Political Opportunity/Political Process
Certain political contexts should be conducive (or representative) for potential social movement activity. These climates may favor specific social movements or general social movement activity; the climate may be signaled to potential activists and/or structurally allowing for the possibility of social movement activity (matters of legality); and the political opportunities may be realized through political concessions, social movement participation, or social movement organizational founding. Opportunities may include:
- increased access to political decision making power
- instability in the alignment of ruling elites (or conflict between elites)
- access to elite allies (who can then help a movement in its struggle)
- declining capacity and propensity of the state to repress dissent
Read more about this topic: Social Movement Theory
Famous quotes containing the words political, opportunity and/or process:
“Liberalism, austere in political trifles, has learned ever more artfully to unite a constant protest against the government with a constant submission to it.”
—Alexander Herzen (1812–1870)
“I often think that all the difficulties we encounter only give us the more strength if we keep hold of our work, and we must not now give up while in the prime of life. It is best to keep trying, and by and by the opportunity will come. If we have given up, then we shall not be ready for it when it does come.”
—Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards (1842–1911)
“The a priori method is distinguished for its comfortable conclusions. It is the nature of the process to adopt whatever belief we are inclined to, and there are certain flatteries to the vanity of man which we all believe by nature, until we are awakened from our pleasing dream by rough facts.”
—Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914)