Page 112 - Contemporary Political Sociology Globalization Politics and Power

98 Social Movements

America, for example, these include striking, petitioning, and organizing
pressure groups, but rarely rioting, machine - breaking, or rebellion –
common actions in previous times. Tilly argues that movements learn
from each other; the success of a particular tactic on the part of one
movement is likely to lead to its adoption by another.
This aspect of Tilly ’ s work fits within the RMT tradition insofar as he

is, above all, concerned with how resources are mobilized by social move-
ments to deal with collective grievances. However, it differs from that of
Zald and McCarthy in at least two important respects. First, he rejects
the premises of the rational choice theory insofar as he adopts the more
radical, Marxist view that interests cannot be reduced to the preferences
expressed by an individual at any particular moment. It is possible to be
mistaken about one ’ s “ real interests ” and, in fact, part of the task of
agencies working on behalf of the status quo is to obscure such interests
where their articulation could be threatening to it (Tilly, 1978 ). Second,
the theory of political opportunity structures and repertoires of collective
action gives quite a different emphasis to the development of social
movements than does Zald and McCarthy ’ s focus on formal organization.
It directs attention to the development of resistance in grassroots settings
as an important aspect of that development, rather than toward pro-
fessional organizations as the necessary condition of social movement
mobilization.
This difference in emphasis does not necessarily make the two
approaches incompatible. It may be rather that, in different instances,
different aspects of the development of social movements are prominent
(McAdam et al., 1996 : 4). Such a view is developed in Sidney Tarrow ’ s
influential work on “ cycles of protest ” (or, as he now calls them, “ cycles

of contention ” ). He argues that social movements do not arise individu-
ally, but rather as part of a general wave of social unrest, generally pre-
cipitated by some unpredictable event and facilitated by changes in
political opportunity structures. At the beginning of the cycle, mobiliza-
tion takes place directly among existing social networks. As it develops,
collective action increases and is diffused across a wider range of social
groups. Social movement organizations are formed at the peak of the cycle
of protest and compete with one another for constituents within the social
movement sector. At this stage, they tend to be demanding of members ’
time and energy and have little to offer in return except enthusiasm, a
feeling of solidarity, and the joy of rebellion. They therefore contribute
to the escalation of direct action which characterizes this stage of the cycle
of protest. The student movement of the 1960s was led, for example, to
employ increasingly radical tactics to challenge the authorities, eventually