Social Movements in Global Politics

David West is Deputy Head of School at Australian National University.

Social Movements in Global Politics is a timely new account of the unconventional, 'extra-institutional' activities of social movements.In the face of impending global crises and stubborn conflicts, a conventional view of politics risks leaving us confused and fatalistic, feeling powerless because we are unaware of all that can be achieved by political means. By contrast, a variety of recent social movements, ranging from those of women, gays and lesbians and anti-racists, to environmentalists, the Occupy movement and the Arab Spring, demonstrate the enormous potential of political action beyond the institutional sphere of politics. At the same time, religious fundamentalists, racial supremacists and ultra-nationalists make clear that movements are not necessarily progressive and are often at odds with one another.West highlights the many ways in which national and global institutions depend on a broader context of extra-institutional action or what is, in effect, the formative dimension of politics. He explores some of the major contributions of social movements: from the genealogy of liberal democratic nation-states, sixties' radicalism and the 'new social movements' to the politics of sexuality, gender and identity, the politicization of nature and climate, and alter-globalization. The book also considers current theoretical approaches and sets out the basis for a critical theory of social movements. This is a fresh and original account of social movements in politics and will be essential reading for any students and scholars interested in the challenges and the unpredictable potential of political action.

Acknowledgements page xA Political Preface: Social Movements, Global Crisis and the Failure of Institutional Politics xi1 The Crisis of Institutional Politics xi2 Plan of the Book xviiiPART I FOUNDATIONS1 Introduction: What Are Social Movements? 31.1 What is Politics? The Scope of Social Power 31.2 The Institutional View of Politics: Social Power as Authoritative Governance 71.3 Beyond Institutional Politics: The Challenge of Social Movements 111.4 Extra-Institutional Politics: A Preliminary Survey 161.5 Be Realistic, Demand the Impossible! Between Realism and Utopianism 202 The Role of Social Movements in the Making of Modern Politics 272.1 Social Movements and the Formation of Contemporary Institutions 272.2. The Formation of the Modern Nation-State: Religious and Nationalist Movements 302.3 Liberalizing the State and Commerce: Bourgeois Social Movements 352.4 Movements for Equal Citizenship, Social Justice and Democracy 402.5 Social Movements Hidden from History? 44PART II SOCIAL MOVEMENTS IN CONTEMPORARY POLITICS3 Illusions of Stability: The Surprising Emergence of New Social Movements 533.1 Introduction: A New Politics? 533.2 The Deceptive Stability of Western Liberal Democracy 553.3 Welfare State Capitalism: Farewell to the Working Class? 593.4 Cracks in the Image: Extra-Institutional Politics of the 1960s 643.5 From the Events of 1968 to New Social Movements 704 Politics of Culture and Identity 774.1 Introduction: Features of the 'New Politics' 784.2 The Politics of Identity 794.3 Strategy and Tactics of Identity Politics 844.4 Varieties of Identity Politics 894.5 Controversies and Critique 955 The Politics of Survival 1035.1 Introduction: What Is the Politics of Survival? 1035.2 Ecological Thought: Nature as Subject of Politics 1065.3 The Place of Ecology in the Green Movement 1115.4 Strategy and Tactics of Green Politics 1185.5 Controversies and Critique 1236 The New Politics of Exploitation 1276.1 Introduction: A New Politics of Exploitation? 1276.2 What is Globalization and Why is it (Sometimes) a Problem? 1296.3 The Contested Politics of Neoliberal Globalization 1346.4 Another World is Possible: Alternatives to Neoliberal Globalization 1386.5 Strategy and Tactics of the Alter-Globalization Movement 1426.6 Controversies and Critique 146PART III THEORIES OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS7 Theories of Social Movements: I. Normative and Formal Approaches 1537.1 The Normative Shift: Recognizing the Legitimacy of Extra-Institutional Politics 1537.2 Explaining Social Movements as Irrational Collective Behaviour 1587.3 Explaining Social Movements as Rational Collective Action 1637.4 Beyond Rationality and Irrationality: Cognitive Practice, Framing, Culture and Emotion 1677.5 From Formal to Substantive Theories of Social Movements 1728 Theories of Social Movements: II. Historical and Substantive Approaches 1758.1 What Is To Be Done? Substantive Theories of Social Movements 1758.2 New Social Movements as Agents of the New Politics 1788.3 Jürgen Habermas: Social Movements and the Incomplete Project of Modernity 1838.4 Alain Touraine: Social Movement as Agent of Autonomy in Postindustrial Society 1878.5 From Modernity to Postmodernity 1938.6 The Limits of Substantive Explanation 1969 Conclusion: A Critical Theory of Social Movements? 2019.1 Introduction: Social Movement Theory Between Modernism and Postmodernism 2019.2 The Concrete Limits of a Critical Theory of Social Movements 2069.3 The Potential Contributions of Theory to Practice 2119.4 Ideology Through the Looking-Glass 2179.5 Towards A Common Framework for ContemporarySocial Movements 221Bibliography 226Index 242