Big Fights: Competition between Poor People's Social Movement Organizations

Abstract

Using a national survey and interviews with organizers, the authors find two broad areas of competition between social movement organizations (SMOs). Territorial competition focuses on turf and resources. Organizational competition comprises recruitment of staff leadership styles, definition of issues, training strategies, and recruitment of members. In this study of poor people's SMOs, the authors find that competition differs between SMOs in national federations and those that are independent, local groups. Further, they find that competition, rather than cooperation, is the prevailing pressure on SMOs.