The theory and practice of social movements

Two of the books reviewed here, those of Foweraker, and Eyerman and Jamison, approach the question of social movements from different theoretical perspectives, whilst that of Lipietz is written very much as an advocate from within the ecological movement. Both the more academic books provide a critical assessment of the theoretical developments to date, from North America and Europe, and in so doing aim further to develop our understanding. All three publications offer useful additions to the literature on social movements although it has to be said that many movement activists are likely to find aspects of the theoretical contributions rather dense and hard-going. Foweraker's primary concern is the extent to which such essentially 'northern' theories can be applied to the 'south' in general and Latin America in particular. A central element to his argument is that such northern theories tend to take for granted a social democratic framework and an existing vibrant civil society in which social movements are able to develop. Because this cannot be assumed in the south, the relationship between social movements and the state is much more of an issue. Consequently, Foweraker suggests that an (albeit-refined) version of the North American 'resource mobilization theory', with its focus on how movements gain resources and access to the political system, appears to offer more than the European 'new social movement' approaches which emphasise autonomy within civil society and highlight the cultural impact of social movements.