Social Movements, 1768-2004

The author seeks to outline the common elements of social movements by tracing their origins and development in historical narrative. Placing the invention of the social movement in 18th century England, the United States, and Western Europe, he looks at the development of movement tactics of campaigns, associations and coalitions, and "WUNC displays" (representations of worthiness, unity, numbers, and commitment). He traces the development of movements up to the present, gradually expanding his geographic scope and focusing on the expansion of international communication and cooperation among social movement actors. A pair of final chapters following the chronological analysis examine the relationship between social movements and democratization. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Charles Tilly was Joseph L. Buttenwieser Professor of Social Science at Columbia University, and author of fifty earlier books. Just before his death, he was honored with the Social Science Research Council's prestigious Albert O. Hirschman Prize. A founding friend of Paradigm, Tilly is author of several other Paradigm books including most recently, Explaining Social Processes.