Third ISA Forum of Sociology (July 10-14, 2016)

539

Social Movements in Latin America: Contributing to a North-South Dialogue

RC47 Social Classes and Social Movements (host committee)

Language: Spanish and English

Social movements from the Global South are usually investigated by applying theories developed by and for the Global North. But what happens when theories travel across diverse social contexts? 
Can theories and concepts developed in the Global North fully capture the complexities of social movements and societies that have followed different historical trajectories? For instance, nationalism, “populism,” and socialism, or key institutions like the state or labor unions cannot be assumed to have universal importance and meaning. To what degree theories and practices from the Global South inform social movements and studies developed in the Global North? How do situated cultures and meaning-making practices require a re-elaboration of social movement theories and concepts? 
We would welcome papers that establish a dialogue between theories and movements from the Global South and the Global North, with a special focus on Latin America. Papers may contribute to this collective enterprise in various ways, for instance, looking at:

• the social and organizational basis of activism and collective identities; 
• how different cultural and historical contexts require new ways of thinking about contentious repertoires, “frames” and the mobilization of resources; 
• the links between social movements, governments, and institutional politics (e.g. the relevance of “patronage politics” in Latin America); 
• and the convergences, influences, and tensions between the Global North and Global South (e.g. the influence of the Bolivian process of social change in the actions and ideas of Podemos in Spain).

Posters: