The growing interdependence on a global scale which characterizes the human condition at the turn of the century constitutes a challenge for both the mobilization of social movements and social movement theory. This volume makes an attempt to adjust the perspective of the "political process" approach to a world in which political opportunities, mobilizing structures, framing processes and collective action of social movements are no longer confined to national political contexts.

The internet could have been purpose-built for fostering the growth of the social movements and citizen initiatives which have had such a significant impact on the political landscape since the 1990s. In "Cyberprotest" the contributors explore the effects of this synergy between ICTs (Information Communication Technologies) and people power, analysing the implications for politics and social policy at both a national and a global level. Through a number of different international examples answers are sought to questions such as: to what extent and in what forms do social movements use ICTs?; how do new ICTs facilitate new patterns and forms of citizen mobilization?; how does this use affect the relationship between social movements and their members?; how do ICTs change the way social movement organizations communicate with each other?; and how do they affect the way these movements mobilize and intervene in public debates and political conflicts?

Now more than ever, "recognition" represents a critical concept for social movements, both as a strategic tool and an important policy aim. While the subject's theoretical and empirical dimensions have usually been studied separately, this interdisciplinary collection focuses on both to examine the pursuit of recognition against a transnational backdrop. With a special emphasis on the efforts of women's and Jewish organizations in 20th-century Europe, the studies collected here show how recognition can be meaningfully understood in historical-analytical terms, while demonstrating the extent to which transnationalization determines a movement's reach and effectiveness.

How have women's movements responded as state governments delegated power to transnational organizations like the European Union? Have they facilitated the shifts in state policy responsibilities to subnational governments, independent agencies, and the private sector? This study examines how women's movements have contributed and responded to changes in state powers and policy responsibility in North America and Western Europe. The international scholars contributing to this volume identify movement changes that include greater engagement with the state, specific policy-making ventures and challenges to national governments.

Although living conditions have improved throughout history, protest, at least in the last few decades, seems to have increased to the point of becoming a normal phenomenon in modern societies. Contributors to this volume examine how and why this is the case and argue that although problems such as poverty, hunger, and violations of democratic rights may have been reduced in advanced Western societies, a variety of other problems and opportunities have emerged and multiplied the reasons and possibilities for protest. Acts of Dissent: New Developments in the Study of Protest examines some of those problems, progressing from methodological issues, to discussions of the part that the mass media plays in protest, finally to several case studies of protests in different contexts.

The internet could have been purpose-built for fostering the growth of the social movements and citizen initiatives which have had such a significant impact on the political landscape since the 1990s. In "Cyberprotest" the contributors explore the effects of this synergy between ICTs (Information Communication Technologies) and people power, analysing the implications for politics and social policy at both a national and a global level.;Through a number of different international examples answers are sought to questions such as: to what extent and in what forms do social movements use ICTs?; how do new ICTs facilitate new patterns and forms of citizen mobilization?; how does this use affect the relationship between social movements and their members?; how do ICTs change the way social movement organizations communicate with each other?; and how do they affect the way these movements mobilize and intervene in public debates and political conflicts?

Using controversy over abortion as a lens through which to compare the political process and role of the media in these two very different democracies, this book examines the contest over meaning that is being waged by social movements, political parties, churches and other social actors. Abortion is a critical battleground for debates over social values in Germany and the U.S., but the constitutional premises on which arguments rest differ, as do the strategies that movements and parties adopt and the opportunities for influence that are open to them.

The concepts of power and democracy have been extensively studied at the global, national and local levels and within institutions including states, international organizations and political parties. However, the interplay of those concepts within social movements is given far less attention. Studies have so far mainly focused on their protest activities rather than the internal practices of deliberation and democratic decision-making. 'Meeting Democracy' presents empirical research that examines in detail how power is distributed and how consensus is reached in twelve global justice movement organizations, with detailed observations of how they operate in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. Written by leading political scientists and sociologists, this work contributes significantly to the wider literature on power and deliberative democracy within political science and sociology.

The growing interdependence on a global scale which characterizes the human condition at the turn of the century constitutes a challenge for both the mobilization of social movements and social movement theory. The present volume makes an attempt to adjust the perspective of the political process approach to a world in which political opportunities, mobilizing structures, framing processes and collective action of social movements are no longer confined to national political contexts.

The concepts of power and democracy have been extensively studied at the global, national and local levels and within institutions including states, international organizations and political parties. However, the interplay of those concepts within social movements is given far less attention. Studies have so far mainly focused on their protest activities rather than the internal practices of deliberation and democratic decision-making. Meeting Democracy presents empirical research that examines in detail how power is distributed and how consensus is reached in twelve global justice movement organizations, with detailed observations of how they operate in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. Written by leading political scientists and sociologists, this work contributes significantly to the wider literature on power and deliberative democracy within political science and sociology.

