Social Movement Theory

What is the point of Social Movement Theory (SMT)?

The point of Social Movement Theory is to help us further understand how and why social movements take place. It is pluralistic in its approach, including both historical and social contexts. It is a theory, which means that SMT sets forth patterns that can be analyzed to help predict current and future events. It looks into long-term unrest that accumulates, such as political, social, or religious unrest, and how that can lead to a widespread movement for change. It looks at different ways that conflict can be resolved. But also, it identifies actors. And the key actors in large scale social movements are the general population, often workers, which SMT recognizes and values.

Is there any reason we couldn’t use the same analytical frameworks to study, say, the American Civil Rights movement and movements for political change in the MENA region?

I think that SMT would be very helpful in analyzing the American Civil Rights movement because, like the Arab Spring, it did not happen overnight and there were many different triggers. SMT would help identify the actors. In A Force More Powerful, the original actors were the students that were forced into segregation. But that segregation ran much deeper than just the schools. SMT would highlight the fact that the entire city of Nashville was segregated and that there was a dominant group in power. This inequality is one of the main reasons, or whys, for the movement. Another key facet of SMT is what happens once a movement begins, and how the group acts. One aspect of the American Civil Rights movement is resource mobilization. In the documentary, the protesters had very clear organization with specific strategies and tactics such as non-violence and allowing themselves to be jailed.

This theory can also be applied to the MENA region, especially considering Hinnebusch's research of democratization. This case is unique since it is not necessarily a movement built off of unrest among the masses. In fact, Hinnebusch considers MENA to be in the intermediate transitional phase which is that democracy is possible but not necessary. The SMT would explain this because of the negative feelings towards the West and imperialism. Since SMT includes historic contexts, the historic destruction by imperialism in this area explains current social movements or lack thereof.
 

What use can SMT be in understanding the success of Islamist movements?

The Social Movement Theory is especially helpful when understanding Islamist movements because of its pluralistic capabilities. It takes into account culture and social attitudes, which are key to modern Islamic movements. Like Hinnebusch highlights, the Islamic world in MENA was split arbitrarily by borders, without taking into account the general population or cultures. This has led to sub-states and supra-states, which are key actors that SMT would identify. These actors are relevant when attempting to mobilize people as well as understand the general feelings of the people towards certain topics such as Western ideals. They are also significant in the cultural context by identifying distinct identities such as Islam or Arabism.

Question: was there a reading that I missed that went into more detail about what SMT was? The reading seemed to assume that you were supposed to already know what it was.