Cover; Title; Copyright; Dedication; CONTENTS; List of figures; List of boxes; Acknowledgements; 1 Introduction; Should we be optimistic about social movement radicalism?; Social movements in society; Doing social movement research; Understanding social movements; 2 Origins of social movement studies; Introduction; Social psychology of crowds; Collective behaviour theory; Box 2.1 Propaganda and collective behaviour: The Nuremburg rallies; Symbolic interactionism: Blumer's theory of social movements; Box 2.2 Social movement colours: 'Rebel Colours'; Box 2.3 Emergent norm theory Smelser's structural-functionalism and the value-added modelBox 2.4 Determinants of collective behaviour: Example of a financial panic; Evaluating Blumer and Smelser; The enduring influence of collective behaviour theories and symbolic interactionism; Box 2.5 Social movements as dramas; Summary; Rational choice theory and the free rider problem; Critiques of rational choice theory; Conclusion; Suggested readings; Note; 3 Political opportunity, resource mobilization, and social movement organization; Introduction; Resource mobilization theory; Box 3.1 Defining 'social movement' Political process modelStructure of political opportunities; Box 3.2 Political opportunity and nested institutions: The case of New Zealand's anti-nuclear weapons movement; Box 3.3 Opportunity structures in anti-corporate activism; Repertoires of contention; Box 3.4 The Rebecca Riots; Box 3.5 Revolt of the Languedoc winegrowers; Cycles of protest; Box 3.6 The importance of preexisting networks for black insurgency and the US civil rights movement; How organized should a social movement be?; Assessing social movement success The 'cultural turn' in resource mobilization theory: Framing processes and collective actionBox 3.7 Master frames and cycles of protest; Conclusion; Suggested readings; Notes; 4 Social movements, old and new; Introduction; New social movements in programmed society; Box 4.1 Post-materialism; Social movements and social class; Social movements as 'nomads of the present'; Box 4.2 Women's self-help movements; Criticisms of new social movement theory; Box 4.3 Disabled people's fight for equal rights and anti-discrimination laws; Box 4.4 From Fordism to post-Fordism Social welfare movements: Recognition or redistribution, or both?Protesting precarity: New wine, old bottles?; Box 4.5 Symbols of precarity protests; Abeyance structures; Summary; Box 4.6 Abeyance structures and social welfare: The infant welfare movement; Social movements surviving neoliberalism; Box 4.7 Austerity and protest; Synthesizing approaches; Conclusion; Suggested readings; Notes; 5 Protest and culture; Introduction; Passionate politics; Box 5.1 Dispassionate politics? Non-emotional framing in animal rights activism.

"This book offers a new and fresh approach to understanding social movements. It provides interdisciplinary perspectives on social and cultural protest, and contentious politics. It considers major theories and concepts, which are presented in an accessible and engaging format. Historical and contemporary case studies and examples from a variety of different countries are provided throughout, including the American civil rights movement, Greenpeace, Pussy Riot, indigenous peoples movements, liberation theology, Occupy, Tea Party, and the Arab Spring. The book presents specific chapters outlining the early origins of social movement studies, and more recent theoretical and conceptual developments. It considers key ideas from resource mobilization theory, the political process model, and new social movement approaches. It provides an expansive commentary on the role of culture in social protest, and looks at substantive areas in chapters dedicated to religious movements, geography and struggles over space, media and movements, and global activism. Understanding Social Movements will be a useful resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students across disciplines wanting to be introduced to or extend their knowledge of the field. The book will also prove invaluable for lecturers and academic researchers interested in studying social movements"--