How have women's movements responded as state governments delegated power to transnational organizations like the European Union? Have they facilitated the shifts in state policy responsibilities to subnational governments, independent agencies, and the private sector? This study examines how women's movements have contributed and responded to changes in state powers and policy responsibility in North America and Western Europe. The international scholars contributing to this volume identify movement changes that include greater engagement with the state, specific policy-making ventures and challenges to national governments.

Using controversy over abortion as a lens through which to compare the political process and role of the media in these two very different democracies, this book examines the contest over meaning that is being waged by social movements, political parties, churches and other social actors. Abortion is a critical battleground for debates over social values in Germany and the U.S., but the constitutional premises on which arguments rest differ, as do the strategies that movements and parties adopt and the opportunities for influence that are open to them.

Das Internet, so der empirische Befund anhand der offentlichen deutschsprachigen Debatte zu Genfood, unterscheidet sich seiner diskursiven Qualitat kaum von Tageszeitungen, sofern vom durchschnittlichen Nutzerverhalten ausgegangen wird. Die mit dem Internet verknupften Hoffungen auf eine Demokratisierung und Rationalisierung politischer Streitfragen werden sich kaum erfullen."

Das Buch analysiert anhand von neun Fallstudien aus unterschiedlichen Bereichen Aspekte der gesellschaftlichen Verantwortung von Wirtschaftseliten. Es fragt nach den Ursachen und Bedingungen eines gesellschaftlichen Engagements, aber auch nach den Grunden fur die Ablehnung von Verantwortung."

Liberale und deliberative Modelle politischer OEffentlichkeit formulieren unterschiedliche Gutekriterien im Hinblick auf die Zwecke und die Bedingungen oeffentlicher Kommunikation. Auf der Basis einer systematischen Inhaltsanalyse von zwei Tageszeitungen und einer Befragung von kollektiven Akteuren prufen die Autoren am Beispiel der Abtreibungsdebatte und in welchem Masse die OEffentlichkeit der Bundesrepublik den Normvorstellungen liberaler oder deliberativer Modelle nahekommt. Daruber hinaus formulieren und prufen sie Erklarungen fur ihre deskriptiven Befunde: Aufgrund welcher Bedingungen werden Erwartungen an OEffentlichkeit und oeffentliche Meinungsbildung tatsachlich erfullt oder nicht erfullt? Welche Besonderheiten oeffentlicher Kommunikation bestimmen die Auswahl der Akteure, die zu Wort kommen, das Diskursniveau ihrer Argumente und die Qualitaten dessen, was oeffentliche Meinung darstellt?

In Social Movements: A Theoretical Approach, Dieter Rucht offers a theoretically and historically informed approach to social movements as a phenomenon of modern societies. He links the analysis of social movements to general theories of society and processes of social change, and combines three basic perspectives: interactionist, constructivist, and process-oriented (ICP-approach). Drawing mainly on ideas from Jürgen Habermas, Pierre Bourdieu, and Anthony Giddens, Rucht recommends several revisions and highlights the important role of the public sphere as the central stage for social movements. He argues that it is a realm in its own right and the major domain in which social movements make themselves seen and heard, garner support, and possibly succeed in changing basic societal structures. This comprehensive treatise analyzes the external and internal activities of social movements, the role of different kinds of opportunities and restrictions, collective identities and framing, organizing, networking, and strategizing. It lucidly examines the complexity of social movements that have a status as both actors and systems, and whose logic cannot be reduced to either strategic or communicative action.

On February 15, 2003, the largest one-day protest in human history took place as millions of people in hundreds of cities marched in the streets, rallying against the imminent invasion of Iraq. This was activism on an unprecedented scale. "The World Says No to War" strives to understand who spoke out, why they did, and how so many people were mobilized for a global demonstration. Using surveys collected by researchers from eight countries--Belgium, Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States--"The World Says No to War" analyzes how the new tools of the Internet were combined with more conventional means of mobilization to rally millions, many with little experience in activism, around common goals and against common targets. Contributors: W. Lance Bennett, U of Washington; Michelle Beyeler, U Bern; Christian Breunig, U of Toronto; Mario Diani, U of Trento; Terri E. Givens, U of Texas, Austin; Bert Klandermans, Free U Amsterdam; Donatella della Porta, European U Institute; Wolfgang Rudig, U of Strathclyde; Sidney Tarrow, Cornell U; Peter Van Aelst, U of Antwerp.