Contention in context : political opportunities and the emergence of protest / edited by Jeff Goodwin and James M. Jasper.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Goodwin, Jeff, editor.

Jasper, James M., 1957- editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social movements.

Protest movements.

Political science.

Physical Description:

xvi, 341 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Stanford, California : Stanford University Press, [2012]

Summary:

Despite extensive theoretical debates over the utility of "political opportunities" as an explanation for the rise and success of social movements, there have been surprisingly few serious empirical tests. Contention in Context provides the most extensive effort to date to test the model, analyzing a range of important cases of revolutions and protest movements to identify the role of political opportunities in the rise of political contention.

With evidence from more than fifty cases, this book explores the role of the state in protest, the frequent overemphasis on political opportunities in recent research, and the extent to which opportunity models ignore the cultural and emotional triggers for collective action. By examining new directions in the study of protest and contention, this volume shows that although political opportunities can help explain the emergence of certain kinds of movements, a new strategic language can ultimately tell us far more. Book jacket.

Contents:

Introduction : from political opportunity structures to strategic interaction / James M. Jasper

Peasant revolts in the French Revolution / Jack A. Goldstone

Rural social movements in Nicaragua / Anthony W. Pereira

Human rights in Argentina / Amy Risley

Rural unions in Brazil / John L. Hammond

The civil rights movement / Francesca Polletta

The women's movement / John D. Skrentny

Gay and lesbian liberation / Adam Isaiah Green

The U.S. movement for peace in Central America / James M. Jasper

Opportunity knocks : the trouble with political opportunity and what you can do about it / Edwin Amenta and Drew Halfmann

Sensing and seizing opportunities : how contentious actors and strategies emerge / Christian Bröer and Jan Willem Duyvendak

Eventful protest, global conflicts : social mechanisms in the reproduction of protest / Donatella della Porta

Conclusion : are protestors opportunists? : fifty tests / Jeff Goodwin.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780804776110

0804776113

9780804776127

0804776121

OCLC:

726819179