Bringing in the South: Towards a Global Paradigm for Social Movement Studies

In this paper I argue for the systematic inclusion of Southern social
movements in social movement theory, and I provide a framework comprised
of four characteristics. This framework could serve as a starting point for
research that accounts for the specificities of social movements in the global
South while at the same time acknowledging their heterogeneity in diverse
local contexts. The characteristics are not exhaustive, but most Southern
movements exhibit one or a number of these characteristics and when taken
together they could serve as the basis for decentring Northern movements and
establishing a paradigm of social movements that is truly global. First, many
Southern movements have emerged in the context of colonialism and postcolonialism
which influenced the emergence, and continuity of particular
forms of mobilizations. Second, social movements in the South emerge in
contexts characterized by a variety of political structures and regime types.
Third, in many mobilizations of the South, the continuous redefinition of the
state-civil society relations influences the potentials for emergence and
expansion of social movements. Finally, social movements in the South can be
understood with regard to multiple forms of intersection in that there is
usually an implicit connection between most social movements and
democratisation processes (e.g. women’s right movement, labour movement,
environmental movement), between identity and material issues and formal
and informal forms of politics.