Comparing Social Movement Participation in Western Europe and the United States: Problems, Uses, and A Proposal for Synthesis

Abstract

This paper considers some reasons why there have been few comparisons between European and American social movements. It then considers some of the advantages from a comparative approach, offers examples in which comparative research can help to improve analysis and interpretation, and outlines some problems faced by students of comparative social movements, It then proposes a synthesis of the American “resource mobilization” and European “new social movements” traditions.