Rethinking Social Movements

Abstract

This chapter is concerned with the study of social movements. North American social movement studies have undergone a number of iterations. In general, however, they tend towards narrow models—historical context is downplayed and political economy ignored. The European study of new social movements has a wider scope, suggesting changes in contestation are inextricably bound to wider social change, although political economy is still marginalised. “Activist scholars” have recently come to prominence in the study of movements, offering thick description but tending to elide wider structural elements. A return to Marxist forms of analysis—with a wider historical scope and an appreciation of the dynamics of political economy—presents a means of rejuvenating the field of social movement studies.