Networks and Political Mobilization: Beyond Structural Argument
Networks and Political Mobilization: Beyond Structural Argument

Summary/Abstract: The article reviews major findings in the studies of social networks and contentious politics within the structural approach. By discussing the contribution of structurally oriented research over the previous emphases on personal pathology and social disorganization, it also points to the limitations of such approach. The focus on political opportunities, resources and social networks should be supplemented with the analysis of social processes and interactive dynamics that account for the structural (or network based) effects. The problem of the interaction between structural and cultural aspects of the process of political mobilization is discussed in relation with the following topics: repertoire of action, movement emergence, scale shift, and recruitment.

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