The Historical and Process Dimension

Abstract

Abstract The process dimension is crucial to understanding social movement structures, activities, and outcomes. Processes should be studied with attention to brief interactions, protest campaigns, and the longue durée of societal developments in which social movements are involved. This last aspect in particular has been largely neglected by the minority of historians who dare to cover very long periods but tend to overlook the role of social movements. Even when writing about upheavals and revolutions, most historians ignore the sociological toolkit that would enrich their analyses. At the same time, sociologists are generally fascinated by contemporary conflicts. Therefore, they do not make use of the rich material that historians have unearthed. This material would be useful for broadening the empirical perspective and could be used to test theories on social movements, including their generalizability.