Book Reviews: Ideology and the New Social Movements, Challenging the Political Order: New Social and Political Movements in Western Democracies, Apartheid Terrorism, the Sanctions Report: Documents and Statistics, Inter-Governmental Group of Commonwealth Ministers, Banking on Apartheid, Apartheid and International Finance: A Program for Change, Hegel's Critique of Liberalism: Rights in Context, Marx's Grundrisse and Hegel's Logic, the Critique of Thought: A Re-Examinaiton of Hegel's Science of Logic, Skepticism and Political Participation

AuthorG. R. Berridge,Preston King,David M. Farrell,Andrew Vincent
Date01 June 1991
DOI10.1111/j.1467-9248.1991.tb01378.x
Published date01 June 1991
Subject MatterBook Reviews
Political Studies
(1991),
XXXIX,
38&384
Book
Reviews
Alan Scott,
Ideology and the New Social Movements
(London, Unwin Hyman,
1990),
x
+
174
pp.,
f25.00
ISBN
0
04 301275 2, f8.95
pbk ISBN
0
04
301276
0.
Russell
J.
Dalton and Manfred Kuechler (eds),
Challenging the Political Order: New
Social and Political Movements
in
Western Democracies
(Oxford, Polity Press in
association with Basil Blackwell,
1990),
xii
+
329
pp.,
f35.00
ISBN
0
7456 0749 7,
f11.95
pbk ISBN
0
7456 0750
0.
Alan Scott’s book provides a precise (if jargonistic) account of the attempts by sociology
and political sociology to come to terms with new social movements (NSMs). He starts
with an overview of the available macro theories (functionalist, neo-Marxist, theories of
‘post-industrial’ society). One of the major gaps identified in such approaches is a lack of
sufficient attention to the political and organizational aspects of social movements. These,
at least, are dealt with in more micro-level approaches such as resource mobilization
theory. However, here the shortcoming is an over-reliance on narrow instrumental views
of rationality. The final chapter is a
tour de,force
in which Scott presents the advantages of
middle-range theories (social closure, mobilization and interest articulation) in analysing
NSMs. Among the issues dealt with here are: the coincidence between the rise
of
NSMs
and the operation of neocorporatist systems
of
interest intermediation; how any
disappearance of an NSM can of itself be seen
as
a measure of success; and whether
NSMs
can really be categorized as ‘new’ (Scott doubts it).
A main attraction of the Dalton and Kuechler volume is that they have brought
together a diverse set of specialists on NSMs and NPMs (new political movements):
contradictions and disagreements are encouraged; all the contributors are subjected to a
critical overview by the editors in the final chapter. After a useful framing introduction by
the editors together with W. Burklin, the book
IS
divided into three sections: the origins of
new movements (chapters by Brand, Inglehart, Wilson and Kaase); networks
of
action
(chapters by Rochan, Klandermans, Gelb and Rucht); and new movements and political
parties (chapters by Kitschelt, Muller-Rommel, Offe and Tarrow). Throughout, there
is
a
healthy mix of comparative analyses and case studies (especially on the FRG, France, the
Netherlands and Italy). Reading through the volume (and in the light also of Scott’s book)
one is struck by the evident disagreements among specialists
on
NSMs/NPMs. For
instance, Brand opens with
a
convincing piece on the ‘cyclical aspects’ of
NSMs,
tracing
recurring waves back to the
1800s.
In the very next chapter Inglehart adds new survey
evidence to his now familiar post-materialist thesis in showing why, he argues, we are
dealing with a ‘genuinely new’ and lasting phenomenon. Equally, there are differences
over such issues as whether the various ecology, peace
or
women’s movements can be
distinguished from other social movements as ‘new in
a
theoretically meaningful sense’
(unlike Scott the editors suggest an equivocal ‘yes’), and whether
-
as Scott has argued
-
the existence of neocorporatism can be seen as contributing to the rise of NSMs. Wilson’s
chapter focuses on the latter point; his conclusion that this ‘is not borne out’ in Western
Europe. His evidence, however, is not convincing, relying on expert opinion for
categorizing the neocorporatist states, and Eurobarometer data for measuring levels of
support for NSMs. Why not also look at aggregate voting figures for the latter (as do
Kitschelt
or
Miiller-Rommel)? The conclusion would surely be quite different. Kitschelt
develops an interesting thesis on the organizational differences between established
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Political Studies

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