Social Movements and Protest Politics

This fully revised and updated edition of Social Movements and Protest Politics provides interdisciplinary perspectives on the sociology of protest movements. It considers major theories and concepts, which are presented in a clear, accessible, and engaging format. The second edition contains new chapters on methods and ethics of social movement research, and legal mobilisation, protest policing and criminal justice activism, including calls to abolish or defund police made at protests during the COVID-19 pandemic. This edition introduces readers to the concept of the ‘post-protest society’ wherein the right to protest is whittled away to near vanishing point, and authorities have considerable legal recourse to ban protests and render the tactics of protest movements ineffective. The book also looks at recent developments and novel social movements, including Black Lives Matter, Extinction Rebellion, Gilets Jaunes, #MeToo, and Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement, as well as the rise of contemporary forms of populism in democratic societies.

The book presents specific chapters outlining the early origins of social movement studies and more recent theoretical and conceptual developments. It considers key ideas from resource mobilisation theory, the political process model, and new social movement approaches. It provides extensive commentary on the role of culture in social protest (including visual images, emotions, storytelling, music, and sport), religious movements, geography and struggles over space, media and movements, and global activism. Historical and contemporary case studies and examples from a variety of countries are provided throughout, including the American civil rights movement, Greenpeace, Pussy Riot, Indigenous peoples’ movements, liberation theology, Indignados, Occupy, Tea Party, and Arab Spring. Each chapter also contains illustrations and boxed case studies to demonstrate the issues under discussion.

Social Movements and Protest Politics will be an indispensable resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students in the social sciences and humanities wanting to be introduced to or extend their knowledge of the field. The book will also prove useful to university teachers and academic researchers, activists, and practitioners interested in the study of social, cultural, and political protest.