From Competitive Theorizing Towards a Synthesis in the Global Study of Political Movements

Abstract

This article examines cross-national social movement theory for its analytic utility in addressing the critical role that political processes play in social movement mobilization. First it critically reviews recent cross-national research on political movements, highlighting the growing body of literature which confirms the mobilizing role played by political processes. Second, it discusses the essential propositions presented by the three major approaches to the field - the new social movement, resource mobilization and political opportunity - discussing each school's ability to account for the role that politics plays in movement mobilization. Finally, this article argues that of these three models, a reconceptualized, synthetic political process approach represents a more inclusive alternative for arriving at a more generalized understanding of the important interplay between movements and politics.