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Social movements play a vital and increasingly visible role in modern politics. Headline-grabbing demonstrations against authoritarian governments, police brutality, economic inequality, and other grievances suggest that, around the world, social movements are seen as powerful catalysts of change. In democracies as well as autocracies, rich countries as well as poor, citizens turn repeatedly to protest as a way of addressing a range of perceived social ills. In this engaging and accessible book, Devashree Gupta offers a thorough introduction to the study of social movements in these diverse settings, examining their structures and operations to identify the ways in which political and social contexts shape how movements behave and what impacts they have. Drawing on multiple theoretical approaches and contemporary case studies, Gupta explores how movements think and act strategically, learning from past interactions with authorities and the experiences of other movements, to find innovative ways to challenge the status quo. With suggestions for further reading and questions for class discussion throughout, Protest Politics Today will be essential reading for students of social movements and contentious politics across the world.
List of contents
1. The Politics of Protest
2. The Activist
3. The Organization
4. The Target
5. The Message
6. The Tactic
7. The Response
8. The Aftermath
9. The Future
Bibliography
About the author
Devashree Gupta is Associate Professor of Political Science at Carleton College.
Summary
Social movements play a vital and increasingly visible role in modern politics. Headline-grabbing demonstrations against authoritarian governments, police brutality, economic inequality, and other grievances suggest that, around the world, social movements are seen as powerful catalysts of change. In democracies as well as autocracies, rich countries as well as poor, citizens turn repeatedly to protest as a way of addressing a range of perceived social ills. In this engaging and accessible book, Devashree Gupta offers a thorough introduction to the study of social movements in these diverse settings, examining their structures and operations to identify the ways in which political and social contexts shape how movements behave and what impacts they have. Drawing on multiple theoretical approaches and contemporary case studies, Gupta explores how movements think and act strategically, learning from past interactions with authorities and the experiences of other movements, to find innovative ways to challenge the status quo. With suggestions for further reading and questions for class discussion throughout, Protest Politics Today will be essential reading for students of social movements and contentious politics across the world.
Report
"From its opening discussion of protests in North Charleston, Sana'a (Yemen), Cape Town, and Madrid on April 10, 2015 to its analysis of the Women's March on January 22, 2017, Protest Politics Today is a compelling synthesis of theory and practice that will be taught in a wide range of social science courses. I look forward to using it in my own course, Contesting Injustice."
Elisabeth Jean Wood, Yale University
"How do deeply invested participants come together in public displays of commitment and passion - in social movements? This is the subject of Devashree Gupta's riveting new book. The book ranges from how modern movements developed to the approaches scholars have used to study them, to how movements organize and strive to influence social and political change. Immensely readable and deeply informative, Protest Politics Today provides a succinct yet rich introduction to the field of social movements and contentious politics."
Sidney Tarrow, Cornell University and author of Power in Movement
