Mobilising and organising in precarious times: Analysing contemporary collective action in South Africa
International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
ISSN: 0144-333X
Article publication date: 12 September 2016
Abstract
Purpose
The paper argues that the field of social movement studies has been dominated by a movement organisation-centric approach. This organisational bias has constrained the analysis of collective action, especially in the Global South. The purpose of this paper is to contribute towards a reconceptualization of social movements which links them not to organisations but understanding social movements as a praxis linked to the material experiences of everyday life. Furthermore, the paper uses this expanded definition of social movements to revisit debates about mobilising and organising through reference to the contemporary South African context.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical findings of the paper are based on ethnographic, qualitative and quantitative research on collective action in South Africa that has been carried out by the author since 2009.
Findings
The paper presents three case studies of collective action which demonstrate the variability, strengths and weaknesses of different forms organising and mobilising in contemporary South Africa.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to re-conceptualising social movements in a way in which the concept is better able to travel across the Global North and South as a heuristic device. Furthermore, the paper situates debates about the strengths of mobilising with and without organisations within the South African context.
Keywords
Citation
Runciman, C. (2016), "Mobilising and organising in precarious times: Analysing contemporary collective action in South Africa", International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 36 No. 9/10, pp. 613-628. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-12-2015-0138
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited