Power in Movement: Social Movements and Contentious Politics (Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics) [Paperback]

Sidney Tarrow (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521629470 | ISBN-13: 978-0521629478 | Publication Date: May 13, 1998 | Edition: 2

Unlike political or economic institutions, social movements have an elusive power, but one that is no less real. This study surveys the history of the social movement, puts forward a theory of collective action to explain its surges and declines, and offers an interpretation of the power of movement that emphasizes its effects on personal lives, policy reforms and political culture. While covering cultural, organizational and personal sources of movements' power, the book emphasizes the rise and fall of social movements as part of political struggle and as the outcome of changes in political opportunity structure. This second edition has an entirely new chapter, major additions to the bibliography, new illustrative materials in many of the chapters and a new conclusion.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is unquestionably a seminal work, one that lies fundamentally in the literature on social movements....an exceptionally rich synthesis and weaving together of research and literature on social movements..." Studies in Comparative International Development

"The brilliance of this book is the author's ability to transcend conventional schools of social movement analysis....It is difficult to see movements in the same light after reading this book." American Political Science Review

Book Description

The book is suitable for both specialized readers in sociology, political sicence, and modern (Europeans and American) history as well as for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses on social movements. It is written clearly and simply, but not as an introductory text. Graphic and tabular material is limited and most of the technical or documentary material is relegated to extensive notes. There is a large bibliography drawing from modern history, political science and sociological studies of social movements and collective action.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 271 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 2 edition (May 13, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521629470
• ISBN-13: 978-0521629478
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #538,786 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ideal for the social movement student, August 24, 2001

By 

Maxime Lachance (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Power in Movement: Social Movements and Contentious Politics (Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics) (Paperback)

I had to read an earlier edition of that book for a course on social movements. It was one of my first contacts with social movements literature. Since then, I plug almost everything I read on social movement to the theoretical framework described in this book. I guess the main quality of this book is that the author recognise the contributions made by different schools of thought on social movements and tries to situate them in a larger framework rather then dismiss them. Therefore, anyone working within a specific area of social movement studies can gain something from the reading of this book. However, the major contribution of this book is probably the theorization of the "cycles of contentions" based on changing political opportunity structure. As the opportunity structure open for a social movement, the movement is on the rise... when it close, for example because of a change in the public opinion caused by a rise in insecurity and violence, the movement disolve. Although a very simple theory, it appers very effective in understanding the rise and fall of social movements.

As any student of social movements would argue, this book does not cover all aspect of social movements (e.g. identity, emotions, ...) but Tarrow does leave enough space for other approaches while developing is how theoretical approach to social movements. An excellent book!

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Strong Focus on Politicized Social Movements, February 22, 2004

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doomsdayer520 (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Power in Movement: Social Movements and Contentious Politics (Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics) (Paperback)

Aside from some introductory matter on the various schools of thought in social movement research, here Tarrow mostly focuses on the influence of political structures on the formation of popular movements. This includes both external political and social influences, plus developments in the interactions between movements and the states/regimes they are confronting. Tarrow mostly uses movements that have had strong political effects in various nations (mostly Europe) as examples for his theories, and utilizes the concept of "cycles of contention" to elaborate on the evolution of movements over time. This specialized focus does lead to some interesting results, such as Tarrow's reconstruction of the disparate revolutions in Europe in 1848 as a widespread movement, or coverage of how states can co-opt a movement's message as a means of control. He has a nearly Marxist conception of such trends, but mostly avoids the tiresome pontificating that is usually fostered by Marxist theorizing. Another bonus is the final chapter of the main text, dealing with new phenomena in globalized or transnational social movements. The book does lose steam frequently as Tarrow gets distracted with long histories of the movements he uses as examples (including way too much repetitive information on the 1848 phenomenon), while his generally strong writing does occasionally lapse into diffuse professor-speak, which sadly is unavoidable in this field. But in the long run, this book offers mostly powerful coverage of politicized social movements, and the study thereof. [~doomsdayer520~]

15 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good analysis of social movements, but..., May 18, 2003

By 

Lisa L. Munro (Tucson, Arizona) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Power in Movement: Social Movements and Contentious Politics (Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics) (Paperback)

Tarrow examines social movements and contentious politics in an in-depth way, providing a framework for understanding cycles of contention and other issues associated with social movements. This book is valuable in that the reader can use Tarrow's arguments to understand the dynamics of current movements. As the previous reviewer noted, Tarrow does leave out some important aspects of social movements, such as emotion, which detracts from his argument.

What I disliked about this book was the writing style of the author. It seemed that he was trying to express even the most simple concepts with verbose, pedantic language that made his arguments difficult to understand and distracted the reader from the points he was trying to make. For example, he defines a cycle of contention like this: "a phase of heightened conflict across the social system: with a rapid diffusion of collective action from more mobilized to less mobilized sectors; a rapid pace of innovation in the forms of contention; the creation of new or transformed collective action frames; a combination of organized and unorganized participate; and sequences of intensified information flow and interaction between challengers and authorities. Such widespread contention produces externalities that give challengers at least a temporary advantage and allows them to overcome the weaknesses in their resource base. It demands that states devise broad strategies of response that are either repressive or facilitative, or a combination of the two." (Page 142.)

The only reason I can fathom that anyone would feel the need to write in such an absurdly inflated style would be if the author's argument and thesis weren't strong to begin with, and the author's intention was to confuse the reader. I think the author could have gotten his point across in a much clearer and concise way. I would advise anyone who is thinking about reading it to peruse the sample pages for more examples of the author's style- then decide if you can stomach this book.

Overall, good information, but the writing style is ridiculous.