Micro-Level Processes and Participation in Social Movements
Micro-Level Processes and Participation in Social Movements
Chapter 2 places the problem of movement non-participation within the existing sociological literature on the micro-level processes that contribute to an individual’s decision to participate–or not participate–in a social movement. The chapter provides an overview of the social movements literature on the four “central problematics” of micromobilization–solidarity, identity correspondence, consciousness transformation (also called “cognitive liberation”), and the creation of micromobilization contexts. In studies of social movements, these four processes continually arise as important micro-level issues shaping activist participation. This chapter synthesizes the theoretical and empirical work on these four factors and suggests that the low level of local participation in the coalfield justice movement is the result of problems with all four of these processes. The next four chapters present a series of studies that examine potential barriers to the four central problematics of micromobilization outlined in this chapter.
Keywords: Micro-level processes, Social movements, Micromobilization, Solidarity, Identity Correspondence, Consciousness Transformation, Cognitive Liberation, Micromobilization contexts, Activist participation
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