Can we measure the influence of social movements?

Abstract

For three decades new social movements have undergone scrutiny from political scientists with much written about why social movements exist and how they attract members. However little has been done on the influence of these mass mobilisations. In this paper I investigate normative and empirical statements about social movements in order to develop a way to measure the influence of these phenomenon. Current social movement literature provides few tools that can be used to measure social movement influence. I will argue that the influence of mass mobilisations on the political realm can be measured using discourse analysis techniques and by looking to public policy literature. I will then test this methodology by looking at the influence of the New Zealand women’s movement on debates surrounding child care and unpaid work. Show more