New Social Movement Theories

TLDR

New social movement theory emerged to explain contemporary collective action, emphasizing cultural and identity dimensions. The article aims to evaluate the usefulness of new social movement theories for analyzing contemporary collective action, critically discuss central debates, and propose a typology distinguishing political and cultural versions. The author reviews contributions of Castells, Touraine, Habermas, and Melucci, critically discusses debates, and proposes a typology of political versus cultural new social movement theory. The conclusion evaluates new social movement theory overall and positions it relative to other social movement paradigms.

Abstract

This article offers an overview and assessment of the utility of new social movement theories for analyzing contemporary forms of collective action. The article beings with a brief overview of the origins of new social movement theory and a description of some of the general tenets of this approach. Next, I consider the contributions of four major theorists (Castells, Touraine, Habermas, and Melucci) to this paradigm. The heart of the article provides a critical discussion of the central debates that have emerged within this paradigm. I then propose a typological distinction between "political" and "cultural" versions of new social movement theory. In the conclusion, I assess new social movement theory as a whole and situate the paradigm with reference to other paradigms for the study of social movements.