Resource mobilization

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Resource mobilization is a sociological theory that forms part of the study of social movements. It stresses the ability of movement's members to acquire resources and to mobilize people towards the furtherance of their goals.[Kendall 2006] In contrast to the traditional collective behaviour paradigm that views social movements as deviant aberrations, resource mobilization--which emerged in the 1970s--views social movements as formed by rational social institutions and social actors taking political action. [Buechler 1999]

According to resource mobilization theory, it is a core group of sophisticated strategists that works towards harnessing the disaffected energies, attracting money and supporters, capturing the media’s attention, forging alliances with those in power, and creating an organizational structure. This theory assumes that without such resources, social movements cannot be effective, and further that dissent alone is not enough to engender any social change.[Kendall 2006]

This theory is based on the assumptions that individuals are rational. Also, it views social movements as a goal-oriented activity. Thus, following rational choice theory, individuals are viewed as weighing the costs and benefits of movement participation and deciding to act only if benefits outweigh costs. When movement goals take the form of public goods, the free rider dilemma has to be taken into consideration. Organization is more important than acquisition of resources, or than resources themselves. Organization 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 Doug McAdam are proponents of the political version of resource mobilization.[Kendall 2006]

The enterpreneurial model blends economics and organization theory to account for collective action. It argues that grievances are not enough to lead to the creation of a movement, and instead that access to and control over resources is the most important factor. This model states that the flow or resources from and towards the group can be best explained by the laws of supply and demand, and that individual or group involvement (or lack thereof) is accounted for by rational choice theory. Critics, however, point out that resource mobilization theory fails to explain social movement communities.[Kendall 2006]

The political version of RMT focuses on the political struggle instead of economic factors. [Kendall 2006] Critics have argued that it fails to account for social change brought about by groups with limited resources and that it marginalizes the role of grievances, identity and culture as well as many macro-sociological issues.[Kendall 2006]

In the 1980s, other theories of social movements [Buechler 1999] challenged the resource mobilization framework:

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References