ACTOR FORMATION, SOCIAL COORDINATION, AND POLITICAL STRATEGY - SOME CONCEPTUAL PROBLEMS IN THE STUDY OF SOCIAL-MOVEMENTS

A survey of the literature on social movements shows that the contribu tions by American and European scholars have shed considerable light o n two problems: why social movements emerge with particular identities and how organisers give coherence to a movement and co-ordinate the a ctions of their followers. The challenge faced by movement organisers in seeking to bring about change - a challenge that forces a social mo vement to engage strategically as a social actor, with its political-i nstitutional environment - has received, however, relatively little at tention. Seeking to fill this gap in the literature I argue that the d istinct analytical issues raised by the problem of political strategy which social movements face can only be addressed through a synthesis that builds upon, but goes beyond, the contributions made by American and European scholars. The challenge is to conceive of social movement s as strategic actors, while acknowledging the implications that a mov ement's collective identity and social nature has for an analysis of s trategic action.