Syllabus
1. Introductory Class I. INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF COLLECTIVE ACTION
2. Theory: Activism, Interest Groups, Social Movements and Protest in the View of Four Research Traditions
3. Methodology: How to Research Collective Action? II. SOCIAL MOVEMENT THEORY
4. Political Opportunities and Resources
5. Cultural Dimensions of Social Movements III. POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
6. Forms of Political Participation and Democracy
7. Political Participation, Connective Action and the Internet IV. INTEREST GROUPS, MOVEMENTS, PARTIES AND INSTITUTIONS
8. Movements, Interest Groups and Parties
9. Movements, Interest Groups and International Institutions: The Impact of the EU Accession Process on Social Movements and State-Civil Society Relations V. TRANSFORMATION OF CAPITALISM AND PROTEST
10. Post-communist Transitions and Political Mobilization
11. New Climate Activism
12. Course Wrap Up
Annotation
The course introduces students to the study of social movements, interest groups, civil society, political mobilization, and protest in the context of current democracies. It consists of five blocks: introduction to the study of collective action, social movement theory, political participation research, interest groups and social movements in the interaction with political parties and international institutions, and transformation of capitalism and protest.