International Triggering Events, Transnational Networks, And The Development of Czech And Polish Environmental Movements

Abstract

This study shows how international, intergovernmental, and transnational factors influence social movement formation and evolution by examining the Czech and Polish environmental movements between 1970 and 2000. The analysis maps the ways in which these factors create conditions for movement development and demonstrates how their influence varies, depending on regime stability and type. Movement actions are more predictable in stable regimes because governments are better able to control the effects of external events. In authoritarian regimes, external influences tend to foster development by altering political opportunities, while in democratic regimes they usually bring resources directly to movements. These patterns suggest that, although the forces of globalization are promoting similarity in movement development and action, the effects of external influences on mobilization are still moderated by national political institutions and processes.