

My research topic will discuss social movements and what makes social movements effective. A social movement as defined by Lewis M. Killian, Neil J. Smelser, and Ralph H. Turner, is a “loosely organized but sustained campaign in support of a social goal, typically either the implementation or the prevention of a change in society’s structure or values (Killian).”  This type of movement can be seen throughout history and range from supporting different issues as in the “Pro-life movement” to the “Ku Klux Klan movement” and “Black Lives Matter.” My interest on the topic of social movements came during the wake of Trayvon Martin’s death. #BlackLivesMatter started as a hashtag and evolved into a movement concerning the issues of Black American lives being at the back burner of another race in America.  Throughout this paper I will acknowledge the pros and the cons of a social movement and also provide two social movements as examples of an effective social movement and a non-effective social movement. I will also decide through my looking at these two different social movements and what scholars deemed effective about a social movement, to determine whether #BlackLivesMatter is an effective social movement. During my research of my topic I have found some drawbacks to social movements, but I see the benefits of a social movement outweighing the non-beneficial factors of a not having social movements in our world.

An article written by Matthew Ingram, “How Social Media Affects Protest Movements: It’s Complicated,” sheds light on the positive and negative effects of social movements on political issues. The article introduction states that people tend to have two view-points of social movements: “a) agree that they can be very powerful tools, or b) argue that they are just sound and fury, signifying nothing, and have had no real effect on the outcome of these (Ingram),” of the causes.  Ingram then goes to state that the answer is actual deeper than what many think; he justifies his claim by stating the works of a researcher by the name of Zeynep Tufekci, who has dedicated her career in studying social stages influence on political behavior. Tufekci studies the different protesters in not only her native country of Turkey but other countries as well. What she found in her studies were that although there are positive attributes to social movements on political issue there are deeper negative effects as well

This evidence serves to aid the opposing side of my argument that claims social movements are not beneficial. I believe social movements have a profound impact on social and political issues more so than the negative effects. But this article states why it may have more of a negative effect on said issues. The article states that social media has been a leading platform for social movement. But now political leaders are becoming more “mainstream” and not only using social media has a gain in their platform, but also blocking protesters content by having the owner of the social network block said users. Tufekci says social media is a “double-edged sword (Ingram)”.  She says this because although social media has made finding like mind individuals faster than the past history of social movements, and by allowing the movement to be effective at a rapid rate; on the other hand it is less likely to survive over a lengthy period of time. Whereas, you have traditional political movements, sometimes looked on as the opposite of social movements, have had  years and years to be development and organized to what they are today and though the amount of time it took for the political change to come about the movement itself can be seen as more impactful that today’s social movements.

There are those who would argue that social movements do not make a difference in societal laws and regulations. “Thinking About The Influence Of Social Movements On Institutions” by Edwin Amenta, is an article that explores the effects of social movements on institutions. Amenta, along with many other scholars believe that social movements should be taking out of the equation of political issues. Researchers considered the impact of social movements and its primary attributes as, “the degree and type of resource mobilization, protest and framing strategies, and political opportunities (Amenta, 357).” These three key attributes were believed to measure the influence and effectiveness of social movements. According to this article, this was not the case and evidence found in systematic reviews on the political costs of social movements backed this statement. Many different social movements strive to impact different institutions in countless ways. Institutions, such as state and federal entities, are for the most part the ultimate goal of these movements but the movements target other entities such as media and business. This prospective of the influence of social movements states that some social movements are going about their cause wrong. “Even when states are targeted, the types of movement organization and actions that influence national legislators mat not influence courts, administrators, or subnational governments (Amenta, 357). And because of this many researchers have decided on a different method to search for prime source of effectiveness.  Taking movements as a whole out of researchers analyses of “movement relevant outcomes, is the main step in evaluating all determinants of the results of change.” Amenta goes to say by researchers taking this approach to social movements they, “drop political sociological concepts, while not taking individual institutions seriously enough (Amenta, 358).” He believes there should be a process that emphasize on the fundamental building block method that influence the institutions that the social movements are trying to impact.

     Chip Beret wrote an article entitled, “Social Movements Need an Infrastructure to Survive.” gives its readers a list of fundamental building blocks of what creates a strong social movement. Sociologist in the 1970s began looking at social movements differently rather than individuals participating in the same illogical conduct but more so like mind individuals who have the same grievances and what the rest of the world to know about the grievances as well. The article states that “social movements pull politicians and political movements towards them, and not the other way around (Berlet).” An example given in the article states the civil rights movement leaders influenced the Democratic Party in the northern states to separate themselves from the segregationist demands of the southern states’ Democratic Party. Leaders of political movements can be clearly set and known to the public on who they are. A “leaderless” concept is a term associated with most social movements.

The “leaderless” concept of Networked Social movements as opposed to the traditional movements that have leadership is also explored and emphasized throughout this article.  Social movements can be seen throughout the length of history but with the help of new technology an increased amount of visibility, scope, and broadcasting of political issues and pitches as revolutionized movements. “Participants in these movements, adhering to egalitarian principles, seek to emphasize the absence of leaders” and because of this many associate theses movements as “leaderless.” The concept of “the autonomous leadership theory” proposed by Simon Western is a driven force behind uprooting the myths about Social movements not having a leader.

Many people believe to be well structured means to have a leader. We see this in traditional movements and we see this idea in both state and federal government. This article disputes this myth with supporting evidence that having a leader does not affect the effectiveness of a social movement. Before the internet, the 1960s brought the trending of leaderless movements for different political and social issues. These movements were more in line of the informal, nonhierarchical type of organization. This idea of not having a hierarchical came about from the, “view of leadership as power held by capital and mainstream decision-makers, as well as the association of leadership with authoritarianism.” People who were opposed to these types of government saw the link of leadership and power as a negative rather than a positive.

When comparing what Berlet believes to be qualities of a successful social movement to other researchers’ similar ideas can be connected. Although all the points listed are valid points three fundamentals provided to me to be the most useful. “A powerful and lucid ideological vision linked to strategies and tactics that have some reasonable chance of success (Berlet),” this is crucial because without a goal there is no movement. “The skillful framing of ideas and slogans for multiple audiences such as leaders, members, potential recruits, policymakers, and the general public (Berlet),” outlining an image for the world to see carries a weight that can influence different types of social groups of people in very different ways. And lastly, “the recruitment of people into the movement through pre-existing social, political, and cultural networks (Berlet),” it is import to have a group of individual fighting for a cause that can potential impact everyone.

In, Shauna Gillooly, “Social Movements And Their Impact On Modern-Day Democracies: A Comparative Case Study In Latin American Countries,” a case study of the social movements in Guatemala and Peru and how the movements are alike and how they are different. The ability of the movement to jumpstart native political parties and representation at the national level, are also determines that are measured in this article. Both groups have faced different challenges from lack of physical infrastructure to political institutions that already exist. The article also suggest that, “social movements are the first indication that some sort of representative change needs to be made (Gillooly).” And this leads to democracies evolving to adapt to the will of the people. The usage of a “bottom-up versus top-down movements” is two concepts that were used in these social movements.

This article can provide useful for my research topic by comparing the success and failure of these two models versus the success and failure of other social movements. Peru used the concept of a “top-down movement” which failed; and Guatemala was a success by using the bottom-up method. Peru had big disadvantages to include: “lack of existing educational infrastructure in Peru, and the unique geographical challenges posed to getting education to isolated communities in Peru (Gillooly).” The lack of education is a key resource when starting any movement let alone a social movement. With the people of a society being uneducated it is an advantage of a mean of control that the people who are in-charged have to govern those people.    

Education is a key aspect in social movements. In modern day times there is a link between the internet and social movements. “The Impact of Social Movements Hinges on Bridging the Digital Divide,” by Tony Abraham talks also about bridging the gap between the elderly and internet use. In this article Abraham uses the movement #BlackLivesMatter and its involvement to educate those on how to use social media to stay informed. The article states that the extent of the movement is based on being able to gain access to the web, but for this social movement in particular, #BlackLivesMatter, the major of their communities’ lacks either internet access or in the case of this group the elderly do not know how to navigate the web. The article raised a valid point, “how much impact can a social movement make if many of the people it represents don’t have the resources nor the means to get involved (Abraham).” The organization ‘Philly Coalition for REAL Justice’ is linking the elderly in their communities to different social platforms. The idea that everyone has access to the web can be argued when looking at the not only black communities but poor and elderly communities as well. By tying in the social movement that jump-started my research of social movements; Professor Todd Wolfson, a member of the Media Mobilizing Project board, states, “What’s amazing about it [social media] is, it moved across the country and the world and organized people to that concept (Abraham).” Historically speaking, media has not shed a positive light on African American communities; but the different social media podiums have given more of a democratic forum, states Wolfson. Wolfson and this group of youth are educating others so that the social movement #BlackLivesMatter can strive and be a successful movement.

As I have acknowledged the pros and the cons of a social movement and also provide two social movements as examples of an effective social movement and a non-effective social movement; I have come to the conclusion that #BlackLivesMatter would be deemed a successful social movement. Education was a key factor in deeming Guatemala’s social movement a successful and Peru lack of education a failure. Whereas the #BlackLivesMatter is concerned, there are those who are educating others on the issues of their cause. #BlackLivesMatter. This movement demonstrates the “leaderless” concept as explained by Chip Berlet,but this does not take any effectiveness away from the movement. Although #BlackLivesMatter is a new social movement, it builds upon other movements such as the Civil Rights movement, and because of this I believe #BlackLivesMatter will strive and evolve just as its predecessor.
