From ‘L'intervention Sociologique' To ‘Pendampingan Sosiologis' : A Reconstruction Of Social Movements Theory & Methodology Based On Indonesian Experience

The idea of ‘l’Intervention sociologique’ (sociological intervention), introduced by respectful French sociologist, Alain Touraine, has been considered as one of the most innovative approaches to social movements. However, in the different social context out of European society, sociological intervention faced various challenges. My experience in doing sociological intervention to a group of young actors of ‘multicultural movement’ in Indonesia has allowed me to identify the limitation of sociological intervention and furthermore, to build alternative adaptation and innovation that is more suitable with Indonesian society. As a consequence of theoretical and methodological reconstruction that I have made, I therefore introduce a concept of ‘Pendampingan Sosiologis’ or could be translated in France as ‘L’accompagnement sociologique’ and in English as ‘Sociological Accompaniment’. Although pendampingan sosiologis found its origin and inspired principally from Touraine’s sociological intervention, which is essentially a simultaneous process of research, experimentation and action, there are several fundamental differences between these two approaches that certainly will open a further global dialogue for the development of social movements theory and methodology in many different contexts.