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Building social movement theory / Carol McClurg Mueller -- The political context of rationality / Myra Marx Ferree -- The social psychology of collective action / William A. Gamson -- The social construction of protest and multiorganizational fields / Bert Klandermans -- Collective identity in social movement communities : lesbian feminist mobilization / Verta Taylor and Nancy E. Whittier -- Master frames and cycles of protest / David A. Snow and Robert D. Benford -- Collective identity and activism / Debra Friedman and Doug McAdam -- Mentalities, political cultures, and collective action frames / Sidney Tarrow -- Resource mobilization versus the mobilization of people : why consensus movements cannot be instruments of social change / Michael Schwartz and Shuva Paul -- Communities of challengers in social movement theory / Clarence Y.H. Lo -- Mobilizing technologies for collective action / Pamela E. Oliver and Gerald Marwell -- Consensus movements, conflict movements, and the cooptation of civic and state infrastructures / John D. McCarthy and Mark Wolfson -- Normalizing collective protest / Frances Fox Piven and Richard A. Cloward -- Looking backward to look forward / Mayer N. Zald -- Political consciousness and collective action / Aldon D. Morris

THIS ARTICLE ARGUES THAT MODERN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS LACK THE THEORY NECESSARY FOR EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR CHANGE. THE MOVEMENTS THAT HAVE EMERGED IN THE POSTWAR ERA DIFFER FROM THE MOVEMENTS OF EARLIER PERIODS IN WAYS THAT CALL FOR A RETHINKING OF THEORY.

AbstractThis article outlines Habermas' social movement–related ideas and reviews the critical reception of them from within critical theory and social movement studies more widely. Criticism of Habermas' explanation of the new social movements has been wide‐ranging and persuasive. There have however been some contemporary critical engagements with Habermas' ideas within social movement studies. The direction they take suggests (1) the concept of 'colonisation' finds political relevance in the twenty‐first century context of global capitalism and resistance to neo‐liberal policies; (2) that recent engagements with Habermas loosely unite in a concern with the 'applied turn' in critical theory; and (3) there is some potential for aspects of Habermas' theory to be used in ways that make him capable of engaging in dialogue with the current concerns of social movement theory.

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. Clare Saunders' book is an important contribution to the literature on social movements and environmentalism. Using the concept of 'environmental networks', it explores the extent to which social movement theory helps us understand how a broad range of environmental organizations interact. It considers the practicalities of social movement theories and it goes on to relate them to the practices of environmental networks. Theoretically and empirically rich, the book draws on extensive survey material with 144 UK environmental organizations, as diverse as not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) groups, reformists, conservationists and radicals; interviews with more than 40 key campaigners and extensive participant-observation, particularly in London. Focussing particularly on the crucial question of networking dynamics, the book reveals that there are broad ranging network links across the movements' spatial and ideological dimensions. Combined with inevitable ideological clashes and a degree of sectarian rivalry, these links helps produce vibrant environmental networks that together work to protect and/or preserve the environment. This book is an invaluable resource for anyone concerned with environmental issues, politics and movements.

Clare Saunders' book is an important contribution to the literature on social movements and the environmental movement. It opens with a broad-based consideration of the practicalities of social movement theories and it goes on to relate them to the practices of a particular movement. Theoretically and empirically rich, the book draws on extensive survey material with 144 UK environmental organizations, interviews with more than 40 key campaigners and extensive participant-observation. Saunders argues that Britain has one of the most active and well developed environmental movements in the world; it is not torn by such dramatic divisions as the US movement, yet it illustrates factions common across environmental movements in many European countries. She focuses especially on the crucial question of networking dynamics, showing that there are broad ranging network links across the movements' spatial and ideological dimensions and that this combined with inevitable ideological clashes and a degree of sectarian rivalry, helps produce the creative tension that leads the movement closer to achieving its overarching aims of protecting and preserving the environment

In a concluding comment on this special journal issue, some exciting possibilities presented by the linking of geography, sociology, & political science in the study of social movements are explored. The importance of a spatial perspective in understanding the contentious politics in which such movements are frequently embroiled is demonstrated via a case study of the US Supreme Court case that resulted from the attempts by lesbian, gay, bisexual, & transgendered groups to participate in the annual St Patrick's Day parade in Boston, MA. In analyzing how the street shaped the construction of public discourse about the parade, the centrality of space in social movement theory is demonstrated. 6 References. K. Hyatt Stewart

Mobilization against apartheid in South Africa, the campaign against blood diamonds, the women's movement in Liberia where Africa's first female head of State was elected in 2005 - these are all examples of socially based movements that have had a major effect on Africa's recent history. Yet the most influential theories concerning social movements worldwide have paid little heed to Africa. This volume draws together contributions on social movements in Africa, setting empirical studies alongside a couple of theoretical chapters. The volume is the outcome of a conference held in Leiden on 23-24 October 2008. Contents: Theoretical perspectives: Introduction: African social movements or social movements in Africa? (Stephen Ellis & Ineke van Kessel); Social movement theory: past, present & prospects (Jacquelien van Stekelenburg & Bert Klandermans); Speaking to global debates through a national and continental lens: South African and African social movements in comparative perspective (Adam Habib & Paul Opoku-Mensah). Case studies: African civil society, 'blood diamonds' and the Kimberley process (Lansana Gberie); The Islamic Courts Union: the ebb and flow of a Somali Islamist movement (Jon Abbink); Liberia's women acting for peace: collective action in a war-affected country (Veronika Fuest); Nurtured from the pulpit: the emergence and growth of Malawi's democracy movement (Boniface Dulani); Bare-foot activists: transformations in the Haratine movement in Mauritania (Zekeria Ould Ahmed Salem); An Islamic social movement in contemporary West Africa: NASFAT of Nigeria (Benjamin Soares); The United Democratic Front's legacy in South Africa: mission accomplished or vision betrayed? (Ineke van Kessel); 'Campus cults' in Nigeria: the development of an anti-social movement (Stephen Ellis).