| Rodney Stark - Founder of Social Movement Theory |
1. A Social movement is a type of group action. Social movements can be defined as "organizational structures and strategies that may empower oppressed populations to mount effective challenges and resist the more powerful and advantaged elites". 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. They provide a way of social change from the bottom within nations.
2. The early growth of social movements was connected to broad economic and political changes in England in the mid-18th century which, quietly spread over the civilizations in European and Western countries as well as in the region of Asia. Number of civil rises, insurgencies and wars as well as significant political regime changes recorded through out the history caused by the social movements of communities which impact on the global political and social stability sometimes. American Revolution and Russian Revolution are two great examples of the impacts of social movements and by now, you may be poking similar highlights in your brain cells with regard to the Sri Lankan History which significantly changed the course of Sri Lankan political paradigm time to time. Even the history can give a fare example referring to “Vijayaba Revolt”, “Udarata Revolt”, “Black July Revolt” and many more foot prints over the Sri Lankan history book.
3. With the time, number of sociologists starting with Gustav LeBon, Herbert Blumer, William Kornhauser and Neil Smelsercame up with different theories and concepts to explain and understand the social and individual behaviors under the various social and political conditions and as a result, modern social movement theories came up explaining collective social behavior, rational choices, political impacts and cultural perspectives of social movements and in this context, RodneyStark, an American sociologist and a professor at the University of Washington came up with a holistic theory of social movements. This assignment clearly analyses the applications and applicability of Rodney Stark’s social movement theory to Sri Lanka.
The Social Movement Theory by Rodney Stark
4. Social movement theory (SMT)s is an interdisciplinary study within the social sciences that generally seeks to explain why social mobilization occurs, the forms under which it manifests, as well as potential social, cultural, and political consequences. Rodney Stark argues that the social movements occur “whenever people organize to cause or prevent social change”. Stark’s definition implies two factors. First, there is something that has led people to want change or desire to prevent it. This is the grievance. Second, there is someone or something preventing or driving change. This something or someone will, on some level, resist the social movement. To the extent that this resistance occurs, an adversarial political, social, cultural, economic, or military relationship is likely to emerge.
5. As is the case with most social movement theorists, Stark organizes the variables that describe social movements into structural and rational choice analytical systems. The first, collective behavior, “emphasizes social movements as outbursts of group activity in response to deeply felt grievances.” Individual and group rational decision-making is reemphasized in favor of cultural-emotional responses. The second, resource mobilization, minimizes grievances and stresses rational choice, organization, and power within a society. The basis of dismissing grievances as a key cause is the assumption that there exists enough discontent within almost any society that, if properly mobilized, will lead to a social movement. Taken together, the two analytical structures indicate two sets of four factors that explain why social movements occur and what is required for social movements to succeed:
6. For a social movement to occur:
a. Some members if the society must share a grievance which they want to correct, either by changing society or by preventing a change they oppose.
b. These people must have hope – they must think there is some possibility of success.
c. Often, but not always, a precipitating event will ignite pent-up grievances and convince people that the time for action has arrived.
d. People are recruited by social movements through networks of attachment... Not only are individualsrecruited through their network ties, social movements often originate within a network... Moreover, once a movement is underway, sometimes whole networks, including those constituting formal organizations, will join at one time.
7. For a social movement to succeed:
a. It must achieve an effective mobilization of people and resources. That is, a social movement will tend to be more successful to the degree that it enjoys effective leadership, attracts committed and disciplined members, and is able to secure the necessary finances and facilities. These are classified as internal factors influencing a social movement.
b. It must withstand or overcome external opposition.
c. The fate of the social movement also depends on enlisting external allies from other major groups and powerful institutions in the society – or at least it must be able to keep them neutral.
d. Whenever social movements arise in response to a grievance that is widely shared, and when substantial resources are available, the movement will tend to be embodied in a number of separate organizations. These social movement organizations may cooperate, but often they compete rather vigorously.
8. In summary, SMT consist with following eight processes.
a. Shared grievance
b. Hope – a possibility for success
c. Precipitating events
d. People are recruited through networks of attachments
e. Mobilization of people and resources
f. Overcome external oppositions
g. Enlisting external allies
h. Embody in separate organizations
Social Movement Theory Over Sri Lankan Context
9. Sri Lanka was victimized with a devastating wound of multiple chain of social movements blown across the country as described early and the country just cures with nearly three decades fought ruthless war but, still the country is pressured with multi-dimensional sociopolitical challenges which has triggered them in to complex social uprisings and social movements. When it carefully analyses the present sociopolitical profile of the country with Rodney Stark’s SMT, following significant tendencies are embeds as major acts of social movements in present Sri Lanka.
a. Arising LTTE diaspora with global empowerment
b. SAITM resist public movement
c. Defeat of Rajapaksha’s regime
d. “Save Wilpaththu”; social uprising against the deforestation of Wilpaththu
Arising LTTE Diaspora with Global Empowerment
10. Though Sri Lanka is at the aftermath stage of it’s thirty years fought conflict with LTTE, one of highest ranked terrorist organization in the world, still its embers are blown in different social segmentation. The ideology created by the pro-masters of LTTE is weaponized in different social and political powers today even getting more and more stronger with its global network of diaspora. Even today, this multinational sociopolitical dilemma impacts on Sri Lanka challenging its sovereignty, ethnicity, demography, economy, political sector and the total social segment in different levels. The insurgency began decades back as a social movement and turned in to a conflict and again, it feeds its existence as another social movement. Let’s analyze this social movement with Rodney Stark’s theory.
11. Shared Grievances. Shared grievances of this incident are the marginalization of Tamils in the legislative council, making Sinhala language as official language aftermath the independence from British’s, making Buddhism as the foremost religion in the country in constitution, departing of Indian Tamils. This government action made a humiliation among the minority Tamil community and further, it caused Tamils to become more vigorous and to initiate a social movement. Multiple failed attempt made by past governments caused this social movement to turn in to an insurgency over a separation of their social and political freedom on a so-called Elam.
12. Hope. The Tamil community was united under a common goal demanding a separate Elam with positive and bold minded radical leadership of Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam, Mr. Amirthalingam, Uma Maheshwaran and Velupillai Prabakaran who bloomed a positive conception among the Tamil community giving them a hope to believe.
