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120 Social Movements

(1) “ A social movement is a network of informal interactions between

a plurality of individuals, groups and organizations ” (Diani, 1992 : 8).
Both Resource Mobilization theorists and New Social Movement theorists
see the mobilization of social movements as occurring in informal interac-
tions involving individuals, groups, and organizations. This is made
explicit in the case of Melucci ’ s definition of collective identity as formed

through interaction in “ submerged networks, ” but it is also important
among Resource Mobilization theorists for whom “ micromobilization ”
is a key component of social movement activity. There is a difference in
emphasis, however, as those in the RMT tradition tend to see networks
as providing the preconditions for mobilization which is then orchestrated
by social movement organizations, while, for Melucci, they provide the
settings for social movement activity proper – the contestation of identities
and the practicing of alternative lifestyles. Arguably, this difference of
emphasis is rather important, suggesting that the convergence between
the traditions has distinct limits. Nevertheless, Diani is clearly correct to
point out that both now recognize the importance of informal interactions
to social movements.

(2) “ The boundaries of a social movement network are defined by the

specific collective identity shared by the actors involved in the interaction ”
(Diani, 1992 : 9). According to Diani, writers in both traditions again
acknowledge what is emphasized in Melucci ’ s work: that a social move-
ment requires a collective identity, including both a shared set of beliefs
and a sense of belonging. Resource Mobilization theorists have tended to
focus on the former to the neglect of the latter. Zald and McCarthy, for
example, see social movements as “ sets of opinions and beliefs, ” which
do not necessarily imply shared feelings of belongingness. However, Diani
sees the more recent work in the RMT tradition on “ micromobilization
contexts ” and “ frame alignment processes ” as emphasizing the collective
negotiation of individual commitment, as opposed to individuals ’ solitary
reflections on their reasons for joining collective action, and so at least

implying the construction of solidarity. He, therefore, insists on the impor-
tance of the process of symbolic definition and redefi nition of events,

issues, activities, and other social actors in both traditions.
In Diani ’ s view, both Resource Mobilization theorists and New Social
Movement theorists must now take seriously the terms within which
social actors themselves see the movements in which they participate: the
collective identity of a social movement is that movement – it is nothing
but a meaningful construction created in social action. Cultural politics
is crucial, then, to the understanding of social movements in both tradi-
tions. Structural or causal explanations of members ’ participation have