Page 136 - Contemporary Political Sociology Globalization Politics and Power

122 Social Movements

NSMT, on the other hand, has been exclusively concerned with cultural
change at the “ systemic level. ” This is explicit in Touraine ’ s work, and
also in Melucci ’ s: both see social movements as “ breaking the limits ” of
the existing social system. For a complete synthesis between the traditions
and an integrated social movement research program to be possible, New
Social Movement theorists would have to drop their commitment to
complete “ systemic ” transformation.
In fact, the idea of “ system ” is inconsistent with other aspects of
Melucci ’ s social theory. First, as we saw in chapter 2 , the transnational

flows of globalization undermine the idea of a strictly bounded society
with distinct limits. Second, insofar as collective identities are seen as
nothing but unstable composites of different meanings continually in the
process of renegotiation, it is again diffi cult to see society as having fi xed
limits. Melucci ’ s commitment to the idea of system is at odds with his

idea of increased reflexivity in contemporary society which is more readily
understood as giving rise to a permanent state of relative fl uidity rather
than the transformation of one “ system ” into another. As we have noted,
Melucci ’ s understanding of social movements as inherently pluralist and
working on several levels would otherwise allow him to accommodate
the way in which they engage in formal political activity, without com-
promising his understanding of the ways in which they engage in the
democratization of everyday life in civil society. It would seem quite rea-
sonable to adopt such an understanding, while giving up the romantic
commitment to “ systemic ” transformation. Melucci ’ s theory is potentially
the more comprehensive in this respect, then, allowing an understanding
of the way in which social movements engage in cultural politics both to
realize social change through the state and also in the practices of civil
society.

(4) “ A social movement is a network of informal interactions between
a plurality of individuals, groups and/or organizations, engaged in a politi-
cal or cultural confl ict on the basis of a shared collective identity ” (Diani,
1992 : 13). As Diani sees it, it is important to distinguish between social
movements and other types of social and political action, such as interest
groups, political parties, or religious movements. This is sometimes dif-
ficult given that social movements involve such a wide range of practices.

However, he argues that it is precisely in this way that we should see
social movements as distinctive forms of collective action; they are not
simply organizations, however informal and non - hierarchical, but rather
networks between different actors in which more or less formal organiza-
tions may sometimes play a part. Such citizens ’ rights groups as Common
Cause in the US and interest groups such as the Child Poverty Action