Citizenship and Social Change

Abstract

How are contemporary French movements to be interpreted or understood? Where should they be situated in relation to current theories and debates? A considerable amount of attention has been devoted to the task of defining what social movements are and describing the role that they assume within political and social life. This question has spawned a truly dizzying array of theories, models, paradigms and approaches, each of which proposes a different understanding or viewpoint on what the social movement is.1 Suffice it to say, there is no agreement as to what constitutes a social movement. Some may recognise sporadic acts of protest as evidence of emerging movements within society, whereas others may refuse to accept all but the most structured and institutionalised entities as genuine examples of movements. Whether a powerful force for change or a weak ephemeral phenomenon, a cultural instrument or a political tool, a subversive and dangerous element or a civic and democratic symbol, the meaning of social movements is as varied and conflictual as the movements themselves: The meaning of contentious collective action has itseif always been open to contention.’2 French sociologists, for their part, have made a rich and pivotal contribution to this body of literature, particularly through the work of prominent intellectuals such as Alain Touraine and more recently, Pierre Bourdieu.3 KeywordsSocial ChangeSocial MovementContemporary SocietyFrench RevolutionIndividual CitizenThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.