New social movements
663810
224076222
2008-07-07T05:19:13Z
Lightbot
7178666
Units/dates/other
The term '''new social movements''' (NSM) refers to a plethora of [[social movement]]s that have come up in various western societies roughly since the mid-1960s (i.e. in a [[post-industrial]] economy) which depart significantly from the conventional social movement [[social paradigm|paradigm]]. New social movement theory looks at various [[collective action]]s, their [[cultural identity|identity]] and on their relations to [[culture]], [[ideology]] and [[politics]].[Kendall 2005]. Buechler argues that there is in fact no single new social movement theory, but a set of new social movement theories, each a variant on general approach to "something called new social movement", which he cautiously defines as a "diverse array of collective actions that has presumably displaced the old social movement of [[proletarian]] revolution".[Buechler 1999]
These movements differ from traditional social movements that had previously been seen, following [[Marxist]] paradigm, as centered on [[economics|economic concerns]], such as the [[labor movement]].[Buechler 1999] The new social movements include the [[women's movement]], the [[ecology movement]], [[gay rights movement]] and various [[peace movement]]s, among others. Thinkers have related these movements with the [[postmaterialism]] hypothesis as put forth by [[Ronald Inglehart]]. Important contributors in the field include [[sociologist]]s such as [[Alain Touraine]], [[Claus Offe]], and [[Jürgen Habermas]]. Many of these NSMs tend to emphasize [[social change]]s in lifestyle and culture, rather than pushing for specific changes in public policy or for economic change. Some NSM theorists argue that the key actors in these movements are members of the "new [[middle class]]", or service-sector professionals (such as academics).
Unlike pressure groups that have a formal organisation and 'members', NSMs consist of an informal, loosely organised [[social network]] of 'supporters' rather than members. [[Paul Byrne]] ('97) described New Social Movements as 'relatively disorganised'{{Fact|date=February 2007}}. Protest groups tend to be single issue based and are often local in terms of the scope of change they wish to effect. In contrast, NSMs last longer than single issue campaigns and wish to see change on an (inter)national level on various issues in relation to their set of beliefs and ideals. A NSM may, however adopt the tactic of a protest campaign as part of its strategy for achieving wider-ranging change.
Some sociologists, like [[Paul Bagguley]] and [[Nelson Pichardo]], criticize NSM theory for a number of reasons, including 1) these movements existed (in one extent or another) during the industrial period and traditional movements still exist today, 2) there is a lack of [[empirical evidence]] showing the differences between these movements, 3) NSM focuses almost exclusively on [[left-wing]] movements and does not consider [[right-wing]], 4) the term "new middle class" is amorphous and not consistently defined, and 5) might be better viewed as a certain instance of social movement theory rather than a brand new one.
== List of New Social Movements ==
*[[Abahlali baseMjondolo]]
*[[Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign]]
*[[Zapatista Army of National Liberation]]
*[[Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra]]
== References ==
*[[Steven M. Buechler]], ''Social Movements in Advanced Capitalism'', Oxford University Press, 1999, ISBN 0-19-512604-1, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0195126041&id=EQdQjRQlwKEC&pg=PA46&lpg=PA46&dq=diverse+array+of+collective+actions+that+has+presumably+displaced+the+old+social+movement+of+proletarian+revolution&sig=m1A-1fv6gZZNdo-j-DxgmKjfgOg Google Print, p.46]
*[[Diana Kendall]], ''Sociology In Our Times'', Thomson Wadsworth, 2005, ISBN 0-534-64629-8 [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0534646298&id=kzU-gtx2VfoC&pg=PA533&lpg=PA532&printsec=8&vq=frame+analysis&dq=%22Resource+Mobilization%22&sig=aA0H4taRrVcMNzoVJ-i37FheWNo Google Print, p.533]
==See also==
*[[Social criticism]]
*[[New Left]]
[[Category:Social movements]]
[[de:Neue soziale Bewegungen]]
[[fr:Nouveaux mouvements sociaux]]
[[pl:Nowe ruchy społeczne]]