Protest, agitation, social movements, collective action, revolution.

Protest, Agitation, Social Movements, Collective Action, Revolution

Protest, Agitation, Social Movements: The term dissent refers to ideas and activities which are different from those prevailing in a society at a given point of time. Differences of opinion and disagreement on certain issues are its base. Dissent is thus the beginning of a movement for change. When dissent is expressed openly, it assumes the form of protest and agitation. They represent a more crystallized state of opposition and conflict. Purpose is central to an agitation, unlike opposition which is central in protest. Protest is a reaction to an event which has already occurred and an agitation can also be a future course for a protest. Dissent is central to protests, dissatisfaction is central to agitations. Protest is a social process of opposition against any person, group or even wider society. It may occur at individual or collective level, manifest or latent level and may involve action or inaction as a tool. Some modes of protest are candlelight processions, use of black bands, street theaters, songs, poetry, violence, and vandalism. It is sometimes instant and reactionary organized action. Protest seeks to reform rather than replace the existing structure. It is an organized, conscious, and collective attempt to bring or to resist social change through non-institutional means. Over a period of time, if protests do not yield results, they can either disappear or evolve into a social movement. Agitation is a social process that involves intense activity undertaken by an individual or group to fulfill a purpose. Strikes, mass leave, raasta roko, rail roko, rioting, and picketing are some forms. Unlike social movements which are marked by a degree of organization and sustenance, agitations are generally spontaneous and ephemeral. Both protests and agitations can institutionalize to become social movements. A social movement is defined as sustained collective action aimed at bringing or resisting social change outside the sphere of established institutions. They are large informal groupings of individuals and/or organizations focused on specific political or social issues, or in other words, on carrying out, resisting, or undoing social change. The term "Social Movement" was introduced in 1850 by Lorenz von Stein in his book "History of the French Social Movement from 1789 to the Present".

Social Movements in the beginning do not follow a fixed pattern of hierarchy. They are thus able to innovate new features of organization. Institutionalization would prevent any form of innovation because of its fixed structures.

Key processes behind the history of social movements are urbanization, industrialization, universalization of education, scientific revolution, and democratization.

Types of social movements: reform movements, revolutionary movements, resistance or reactionary movements, migratory movements, revitalization movements.

According to Touraine, social movements have three important functions:

• Mediation: Help to relate the individual to the larger society. Give each person a chance to participate, to express his ideas, and to play a role in the process of social change.
• Pressure: Social movements stimulate the formation of organized groups that work systematically to see that their plans and policies are implemented.
• Clarification of collective consciousness: Social movements generate and develop ideas which spread throughout society. As a result, group consciousness arises and grows.

MSA Rao identified three factors relating to the origins of social movements:

• Relative deprivation - example: Naxalite movement.
• Structural strain - When the prevailing value system and the normative structure do not meet the aspirations of the people, the society faces strain. A new value system is sought so as to replace the old, and this leads to conflicts and tension, and a social movement. Usually, individuals in such a situation violate the social norms.
• Revitalization - Offers a positive alternative. Movements are started for revitalizing the existing system which is undergoing structural strain. The urge for revitalization can generate a movement which promotes patriotism and national pride. Youth movements or the literacy movements are other examples. Movements are started in order to solve a problem collectively. Not merely protest against what they define as wrong but also try to provide an alternative.

For a social movement to emerge, people must understand the problem. The problem must be observable and objective, and when a subjective understanding or consciousness of the problem develops, a social movement is generated. Leadership and ideology are other necessary factors.

Sources of problems in a social movement:

• Spreading the knowledge that exists, free riders. Many social movements are created around some charismatic leader. After the social movement is created, there are two likely phases of recruitment. The second phase, which will usually come after the given movement had some successes and would look good on a résumé. People who join in this second phase will likely be the first to leave when the movement suffers any setbacks and failures. Eventually, the social crisis can be encouraged by outside elements, like opposition from government or other movements. However, many movements had survived a failure crisis, being revived by some hardcore activists even after several decades.
• Components of social movements: objectives, ideology, programs, leadership, and organization.

