Resource Mobilization Theory

Hate and peace in a connected world: Comparing MoveOn and Stormfront by Noriko Hara and Zilia Estrada What part does the Internet play in social mobilization? The Internet has been hailed as a great potential force to enrich a civil society. Many authors have claimed that the Internet would mobilize grassroots activities. By scrutinizing two particular grassroots activities and their use of the Internet, this article sheds light on conceptualizing the use of the information and communication technologies (ICTs) in mobilizing grassroots activities. The framework may help inform social scientists as well as practitioners who are involved in grassroots activities, and provide a baseline for comparison with future research, which examines mobilization of such activities with the use of the Internet over time. Contents Introduction Theoretical framework Case studies of activism online Participation The Web sites we studied Mobilizing resources Discussion Conclusions

This study expands upon existing research by shedding light on the challenges and opportunities facing participants in peer-to-peer wireless signal-sharing initiatives. The study relies on resource mobilization theory to gain a deeper understanding of why members of community mesh networks in the United States join the movement and how they sustain it. The researcher conducted semi-structured interviews with the founders of 12 unique U.S. networks. The projects examined illustrate the desire for alternatives to traditional ISPs, as well as deep commitments to digital inclusion and local ownership. Informants reported feeling personally invested in the future of their projects because they contribute technical support and other forms of labour. However, the deployment of mesh technology creates a unique set of legal and policy issues.RÉSUMÉ Cette étude va au-delà de la recherche existante en jetant de la lumière sur les occasions et les défis soulevés par les initiatives de partage d...

Este trabajo estudia el desarrollo de la campaña #BringBackOurGirls en Twitter, durante 2014, a través de seis APIs de medición de redes sociales. El objetivo es aproximarse a las ventajas que supone el Slacktivismo, como fenómeno de movilización social en Internet, desde los presupuestos de la Teoría de Movilización de Recursos (TMR) y su efectividad para impactar la agenda política mundial.
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This paper studies the #BringBackOurGirls campaign development on Twitter, during 2014, through the use of six social networks measurement APIs. Its main objective is to approach the advantages that Slacktivism represents as a social mobilization phenomenon on the Internet, from the assumptions of the Resource Mobilization Theory (RMT) and its effectiveness in impacting the global political agenda.

An analysis of the emergence and rise of an alternative sport scene using social movement theory. The rise of Freestyle BMX in "Pro-Town, USA" (Greenville, NC) from local kids erecting guerrilla ramp parks on vacant lots to a residential concentration of top pros.

Résumé. À l’heure où la guerre contre l’État islamique se poursuit, cet article propose une analyse du facteur tribal en Irak en interrogeant sa capacité à stabiliser, ou non, ce pays. La question du tribalisme et de ses manifestations, passées comme présentes, demeure méconnue. Or, depuis la chute du régime de Saddam Hussein au printemps 2003, les tribus ont occupé une place centrale dans le paysage sociopolitique et militaire post-baathiste, dont elles reflètent les ambiguïtés et les contradictions. Tantôt pacifiques, en marge du soulèvement armé, tantôt adossées à certains groupes djihadistes comme l’État islamique, les tribus ne sauraient être tenues en marge de l’analyse ; constat d’autant plus évident qu’elles ont, entre 2006 et 2008, pris les armes aux côtés des États-Unis. Dans un contexte d’offensive sur des pans entiers des territoires irakien et syrien, et d’une réponse militaire globale qui peine à se coordonner avec les acteurs de terrain, la stratégie du « réveil des tribus » (Sahwa) est-elle reproductible pour vaincre l’État islamique ? Selon quelles modalités, quelles perspectives de succès mais aussi quels risques ?

