| Abstract from DBPedia | A social movement is a loosely organized effort by a large group of people to achieve a particular goal, typically a social or political one. This may be to carry out a social change, or to resist or undo one. It is a type of group action and may involve individuals, organizations, or both. Social movements have been described as "organizational structures and strategies that may empower oppressed populations to mount effective challenges and resist the more powerful and advantaged elites". They represent a method of social change from the bottom within nations. Political science and sociology have developed a variety of theories and empirical research on social movements. For example, some research in political science highlights the relation between popular movements and the formation of new political parties as well as discussing the function of social movements in relation to agenda setting and influence on politics. Sociologists distinguish between several types of social movement examining things such as scope, type of change, method of work, range, and time frame. Some scholars have argued that modern Western social movements became possible through education (the wider dissemination of literature) and increased mobility of labor due to the industrialization and urbanization of 19th-century societies. It is sometimes argued that the freedom of expression, education and relative economic independence prevalent in the modern Western culture are responsible for the unprecedented number and scope of various contemporary social movements. Many of the social movements of the last hundred years grew up, like the Mau Mau in Kenya, to oppose Western colonialism. Social movements have been and continue to be closely connected with democratic political systems. Occasionally, social movements have been involved in democratizing nations, but more often they have flourished after democratization. Over the past 200 years, they have become part of a popular and global expression of dissent. Modern movements often use technology and the internet to mobilize people globally. Adapting to communication trends is a common theme among successful movements. Research is beginning to explore how advocacy organizations linked to social movements in the U.S. and Canada use social media to facilitate civic engagement and collective action.社会運動（しゃかいうんどう、英: social movement）とは、現在の社会の状況の改善や社会問題を独自に提起したり、あるいは政府の社会政策に対して推進または阻止を求める者が、それらの希望を実現することを目的として同志を募り団結して目に見える形で行動（運動）し、世論や社会、政府などへのアピールを通じて、問題の解決をはかる動きを指す用語である。 民主主義的な方法（独自に政党を結成、または候補者を擁立して選挙に出馬するなど）によって政治に進出していく場合もあるが、一般には政府や政界には入らず、これらに対する圧力団体を組織するまでで留める場合が多い。 (Source: http://dbpedia.org/resource/Social_movement) |
