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Political Participation and Social Movements

Vak
2012-2013

Course Description

Since the ‘participatory revolution’ of the 1960s social movements have spread in different cycles and levels of intensity through various Western countries. While the institutional forms of political participation have been declining (e.g.: voting turnout, party membership), an increasing number of citizens has been engaging in a wider array of extra-institutional political activities, including strikes, sit-ins and demonstrations, squatting, boycotting, petitioning, and similar types of actions seeking to provoke social change. Social movements are traditionally seen both as challengers of institutional actors and as symptoms of a legitimacy crisis. Should we consider those repertoires of action as alternative or supplementary to the conventional means of political participation?

This course examines the emergence of social movements, their development and their outcomes in the light of empirical research and theories on political participation.
Some of the questions we will consider in this course include: Why do people mobilize? What are the contextual conditions favoring political participation through social movements? What kind of issues do social movements address? Do social movements succeed in having an impact on the institutional policy agenda? Are social movements a threat or a potential for democracy?

We shall discuss the more recent developments in social movement studies, including political mobilization in non- or semi-democratic environments and new forms of mobilization beyond the nation-state (transnationalization of protest).

Methods of Instruction

Short lectures, classroom discussion, and student presentations.

Study material

Selection of articles and book chapters (to be announced)

Examination

Grades will be based on weekly assignments, a short presentation, classroom participation, and a final paper.

Schedule
Tuesday 12 March 15.00-17.00 hrs in SA21
Wednesday 13 March, 9.00-12.00 hrs in 1A12
Wednesday 20 March, 9.00-11.00 hrs in 1A12
Friday 15 February till 1 March, 13.00-15.00 hrs in 4B07 (except 15 February in 1A11)
Friday 8 March till 22 March, 13.00-15.00 hrs in SA21 (except 15 March, no class)