From Contention to Democracy

From Contention to Democracy addresses a crucial aspect of contemporary societies: the role of social movements for political and social change. The volume gathers together essays written by prominent social theorists who have been asked to reflect on the relationship between movements and processes of social, political, and cultural change.

From Contention to Democracy addresses a crucial aspect of contemporary societies: the role of social movements for political and social change. The volume gathers together essays written by prominent social theorists who have been asked to reflect on the relationship between movements and processes of social, political and cultural change. Three broad types of movement-change nexus are distinguished and discussed: incorporation, transformation, and democratization. The chapters in this book all point to the place of social movements in relation to these three processes of change, while discussing the history and well-known events of social movements. Individual occurrences such as the protest of French students in 1968 or Chilean shantytown dwellers are examined. The final essay looks ahead, wondering: what is the future of social movements?

Chapter 1 Introduction: Social Movements and Chance: Incorporation, Transformation/ and Democratization
Chapter 2 Incorporation
Chapter 3 Social Movements: Incorporation, Disengagement, and Opportunities: A Long View
Chapter 4 Social Protest and Policy Reform: May 1868 and the Loi d'Orientation in France
Chapter 5 Social Movements and Cultural Change
Chapter 6 Transformation
Chapter 7 Contentious Politics in Complex Societies: New Social Movements Between Conflict and Cooperation
Chapter 8 To Move Mountains: Collective Action and the Possibility of Institutional Chance
Chapter 9 Social Movements or Revolutions? On the Evolution and Outcomes of Collective Action
Chapter 10 Democratization
Chapter 11 Democratic Transitions and Social Movements Outcomes: The Chilean Shantytown Dwellers' Movement in Comparative Perspective
Chapter 12 Social Movements and the Democratization Process in the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America
Chapter 13 Collective Action, Change, and Democracy: Do Social Movements Still Matter?
Chapter 14 Conclusion: The Future of Social Movements