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Weber’s Theory of Radical Movements: A Reappraisal*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2008

Andreas Pettenkofer
Andreas Pettenkofer *
Affiliation:
Fernuniversität Hagen [andreas.pettenkofer@gmx.net].
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Abstract

The ongoing wave of radical religious protest confirms the need for an alternative to the rationalist approach that has come to dominate social movement research. At this moment, it seems promising to take another look at Weber’s sociology of religion: it offers a theory which (1) proposes an unfamiliar account of the relation between personal identity and political activism, (2) builds on this to explain the functioning of a specific type of social movements organization, and (3) thereby identifies mechanisms causing a dynamic of protest that cannot be reduced to a “rational” adaptation to an opportunity structure. These concepts can also elucidate the working of movements that are not explicitly religious in character.

Résumé

L'apparition d'une contestation radicale à base religieuse prouve le besoin d'une alternative aux théories rationalistes des mouvements sociaux. Le retour à la sociologie des religions de Weber s'impose. Au delà du type charismatique il ouvre sur une compréhension des affirmations identitaires et de l'activisme politique qui explique l'apparition d'un type spécifique d'organisation contestataire. Il s'agit de comprendre une dynamique de protestation irréductible à l'adaptation aux structures de circonstances. Extrapoler aux mouvements séculiers est possible.

Zusammenfassung

Das neue Phänomen eines radikalen religiösen Protests bestätigt die Annahme, dass wir eine Alternative zu den gängigen rationalistischen Theorien sozialer Bewegungen brauchen. Hier ist es nützlich, noch einmal zu Webers Religionssoziologie zurückzukehren: Sie enthält eine – nicht auf Thesen über “charismatische Führer” begrenzte – Theorie, die (1) ein anderes Verständnis des Verhältnisses von personaler Identität und politischem Aktivismus entwickelt, (2) davon ausgehend den Aufbau eines spezifischen Typs von Bewegungsorganisationen erklärt und (3) so zeigt, wie eine Eigendynamik des Protests entstehen kann, die sich nicht auf eine Anpassung an Gelegenheitsstrukturen reduzieren lässt. Damit hilft sie auch, Protestbewegungen zu erklären, die sich als säkular begreifen.

Type
Creativity of social movements
Information
European Journal of Sociology / Archives Européennes de Sociologie , Volume 49 , Issue 2 , August 2008 , pp. 253 - 275
Copyright
Copyright © A.E.S. 2008

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