From social movements to contentious politics : groping toward a new perspective
The « classic model » developed in the last fifteen years for analyzing social movements has considerably influenced both European and American sociological research. Three recent works undertake to critically revise this dominant perspective, which is often overly static and objectivist, and to lay the foundations for a more dynamic, relational approach to contentious collective action. In Silence and voice in the study of contentious politics, R. Aminzade et al. set out to fill the main « silences » left by sociology of mobilization. In Dynamics of contention, D. McAdam, S. Tarrow, and Ch. Tilly lay the foundation for a unified approach to the various types of contentious politics. J. Goldstone, in States, parties and social movements, attempts to develop the potential of such an approach for the study of relations between « institutional » and « non-institutional » politics.