Social Movements and Democracy in the 21st Century
Social Movements and Democracy in the 21st Century

Author: Dylan Taylor

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-01-16

Total Pages: 293

ISBN-13: 3319396846

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This book contends that the impasse of the Left today is in part, a result of an anarchist ‘common sense’ among activists. The author argues that the vital dynamics of anarchism and social movements need to be combined with a reappraisal of the Communist party and state. While cynicism towards capitalism and existing political institutions is plentiful, this book argues that the Left appears mired in a reactive politics of resistance, unable to formulate programmes for substantive social change. Drawing insights from the history of the Left, political economy, contemporary critical theory and an in-depth study of Occupy, the author provides concrete suggestions as to how the Left might ‘claim the twenty-first century’ and realise a more equitable social order. Social Movements and Democracy in the 21st Century challenges activists and scholars to rethink social movements and political organisation, and to actively work towards enduring social change. The book will be of interest to students and scholars of social movement studies, Left theory, critical theory, political sociology and Marxism, as well as anyone with an interest in ‘political change’.

Latin American Social Movements in the Twenty-first Century
Latin American Social Movements in the Twenty-first Century

Author: Richard Stahler-Sholk

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 408

ISBN-13: 9780742556478

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This clearly written and comprehensive text examines the uprising of politically and economically marginalized groups in Latin American societies. Specialists in a broad range of disciplines present original research from a variety of case studies in a student-friendly format. Part introductions help students contextualize the essays, highlighting social movement origins, strategies, and outcomes. Thematic sections address historical context, political economy, community-building and consciousness, ethnicity and race, gender, movement strategies, and transnational organizing, making this book useful to anyone studying the wide range of social movements in Latin America.

Waves of Democracy
Waves of Democracy

Author: John Markoff

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-11-17

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 131724933X

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The second edition of this classic text covers contemporary democracy movements including the Arab Spring and its aftermath, Occupy, and new nations as well as old issues from the Balkans to Africa, from Latin America to Ukraine. The author has traveled widely around the world to take the pulse of transition and to profile journeys toward democracy and journeys away from democracy, too. At the same time, the book addresses important challenges that have emerged in even well-established democracies. These show up in declining voting rates, diminished membership in political parties, and, in some countries including the United States, negative views of central democratic institutions (like the US Congress).

The Death of Social Democracy
The Death of Social Democracy

Author: Ashley Lavelle

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-03-09

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 1317036379

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Whereas many writers and scholars interested in the field of social democracy have focused on factors such as the role of economic globalization and electoral pressures, Ashley Lavelle explores the importance of the collapse of the post-war economic boom and lower growth rates since then. He examines how these pressures have led social democrats to embrace neo-liberal policies and become threatened by minor parties and independent politicians. Providing an original argument about the decline of social democracy, the author investigates how its decline has increased the popularity of minor parties and independents, along with the reasons for social democratic membership and electoral decline. This is an important book for scholars of social democracy and the broader themes of world politics, political parties, social movements and globalization.

When We Fight, We Win
When We Fight, We Win

Author: Greg Jobin-Leeds

Publisher: New Press, The

Published: 2016-01-05

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13: 1620971402

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Real stories of hard-fought battles for social change, told by those on the front lines—with clear lessons and tips for activists on gaining power from the ground up “As protests and demonstrations sprout across the land, young organizers and activists need to know why and how movements are sustained and how they grow. That resource has arrived.” —Mumia Abu-Jamal, author and activist In this visually rich and deeply inspiring book, the leaders of some of the most successful movements of the past decade—from the legalization of same-sex marriage to the Black Lives Matter movement—distill their wisdom, sharing lessons of what makes transformative social change possible. Longtime social activist Greg Jobin-Leeds joins forces with AgitArte, a collective of artists and organizers, to capture the stories, philosophy, tactics, and art of today’s leading social movements. When We Fight, We Win! weaves together interviews with today’s most successful activists and artists from across the country and beyond—including Patrisse Cullors, Bill McKibben, Clayton Thomas-Muller, Karen Lewis, Favianna Rodriguez, Rea Carey, and Gaby Pacheco, among others—with narrative recountings of their inspiring strategies and campaigns alongside full-color photos. It includes a foreword by Rinku Sen and an afterword by Antonia Darder. The recent nationwide explosion of protests has shown the power the people have when we join together with a common goal and compelling message. When We Fight, We Win! will give a whole generation of readers the road map to building resilient movements that can achieve real social justice.

