The study of social movements is an important area of research in Latin American studies. Yet it is rare to find an undergraduate textbook on social movements that is not centered on the study of such movements in Europe and the United States. Paul Almeida has filled this gap. Social Movements introduces a presumably US undergraduate student audience to the study of social movements in a manner that is both extensive in its review of the literature and inclusive of Latin American perspectives. As the author of three books on Latin American social movements, it is not surprising that he has done this well. His familiarity with the region is reflected throughout the book. For scholars of social movements in Latin America, this is a refreshing and valuable new textbook.
The book delivers a thorough yet very accessible overview of the study of social movements. It begins by offering a broad singular definition of social movements, as well as a series of definitions based on scope. These range from micro-, everyday resistances to macro-, transnational movements. Almeida continues with an explanation of how social movements can contribute to social change and illustrates with examples. The book then introduces students to different ways to study social movements, with an emphasis on how to classify them and various methods to study them (chapter 2). The methods include qualitative, quantitative, and archival techniques, and Almeida discusses the contributions and limitations of each. Chapter 3 chronologically reviews the major social movement theories, from classical theories to resource mobilization, social construction, and political process theory. Almeida notes seminal pieces and explains how each theory has responded to previous theories and shifted our focus to different areas of study.
It would have been nice to see more on new social movement theory, given its importance as an area of study in Europe and Latin America in the 1980s and 1990s (oddly missing were references to the work of Arturo Escobar and Sonia Álvarez). However, new social movement theory is included as an “additional theory” of social movements, along with five others, including rational choice, intersectionality, and emotions.
With this background firmly in hand, Almeida then delves more deeply into the theories and methods used in the study of specific areas of social movement research. In chapter 4, he examines explanations for social movement emergence through research on organizational and resource infrastructure, collective identities, and social movement diffusion. Chapter 5 explores framing processes, with an emphasis on types of frames, frame alignment strategies, and framing tactics. Chapter 6 lays out an overview of the history of the literature on individual recruitment and participation in social movements, from classical theory to the role of social media. Finally, chapter 7 assesses what we know about movement outcomes. It offers different definitions of movement “success.” The chapter then reviews the different factors scholars consider important to achieving it, such as movement strategies, external allies and coalitions, and the political environment.
Each chapter is easy to read and shows how the methods and theories introduced in chapters 2 and 3 apply. Almeida provides vivid examples, mostly from the United States and Latin America, that illustrate how these ideas work in practice. Photos, maps, and tables add additional clarity that students will appreciate.
Recognizing the dominance of research on Europe and the United States in the study of social movements, Almeida includes examples from the Global South (especially Latin America) throughout and then devotes an entire chapter (chapter 8) to the topic. He begins by providing a definition of the Global South and notes the heterogeneity of this area of the world. With this in mind, he explains how studies of social movements in the Global North assume a common political and economic history and context that is not always the same in the Global South. The chapter then examines three important issues that have shaped social movements in the Global South. These issues are state repression (particularly under authoritarian and semiauthoritarian regimes), globalization (or rather, neoliberalism), and transnational movements. Again, examples are provided from across the Global South, with an emphasis on those from Latin America. Some of the Latin American social movements discussed at different points in the book include Mexico’s Gasolinazo in 2017, protests against privatization in El Salvador (1999–2003) and Costa Rica (2000), and protest songs, or la nueva canción, throughout Latin America in the 1970s.
Almeida is a professor of sociology, and sociology has certainly dominated the study of social movements. Yet while Almeida makes a concerted effort to include the contributions of scholars from other disciplines, especially anthropology and history, the book is framed from a sociological perspective. This will be very valuable for sociologists using this text in their classrooms, but will require some supplementary sources to make the textbook work in other disciplines.
For example, while the book gives a brief nod to political scientists, notably Margaret Keck and Kathryn Sikkink’s concept of transnational advocacy networks (Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics, 1998), many areas of concern for political scientists studying social movements are absent. In political science, one of the big, broad questions is, what role do social movements play in democracy? More specific questions include, how do social movements contribute to the construction of citizenship (e.g., Deborah Yashar’s and Philip Oxhorn’s work)? What role do social movements play in transitions from authoritarianism to democracy (e.g., Guillermo O’Donnell’s and Philippe Schmitter’s work)? What role do social movements play in holding powerful state and nonstate actors to account (e.g., Enrique Peruzzotti and Catalina Smulovitz’s work)? What role do social movements play in the protection of human rights in democracy (e.g., Alison Brysk’s, Kathryn Sikkink’s, and my own work)?
To some extent, these questions could be nested into Almeida’s chapter on social movement outcomes. Yet they are less about why social movements are successful or not (which some political scientists do study) and more about their contribution to larger political processes, such as policymaking, regime types, and institutional or state theory. This is not to say that a political scientist or scholars in other nonsociology departments will find this book without merit. It is most definitely an excellent introduction to the study of social movements. Instead, I raise this critique to highlight a limitation of the book as a class textbook for the nonsociologist, albeit not an insurmountable one.
Overall, Social Movements offers a welcome introduction to this area of study. It will be of interest to scholars seeking a primer on the abundant research on the topic. It will be especially useful as a textbook for those who teach undergraduate classes on social movements in sociology, anthropology, political science, history, and Latin American studies.
