Toward a Theory of Social Movement Accretion

• In Event: 463 - Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 13. Movement Emergence

Abstract

How do social movements broaden their societal reach and mobilize more participants? Although social networks and organizational coalitions have been found to aid in mobilization, they only explain part of the expansion in social movement participation. This paper introduces the notion of social movement accretion to understand the channels through which social movements expand their ranks through large-scale events like street demonstrations and marches. Social movement accretion is comprised of three related processes: social networks, organizational coalitions, and mediated channels. Using data collected through a random survey of participants at the largest climate-related protest in history—the People’s Climate March held in New York City in September 2014—we find that the three combined processes of accretion explain who participates in large-scale demonstrations more fully than any of the individual mechanisms. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of this research and outlining opportunities for future study.

Authors

• Dana R. Fisher, University of Maryland

• Anya Mikael Galli, University of Maryland-College Park