Social movement
A sustained, organized collective effort to promote or resist social change through shared goals, identity, and public action.
Collective action: Coordinated action by multiple people pursuing a shared goal. It is the broader process through which movement participants act together.
American civil rights movement: A movement that challenged racial segregation and discrimination and sought equal rights for Black Americans. Its campaigns combined grassroots organizing, litigation, and public protest against racial subordination.
Riot: A violent public disturbance involving a group of people. Unlike a movement, a riot need not involve sustained organization or shared long-term goals.
Policy change: A change in government rules, programs, or official practices. Movement campaigns often seek to turn public pressure into new laws or administrative action.
Resource mobilization theory: A theory explaining how movements use money, organizations, skills, and networks to pursue goals. It explains how movements convert available resources into sustained campaigns.
Women's suffrage movement: A movement to secure women's voting rights through political organizing and public advocacy. Its long campaigns show how movements can pursue change through law and mass mobilization.
Interest group: An organized group that seeks to influence public policy on behalf of shared interests. Interest groups commonly pursue policy influence through established channels rather than broad social mobilization.
Cultural change: A lasting shift in shared values, norms, practices, or meanings within a society. Movements can alter public understandings even when formal policy changes remain limited.
Political opportunity theory: An approach linking movement emergence and success to changes in political access, alliances, and repression. It shows how political conditions shape when collective action can gain leverage.
Indian independence movement: A broad anticolonial struggle that sought independence from British rule in India. It joined diverse constituencies and tactics in pursuit of national self-rule.