Firm Decisions and the Emergence of Mobilization: County-Level Reactions to Nuclear Power in the United States

• In Event: 474 - Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 11. Moral Outrage and Participation

Abstract

Extant research in social movement theory has extensively explored the role that collective action plays in shaping decisions at the organizational level. To our knowledge, however, scholars have not devoted as much attention to whether firm-level decisions might impact the emergence and evolution of mobilization. In this study of local communities’ reactions to the construction of proposed new nuclear reactors in their vicinity, therefore, we examine the role that three types of firm decisions—the proposal, cancellation and completion of a new nuclear unit—play in the development of both mobilization against nuclear power and activism on other issues. We find that a new unit being proposed within 100 miles of a given community is associated with a significant upsurge in anti-nuclear mobilization. Cancelled units—arguably victories for anti-nuclear activists—also appear to catalyze further antinuclear mobilization. On the other hand, we find completed units to be associated with an increase in mobilization towards other, non-nuclear issues, presumably because local activists are likely to channel their efforts on other goals once all attempts to halt the construction of a new nuclear unit have failed. Moreover, we find this effect to be particularly prominent in more highly educated communities. We discuss the implications of the above results for the social movement literature, with particular reference to the literature on critical events and the antecedents of mobilization across multiple issues in local communities.

Authors

• Alessandro Piazza, Columbia University

• Fabrizio Perretti, Bocconi University