties - discussion

What are advantages and liabilities of acting as a movement?

What are advantages and liabilities of acting as a party?

Why mix? Can it minimise the liabilities and maximise the advantages of both types?

Movement-parties - discussion

What are advantages and liabilities of acting as a party?

What are advantages and liabilities of acting as a movement?

Why mix? Can it minimise the liabilities and maximise the advantages of both types?

Movement-parties - discussion

What are advantages and liabilities of acting as a party?

What are advantages and liabilities of acting as a movement?

Why mix? Can it minimise the liabilities and maximise the advantages of both types?

Movement-parties - discussion

What are advantages and liabilities of acting as a party?

What are advantages and liabilities of acting as a movement?

Why mix? Can it minimise the liabilities and maximise the advantages of both types?

Movement-parties - conceptual comparison

Feature Party Movement Movement-Party
Goal Win elections, govern Influence culture/policy Both
Structure Bureaucratic, stable Fluid, network-based Hybrid
Strategy Policy platforms Protest, activism Mixed
Members Formal Informal, participation Flexible

Movement-parties - conceptual comparison

  • But the concept has fuzzy boundaries, several borderline cases
    • e.g., parties that function symbiotically with movements
Feature Party Movement Movement-Party
Goal Win elections, govern Influence culture/policy Both
Structure Bureaucratic, stable Fluid, network-based Hybrid
Strategy Policy platforms Protest, activism Mixed
Members Formal Informal, participation Flexible

Movement-parties - conceptual comparison

  • But the concept has fuzzy boundaries, several borderline cases
    • Parties (e.g., SVP) engaged in lots of grassroots activism (Favero and Zulianello 2023)
    • e.g., parties that function symbiotically with movements
Feature Party Movement Movement-Party
Goal Win elections, govern Influence culture/policy Both
Structure Bureaucratic, stable Fluid, network-based Hybrid
Strategy Policy platforms Protest, activism Mixed
Members Formal Informal, participation Flexible

Movement-parties cases (Pirro and Castelli Gattinara 2018)

  • based in Hungary
  • founded around paramilitary-style actions (e.g., marches in Roma areas)
  • in elections since 2009

  • based in Italy
  • founded around direct action tactics (e.g., squatting)
  • in elections 2013-2019

Movement-parties cases (Pirro and Castelli Gattinara 2018)

both in transition from movement to party form (p377) – what has happened since 2018?

  • based in Hungary
  • founded around paramilitary-style actions (e.g., marches in Roma areas)
  • in elections since 2009

  • based in Italy
  • founded around direct action tactics (e.g., squatting)
  • in elections 2013-2019

Movement-parties

What other cases do you think this concept describes?

Check-in on responses and counter-strategies (week 6)

Recall…

  • Actors: state, business, movements, media, parties
  • Actions: oppose, dismiss, accommodate
  • Effects: disband, constratin, weaken, deradicalise, normalise

. . .

  • questions on this? examples you know of?
Gandalf Battle GIFfrom Gandalf GIFs

Sardines!

Cryptoflash Nft GIFfrom Cryptoflash GIFs

Sardines (Colombo et al. 2021)

The Sardines held “anti-fascist, pro-equality, anti-intolerance, and anti-homophobic” views, they denounced a political communication based on racism, fascism, sexism and discrimination, standing their ground against it. (p5)

  • mobilising against Lega (Salvini) in Italy’s 2020 election campaign

Sardines (Colombo et al. 2021)

RQ(s): how can support for FR be curbed? “we ask whether bottom-up mobilization against the far-right can undermine or boost support for the far-right. What happens when citizens mobilize in grassroots rallies against far-right political actors?” (p2)

  • cf. Lagios, Méon, and Tojerow (2022) and Ellinas and Lamprianou (2023)

findings: grassroots mobilisation can decrease appeal of FR …

Sardines (Colombo et al. 2021)

findings: grassroots mobilisation can decrease appeal of FR …

  • possible mechanisms?
  1. social pressure effect, reinforcing stigmatisation of FR politics,
  1. informative effect, raising awareness of FR threats,
  1. outing of (voting) intent, committing demonstration participants/supporters to a certain electoral choice
  • But also possible backlash effects

Any questions, concerns, feedback for this class?

Anonymous feedback here: https://forms.gle/pisUmtmWdE13zMD58

Alternatively, send me an email: m.zeller@lmu.de

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References

Benford, Robert D, and David a Snow. 2000. “Framing Processes and Social Movements: An Overview and Assessment.” Annual Review Sociologic 26 (1974): 611–39. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.26.1.611.
Colombo, Francesco, Alessandro Ferrara, Foteini-Maria Vassou, Fabrizio Bernardi, and Elias Dinas. 2021. “From the Streets to the Voting Booth: The Electoral Effect of Grassroots Mobilization Against the Far-Right.” Firenze: European University Institute.
Ellinas, Antonis A., and Iasonas Lamprianou. 2023. “Movement Versus Party: The Electoral Effects of Anti-Far Right Protests in Greece.” American Political Science Review, July, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055423000588.
Favero, Adrian, and Mattia Zulianello. 2023. “Building Legitimacy: Why the Populist Radical Right Engages in Grassroots Activism at the Local Level.” Journal of Contemporary European Studies, October, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/14782804.2023.2269383.
Kitschelt, Herbert. 2006. “Movement Parties.” In Handbook of Party Politics, 1:278–90. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kitschelt, Herbert P. 1986. “Political Opportunity Structures and Political Protest: Anti-Nuclear Movements in Four Democracies.” British Journal of Political Science 16 (1): 57–85.
Koopmans, Ruud, and Susan Olzak. 2004. “Discursive Opportunities and the Evolution of Right-Wing Violence in Germany.” American Journal of Sociology 110 (1): 198–230. https://doi.org/10.1086/386271.
Lagios, Nicolas, Pierre-Guillaume Méon, and Ilan Tojerow. 2022. “Does It Pay Off to Demonstrate Against the Far Right?”
Pirro, Andrea L. P., and Pietro Castelli Gattinara. 2018. “Movement Parties of the Far Right: The Organization and Strategies of Nativist Collective Actors.” Mobilization: An International Quarterly 23 (3): 367–83. https://doi.org/10.17813/1086-671X-23-3-367.
Tarrow, Sidney G. 2011. Power in Movement: Social Movements and Contentious Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511973529.