Resource mobilization
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Resource mobilization is a social theory related to the study of social movements. It focuses on the ability of the members of the movement to acquire resources and mobilize people in order to advance their goals.[Kendall 2006] In contrast to the older, traditional collective behaviour paradigm which views social movements as deviant aberrations, resource mobilization which emerged in 1970s views social movements as rational social institutions and social actors taking political action. [Buechler 1999]
In resource mobilization, a core group of sophisticated strategists works to harness the disaffected energies, attract money and supporters, capture the media’s attention, forge alliances with those in power, and create an organizational structure. This theory assumes that without such resources, the social movement cannot be effective, and that dissent alone is not enough to result in any social change.[Kendall 2006]
This theory is based on the assumptions that humans are rational and views social movements as an goal-oriented activity. Based on rational choice theory, individuals are viewed in as weighing the costs and benefits of participation in the movement and acting only when benefits outweigh the costs. When movement goals take the form of the public goods, the free rider dilemma is often analyzed.
Organization is more important than acquisition of the resources, or the resources themselves. It focuses on interactions between social movement organizations (SMOs) and other organizations (other SMOs, businesses, governments, etc.). Organization infrastructure is another aspect of study in this approach.[Kendall 2006]
Resource mobilization theory may be divided into two camps. John McCarthy and Mayer Zald are the originators and major advocates of the classic enterpreneurial (economic) version of this theory, while Charles Tilly and Douglas McAdam are proponents of the political version of resource mobilization.[Kendall 2006]
The enterpreneurial model blends economics and organization theory in order to explain the phenomena of the collective action. It argues that grieviances are not enough to lead to the creation of the movement, and it is the access and control over the resources that is the most important factor. This model notes that the flow or resources from and towards the group can be explain by the laws of supply and demand, and the involvement (or lack of it) of the individuals and groups is explained by the rational choice theory (calculations of costa and benefits). The critics of this theory note that it is not very efficient in explaing social movement communities.[Kendall 2006]
Political version of the resource mobilization concentrates on the political struggle instead of economic factors. [Kendall 2006]
Critiques note that this theory fails to account for social change brought by the groups with limited resources and marginalizes the role of greviances, identity and culture and many macro-sociological issues.[Kendall 2006]
In the 1980s two new theories of social movements [Buechler 1999] challenged resource mobilization framework:
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Diana Kendall, Sociology In Our Times, Thomson Wadsworth, 2005, ISBN 0-534-64629-8 Google Print, p.531
- Steven M. Buechler, Social Movements in Advanced Capitalism, Oxford University Press, 1999, ISBN 0-19-512604-1, Google Print, p.34