Life cycle of a social movement:

• Stage 1: Reflects the social unrest present in society. Collective tension builds up.
• Stage 2: Collective excitement can be witnessed in society, where people feel they have a problem in common. Certain social conditions are identified as the root cause of the misery and excitement sets in. The movement gains support and a guiding ideology. Agitation rises everywhere. This period is generally brief and leads quickly to action.
• Stage 3: Formalization stage, though some movements like migratory movements may be able to operate without formal organization. Division of work among leaders and followers. Fundraising is systematized and ideology becomes clearer than before. The strategy and tactics for protest and for action are drawn, and a moral justification for having adopted a particular course of action is established.
• Stage 4: Institutionalization. The movement crystallizes into a definite pattern. Efficient bureaucrats replace agitators; buildings, offices are established. The aims of the movement become accepted in that society. This period may last indefinitely.
• Stage 5: Dissolution. Only some movements achieve full institutionalization. Some movements end early while some dissolve after the objective has been achieved.

Collective Action and Revolution: A revolution (from the Latin revolutio, "a turnaround") is a fundamental change in political power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time when the population rises up against the current authorities. A revolution leads to a major process of reform or change. When the equilibrium in society is disturbed, revolutions take place. Revolution involves the threat or use of violence on the part of those participating. Revolutions are political changes brought about in the face of opposition from the pre-existing authorities who cannot be persuaded to relinquish their power without the threatened or actual use of violence means. Collective action itself can simply be defined as people acting together in pursuit of interests they share - for example, gathering to demonstrate in support of their cause. Some of these people may be intensely involved, others may lend more passive or irregular support. Effective collective action, such as action that culminates in revolution, usually moves through stages 1 to 4. Typical models of collective action and protest society, for example, most people are familiar with forms of demonstration such as mass marches, large assemblies, and street riots, whether or not they have participated in such activities. Other types of collective protest, however, have become less common or have disappeared altogether in most modern societies (such as fights between villages, machine-breaking, or lynching). Protesters can also build on examples taken from other countries; for instance, guerrilla movements proliferated in various parts of the world once disaffected groups learned how successful guerrilla actions can be against regular armies. Tilly concludes that most collective violence occurrences depend not so much on the nature of the activity as on other factors - European experience, repressive forces are themselves the most consistent initiator and performers of. For Tilly, a revolution is an outcome of a power struggle between competing interest groups. Revolutionary movements, according to him, are a type of collective action that occurs in situations what Tilly calls multiple sovereignty - these occur when a government for some reason lacks full control over the areas it is supposed to administer. Multiple sovereignty can arise as a result of external war, internal political clashes, or these two combined. Whether a revolutionary takeover of power is accomplished depends on how far the ruling authorities maintain control over the armed forces, the extent of conflicts within ruling groups, and the level of organization of the protest movements trying to seize power. Says little, however, about the circumstances that lead to multiple sovereignty. According to Theda, Tilly assumes that revolutionary movements are guided by the conscious and deliberate pursuit of interests, and successful processes of revolutionary change occur when people manage to realize these interests. Skocpol, by contrast, sees revolutionary movements as more ambiguous and indecisive in their objectives. Revolutions, she emphasizes, largely emerge as unintended consequences of more partial aims. In fact, in historical revolutions, differently situated and motivated groups have become participants in the complex unfolding of multiple conflicts. These conflicts have been powerfully shaped and limited by existing social, economic, and international conditions. And they have proceeded in different ways depending upon how each revolutionary situation emerged in the first place. Herbert Blumer uses the term collective action to refer to social processes and events that do not reflect existing social structure (laws, conventions, and institutions) but which emerge in a "spontaneous" way. Locher - Collective behavior is always driven by group dynamics, encouraging people to engage in acts they might consider unthinkable under typical social circumstances. Herbert Blumer Crowd - crowds are emotional. But a crowd is capable of any emotion, not only the negative ones like anger and fear. Joy can also be seen as an emotion. Public - Park distinguishes the crowd, which expresses a common emotion, from a public, which discusses a single issue. Thus, a public is not equivalent to all of the members of a society. To Park and Blumer, there are as many publics as there are issues. Mass - It differs from both the crowd and the public in that it is defined not by a form of interaction but by the efforts of those who use the mass media to address an audience. Social Movement - They are large, sometimes informal, groupings of individuals or organizations which focus on specific political or social issues. In other words, they carry out, resist or undo a social change. Social movements are not eternal. They have a life cycle - they are created, they grow, they achieve successes or failures and eventually, they dissolve and cease to exist. Goodwin distinguishes between conservative (reformist) and radical revolutionary movements. American or Mexican revolutionary movements belong to the first type and French, Russian and Arab to the second.