Sociology 525: Social Movements Explaining Collective Action

What Predicts Collective Action? Who participates? – Beliefs and values – Feelings – Interests – Relationships to other activists – Past experience as activist – Organizational memberships

How are People Recruited and Mobilized? Appeals to hearts and minds – Charismatic speakers – Celebrity endorsements – Mass media campaigns Targets Frames Selective incentives Recruitment or Mobilization Campaigns

Models of Collective Action BeliefsFeelingsInterests MacroSmelserDurkheimTilly MicroWeberLeBonOlson

Exogenous Factors Factors external to movement and movement participants – Antagonist/protagonist actions – Government actions – Economic crises – Political crises – Wars, famines, natural disasters – Other institutional change