Social movements are now a popular subject of sociological investigation. This timely book offers a new approach to the study of such movements, integrating American and European approaches. The authors are particularly concerned with the processes which transform groups of individuals into social movements, and which give social movements their active orientation. They examine the success and failure of social movements in comparative terms, comparing different historical periods as well as political cultures.

At the time of writing this book, Ron Eyerman was Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Andrew Jamison was Senior Lecturer within the Research Policy Institute, both at the University of Lund, Sweden.