Social Movements and the New State
Social Movements and the New State

Author: Brian K. Grodsky

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Published: 2012-09-26

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 0804783667

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The world's democracies cheered as the social movements of the Arab Spring ended the reigns of longstanding dictators and ushered in the possibility of democracy. Yet these unique transitions also fit into a broader pattern of democratic breakthroughs around the globe, where political leaders emerge from the pro-democracy movement that helped affect change. In Social Movements and the New State, Brian Grodsky examines the relationships between new political elites and the civil society organizations that brought them to power in three culturally and geographically disparate countries—Poland, South Africa, and Georgia. This book argues that the identities and personal networks developed during the struggle provide "movement activists" with opportunities to influence minor issues, but that new and differing institutional pressures create schisms on broader policy that can turn prior bonds into a liability rather than an asset. Drawing on media analyses and more than 150 elite interviews, Grodsky offers a rare empirical assessment of the degree to which social movement organizations shape activists' beliefs and actions over the long term.

Doing Democracy
Doing Democracy

Author: Bill Moyer

Publisher: New Society Publishers

Published: 2001-08-01

Total Pages: 254

ISBN-13: 9780865714182

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An empowering guide to understanding the strategies behind successful social movements.

Freedom Is an Endless Meeting
Freedom Is an Endless Meeting

Author: Francesca Polletta

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2012-06-12

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 0226924289

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This “excellent study of activist politics in the United States over the past century” challenges the conventional wisdom about participatory democracy (Times Literary Supplement). Freedom Is an Endless Meeting offers vivid portraits of American experiments in participatory democracy throughout the twentieth century. Drawing on meticulous research and more than one hundred interviews with activists, Francesca Polletta upends the notion that participatory democracy is worthy in purpose but unworkable in practice. Instead, she shows that social movements have often used bottom-up decision making as a powerful tool for political change. Polletta traces the history of democracy from early labor struggles and pre-World War II pacifism, through the civil rights, new left, and women’s liberation movements of the sixties and seventies, and into today’s faith-based organizing and anti-corporate globalization campaigns. In the process, she uncovers neglected sources of democratic inspiration—such as Depression-era labor educators and Mississippi voting registration workers—as well as practical strategies of social protest. Polletta also highlights the obstacles that arise when activists model their democracies after nonpolitical relationships such as friendship, tutelage, and religious fellowship. She concludes with a call to forge new kinds of democratic relationships that balance trust with accountability, respect with openness to disagreement, and caring with inclusiveness. For anyone concerned about the prospects for democracy in America, Freedom Is an Endless Meeting will offer abundant historical, theoretical, and practical insights.

Waves of Social Movement Mobilizations in the Twenty-First Century
Waves of Social Movement Mobilizations in the Twenty-First Century

Author: Nahide Konak

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2015-02-26

Total Pages: 180

ISBN-13: 0739196367

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Based on case studies, this book analyzes a recent wave of social movement and protests in the twenty-first century. It has two overarching broadly defined themes: first, to identify commonalities across the social movements and protests in terms of strategies, desire, hopes as well as the main factors in the decline of the movements. And second, to underline the significance of the general economic, social, and political conditions in which these protests arose. Although there are specific national and local context-specific reasons for the protests observed in different countries, the gradual integration of the post-war neo-liberal hegemonic world order is the fundamental overarching structural factor behind these protests. From Turkey to Spain, Greece to Mexico, and the Netherlands to the U.S., this book observes that the “outsiders” of the system resist against the oppression of the neo-liberal world system.

Waves of Democracy
Waves of Democracy

Author: John Markoff

Publisher: Pine Forge Press

Published: 1996-02-07

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13: 9780803990197

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Waves of Democracy looks at two centuries of history of democratization as a series of multicontinental episodes in which social movements and elite power holders in many countries converged to reorganize political systems. Democracy is defined and redefined in these episodes. John Markoff examines several ways in which governing elites of national states mimic each other and ways in which social movements and elites interact. There is no other book written for undergraduates that looks at democracy over such a broad sweep of time and across so many countries and cultures.