Neoliberal Development Threats, Social Movements and Political Parties: The Case of Honduras

• In Event: 4322 - Section on Political Sociology Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 04. The Political Sociology of Parties

Abstract

The boundaries between social movements and political parties often appear blurred (Goldstone 2003; Kriesi 2015). We examine the correlates of participation in left parties and mobilizing for elections. Just as social movement participation occurs in series of stages that ends with the recruitment of participants from a pool of likely sympathizers (Klandermans 1997), so does participation in left party politics. Drawing on theories of social movement partyism and threat-induced collective action, we examine the likelihood of participation in left party mobilization. The study implements the Caught in the Act of Protest: Contextualizing Contestation (CCC) survey protocol and respondent selection design with a sample of over 500 May Day demonstrators in Honduras to explain electoral participation in the LIBRE political party. Involvement in electoral mobilization was largely driven by economic threats tied to second generation neoliberal reforms and prior movement-type activity.

Authors

• Paul D. Almeida, University of California-Merced

• Eugenio Sosa, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Honduras