Social movements and networks: relational approaches to collective action

For the first time in a single volume, the growing field of network analysis is systematically explored and assessed in terms of its ability to throw light on individual behaviour, social movements and political processes. -;Social Movements and Networks examines the extent to which a network approach should inform research on collective action. For the first time in a single volume, leading social movements researchers systematically map out and assess the contribution of social network approaches to their field of enquiry in light of broader theoretical perspective. By exploring how networks affect individual contributions to collective action in both democratic and non-democratic organizations, and how patterns of inter-organizational linkages affect the circulation of resources within and between movements, the authors show how network concepts improve our grasp of the relationship between social movements and elites and of the dynamics of the political processes. -