What Canada Tells Us about the Promise of Social Movement Societies?

• In Event: 463 - Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 19. Social Movements Working With and Challenging Institutions

Abstract

In this paper we revisit to the social movement society thesis advanced by Meyer and Tarrow and examine what the Canadian case offers to the analysis of blurring between institutional and social movement politics. We argue that: 1) Canadian Mobilization brings into question the timing of the emergence of a social movement societies. 2) The Canadian case also raises questions about the usefulness of the social movement literature’s treatment of movements as unique and separate from other forms of politics. 3) The Canadian case puts into question the notion of a singular social movement society, versus plural social movement societies.

Authors

• Howard Ramos, Dalhousie University

• Kathleen Rodgers, McGill University