Current politics in Turkey proves that the roots of the Kurdish question have to be taken under strict examination in order to diagnose the problem so that a permanent solution might be found. With this in mind, this paper tries to explain the emergence of the pro-Kurdish nationalist movement, the PKK, via social movement theories. What makes this paper significant is that it examines the process of emergence in three phases via three different social movement theories. For Turkey's single party era (1923-1950), relative deprivation theory is applied. In the second phase, political opportunity theory is matched with the onset of the multi-party system under the rule of the Democrat Party (1950-1960). Finally resource mobilization theory is applied to the time period between 1960 and 1980. In general, the theoretical approaches chosen are selected in accordance with certain socio-political realities of Turkey. This helps to explain how an ethnic minority ended up with a socially – but not legally – representative organization when they are relatively deprived and obstructed politically. If not all, a certain amount of mobilization of the Kurdish people could result in a social movement, be it is legal or illegal.

The article is a theoretical introduction to the problem of social movements. Its objective is to draw attention to the fact that the various theories of social movements should not be treated as rival but complementary theories, since each brings into relief a different set of problems pertaining to the same broadly defined subject matter. The following issues are discussed: beginnings of sociological reflection on social movements, theories of collective action, mobilization of resources, social constructionism and theories of new social movements. The last part of the article brings an overview of the areas of interest of particular theories of social movements.

Kolektif siyasal şiddet örgütlenmelerini, toplumsal hareketler teorilerinin sunduğu imkânlar aracılığıyla yeniden inceleme girişimi, söz konusu vakaların özgün toplumsal-tarihsel bağlamlarında ve bütüncül bir analiz ile değerlendirilebilmesi hedefini içermektedir. Bu çalışma, siyasal şiddet literatüründeki çeşitliliğin kuramsal analiz noktasında engelleyici olabileceği görüşünden hareket etmekte ve literatürdeki bu sorunun, toplumsal hareketler teorilerinin hareketlerin mekanizmaları ve süreçleri üzerine geliştirdiği zengin içerikle aşılabileceği savını desteklemektedir. Çalışma bu kapsamda, Kaynak Mobilizasyonu ve Yeni Toplumsal Hareketler teorilerinin analitik unsurlarından faydalanarak radikalleşme ve de-radikalizasyon döngüsünün analizine yönelmektedir. Böylece, kolektif siyasal şiddet örgütlenmelerinin oluşum süreci, toplumsal ve siyasal koşullar, örgütsel dinamikler ve bireysel katılımın dinamikleri incelenerek daha bütüncül bir yaklaşımla ortaya konulmaktadır.

Social movements are agents of change in society that challenge power holders and authorities (Goodwin and Jasper 2003). However, there is a lively debate among social movements scholars about what makes a movement successful in bringing about change in a society. Some scholars tend to argue that achieving the ultimate goal of the movement and changing the social structures of the society are what determine a movement's success. On the other hand other scholars argue that a movement's success is determined by its strength in gathering and mobilizing its resources to create a pressure on the authorities. This paper aims to discuss the " success " and " failure " of social movements theoretically in order to address how this is conceived and measured using the Japanese anti-nuclear movement as a case study. By analyzing this anti-nuclear movement I will be able to further the understanding of movement success and failure theory.

Collective Political Violence and Analysis of Islamist Social Movements: The Case of Hamas:

A survey of the literature on political violence reveals that there is no paradigmatic approach with which to study different forms of collective political violence. Thus, there is a need for a new framework which overcomes the shortcomings of the existing literature. While the study of social movements has generally focused on non-violent collective action in democratic settings and neglected violence in social movements, it still provides the necessary tools to examine cases of collective political violence. Just like non-violent social movements, movements that adopt political violence experience problems related to organization, mobilization of resources, recruitment and construction of collective action frames. They are also affected by the changing political opportunities. Thus, this study argues that Social Movement Studies can contribute to the development of a more comprehensive approach with which to analyze collective political violence as it offers the necessary theoretical and conceptual tools such as political opportunity structures, resource mobilization, organizational mobilization strategies and processes of framing and identity construction. Such tools would help us better situate a complex organization such as Hamas, which is often inadequately analyzed within the literature on collective political violence dominated by Terrorism Studies.

Keywords: Collective Political Violence, Social Movement Studies, Terrorism Studies, Social Movements, Hamas