Forming Coalitions: A Network-Theoretic Approach to the Contemporary South Korean Environmental Movement

Abstract

This article investigates how multiple movement structures interplayed with each other in collective action/social movements in South Korea over the period, 2003-2004. By employing advanced methods in social network analysis, meta-network representation, analysis of structural association, and analysis of structural sequence, this article aims to complement existing paradigms of social movement research. Specifically, it investigates the forces that led environmental movement organizations (EMOs) to form coalitions based on the structured relations between governing personnel, movement ideologies and coalitions. The findings suggest that sharing similar ideologies facilitated coalition formation among EMOs and the role of coordination between governing personnel across the EMOs was marginal. Furthermore, a few leading EMOs were central actors across different movement structures, though religiously affiliated Green Christ and Catholic Environmental Network were also active in coalition formation. The framework and the findings further scholarship on collective action among organizations of varying forms (e.g., firms, unions) in the environ-mental movement sector and in other societal settings as well.