Democracy from Below: New Social Movements and the Political System in West Germany. By Ruud Koopmans. Boulder: Westview, 1995. 282p. $60.00.

1996 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
pp. 453-454
Author(s):  
Russell J. Dalton
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Political System ◽  
West Germany ◽  
The Political ◽  
New Social Movements

Selectieve uitsluiting in het Belgisch politiek systeem : Innovatie en protest door nieuwe sociale bewegingen

Res Publica ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-21
Author(s):  
Marc Hooghe
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Movements ◽  
Political System ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Response Strategy ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
The Political ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
New Social Movements ◽  
Elite Strategy

The Belgian political system is generally portrayed as being closed for outsiders. In this article we ascertain how the system responded to the challenge of the new social movements. The Belgian political elite developed a response strategy, based on thematical openness and actorial closure. The issues of the new social movements were admitted on the political agenda, but the movements themselves were excluded from access to the decision making process. Only those actors were allowed which were willing to accomodate themselves to the traditional elite consensus, based on neo-corporatism, pillarisation and a politically passive population.  Confronted with this elite strategy, the new social movements were able to fulfil their agenda function (bringing new issues on the political agenda), but they had little opportunity for introducing new cultural codes into the political decision making process. This lack of innovation enhances the legitimation crisis of the Belgian political system.

Civil Society, Social Movements and the Irish State

2010 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peadar Kirby
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Political System ◽  
Free Market ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Social Partnership ◽  
Corporate Profit ◽  
Fianna Fail

This article develops a theoretical framework to consider the symbiotic relationship between civil society, social movements and the Irish state. Civil society, largely through social movements, laid the foundations for an independent Irish state in the half-century before independence. Following independence, the nature of the civil society–state relationship changed; civil society became much more dependent on the state. The article empirically traces the nature of society's relationship to the state since the 1920s, and examines the nature of the political system and its major political party, Fianna Fáil, the structure of the economy, and the dominance of particular understandings of the role of civil society and the nature of society itself. The period since the advent of social partnership in 1987 is examined; this period marks a new attempt by the state to co-opt organised civil society making it subservient to its project of the imposition on society of the requirements of global corporate profit-making. The more forceful implementation of a global free-market project by the Irish state since the 1980s, and the co-option of organised civil society into this project, has left huge space for an alternative to emerge, the potential of which was indicated by the success of the ‘No’ campaign in the 2008 Lisbon referendum campaign.

New Social Movements and the Egyptian Spring: A Comparative Analysis between the April 6 Movement and the Revolutionary Socialists

2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 98-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bassem Nabil Hafez
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
The Political ◽  
New Social Movements ◽  
Egyptian Revolution ◽  
Protest Movements ◽  
Youth Movements ◽  
Political Dynamics ◽  
The Past ◽  
Conceptual Foundations

Abstract In this article I will comparatively analyze the conceptual foundations of two Egyptian protest movements, the April 6 Movement and the Revolutionary Socialists, two prominent instigators of the Egyptian revolution, as part of the global rebellion against the dystopia perceived as the creation of neo-liberalism and globalization. In Egypt, the limitations of conventional opposition led to the mushrooming of New Social Movements (NSMs) over the past decade. The political dynamics since 2000 have yielded, among many, the aforementioned youth movements that represent two different approaches to the rebellion against the dystopia, which speeded up the downfall of Mubarak.

scholarly journals „Dumna dziewczyna w bieli"

2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-112
Author(s):  
Agata Włodkowska
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Political System ◽  
The Political ◽  
Power Shift ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Power Change ◽  
Women's Political Participation

The article is part of the discussion on women’s political participation, their involvement in social movements and protests which are concentrated on the power shift and democratisation of the political system. The text focuses on the case study of Belarusian women’s participation in anti-regime and pro-democracy protests following the rigged presidential election of 9 August 2020.The aim of the article is to answer questions about the reasons for women’s involvement in the 2020 protests in Belarus and the methods of action used by them. The article also analyses the differences and similarities between the women’s protests in Belarus and pro-democracy protests oriented towards power change in other countries.

Indigenous Political Representation in Latin America

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Rice
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Political System ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Indigenous Movements

Indigenous peoples have become important social and political actors in contemporary Latin America. The politicization of ethnic identities in the region has divided analysts into those who view it as a threat to democratic stability versus those who welcome it as an opportunity to improve the quality of democracy. Throughout much of Latin America’s history, Indigenous peoples’ demands have been oppressed, ignored, and silenced. Latin American states did not just exclude Indigenous peoples’ interests; they were built in opposition to or even against them. The shift to democracy in the 1980s presented Indigenous groups with a dilemma: to participate in elections and submit themselves to the rules of a largely alien political system that had long served as an instrument of their domination or seek a measure of representation through social movements while putting pressure on the political system from the outside. In a handful of countries, most notably Bolivia and Ecuador, Indigenous movements have successfully overcome this tension by forming their own political parties and contesting elections on their own terms. The emergence of Indigenous peoples’ movements and parties has opened up new spaces for collective action and transformed the relationship between Indigenous peoples and the state. Indigenous movements have reinvigorated Latin America’s democracies. The political exclusion of Indigenous peoples, especially in countries with substantial Indigenous populations, has undoubtedly contributed to the weakness of party systems and the lack of accountability, representation, and responsiveness of democracies in the region. In Bolivia, the election of the country’s first Indigenous president, Evo Morales (2006–present) of the Movement toward Socialism (MAS) party, has resulted in new forms of political participation that are, at least in part, inspired by Indigenous traditions. A principal consequence of the broadening of the democratic process is that Indigenous activists are no longer forced to choose between party politics and social movements. Instead, participatory mechanisms allow civil society actors and their organizations to increasingly become a part of the state. New forms of civil society participation such as Indigenous self-rule broaden and deepen democracy by making it more inclusive and government more responsive and representative. Indigenous political representation is democratizing democracy in the region by pushing the limits of representative democracy in some of the most challenging socio-economic and institutional environments.

Mistrusting Authorities in an Unstable World

2021 ◽  
pp. 119-144
Author(s):  
Karla Vermeulen
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Movements ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Older People ◽  
Emerging Adulthood ◽  
Political System ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Political ◽  
History Of ◽  
System Today

The chapter “Mistrusting Authorities in an Unstable World” examines how members of Generation Disaster engage with the political system today, having grown up in a post-9/11, wartime climate when many felt lied to or misrepresented by politicians and other authorities. That was followed by the extreme divisiveness of U.S. politics in general during their adolescence and as they moved into emerging adulthood. While some have chosen to disengage entirely, others have been moved to protest, vote at record levels, and generally continue the tradition of trying to recapture power from older people they feel aren’t representing them adequately. The importance of civic engagement as a marker of adulthood, and the history of social movements in the United States, are also discussed.

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