Blackwell Reference Online

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Social movements organize people, resources, and ideas for social change. Many do this through formal organizations, and most sociologists recognize the social movement organization (SMO) as a key factor in the study of movements. SMOs can be defined as formal organizations that take the collective pursuit of social change as a primary goal. This concept is trickier than it may initially seem, since it relies on two concepts that are themselves difficult to define. Scholars generally define social movements as contentious forms of collective action operating at least partly outside institutionalized politics. Yet scholars disagree about how significant the desired change needs to be and what it means to work outside of institutionalized politics. Common definitions of organizations – as goal-directed, boundary-maintaining, and rule-governed groups – are somewhat less contentious. Many social movement groups, both past and present, are clearly identifiable as SMOs – for example, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), War Resisters League, Greenpeace, United Students Against Sweatshops, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and many others. Other groups, however, are more ambiguous. Some groups are insufficiently organized or change-oriented to be considered SMOs. For instance, Gay Liberation Fronts existed in many US cities in the early 1970s, but it is unclear ... log in or subscribe to read full text