Dynamics of social protest

1. Tilly's work emphasizes how dynamics of social protest are tied to their political, social and economic context. Tilly uses a narrower definition. Conceptually, he argues that social movements share some elements with other forms of political contention such as coups, electoral campaigns, strikes, revolutions, and interest-group politics, but have their own distinct characteristics.


 

2. Sidney Tarrow defines the social movement as a collective challenger [to elites, authorities, other groups or cultural codes] by people with common purposes and solidarity in sustained interactions with elites, opponents and authorities. He specifically distinguishes social movements from political parties and advocacy groups

He studies the oportunity structures which are exogenous factors which limit or empower social movements or social actors.The opportunity structures are influenced to grow or to be reduced by these factors :
a) increasing access: 
b) shifting alignments, 
c) divided elites, 
d) influential allies 
e) repression and facilitation.

He defines that movements can affect various spheres of life, such as personal lives, policy reforms and political culture. And that exist requisites of sustainable social movements which are: 
a) political opportunities,
b) diffuse social networks, 
c) familiar forms of collective action (or contention according to Charles Tilly´s Theory), 
d) cultural frames that can resonate throughout a population. 
He claims that the Social movement is a part of political struggle influenced by the existence (or lack of) the political opportunity structures.