This dissertation studies historical and contemporary conservative rhetoric to argue that the political right's variant of American populism defines the rhetorical figure of "the people" as ontologically opposed to the state. This state-phobic rhetoric poses a threat to democratic deliberation, I argue, because it presumptively cancels the very appeals to shared space that tend to make democracy thrive. By turns examining the new right, the 2008 financial crisis, the 2008 presidential campaign, and the rise of the Tea Party, this dissertation suggests American democracy is trapped in a populist feedback loop that creates tragic modes of melancholic democratic politics. This democratic melancholia contributes directly to contemporary political trends of hyper-partisanship.

The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA), the largest size acceptance organization (Kwan 2009), recognizes and frames fat as an identity in need of protective policies. This framing is not without complication. Both the framing techniques utilized by this organization and the political context in which this organization exists are extremely complex. As a way to uncover this dynamic relationship, I analyze NAAFA's framing techniques (Snow and Benford 1988). Employing this social movement organization (SMO) as a case study (Snow and Trom 2002), I analyze the way this organization's framing and reframing (Benford and Hunt 2003) shifts across time in the face of opposition. In particular, the First Lady's initiative, Let's Move!, is in direct contradiction of NAAFA's goals. While numerous themes, techniques and processes can be observed through the framing and reframing tools implemented by NAAFA over the years, I explore the three most pronounced primary framing tasks in relation to Let's Move!. These three themes include: (1) the dieting myth; (2) discriminatory policy; and (3) children as collateral damage. NAAFA reframes their message directly against the Let's Move! campaign, which makes their framing clearer and more relevant to public discussion. This research helps social movement scholars understand the importance of context in framing and reframing techniques.

The World Health Organization states that 462 million adults are considered underweight, and malnutrition accounts for almost 50% of deaths for children under the age of 5. Economic, political, and medical consequences of malnutrition are severe for individuals, families, countries, and the world. The objective of this thesis is to develop a causal theory to ending malnutrition. This thesis undertakes a comparative case study analysis of Peru and Brazil to outline what factors led to their success. It synthesizes two bodies of political science literature on social movements and development to argue for the importance of civil society and social welfare policy implementation. It concludes that in democracies, a link between civil society and the state is crucial to implement necessary policies and programs that combat malnutrition. The most important of these policies are related to healthcare, maternal education, child education, and food security.

This research study examined how the United Opt Out grassroots movement grew from a small listserv in 2011 into a national formidable organization, now referred to as the Opt Out movement, which rallied against the use of high stakes tests as the primary determinant of student achievement as defined in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB, 2002). While educators and parents did not oppose testing, they rejected the focus on a singular assessment created at the state level and the blatant disregard of other school-based assessments. It was soon evident that educators and parents had minimal input, while private corporate foundations and think tanks exerted a tremendous amount of influence on education policy. To counteract the corporate reform movement and to gain voice in education policy, grassroots movements, started and led by educators, began to organize. The Opt Out movement was one such movement that called on students to engage in civil disobedience by opting out of high stakes tests. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2019. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Orientador: Caroline Kraus Luvizotto / Banca: Mauro Souza Ventura / Banca: José Edgard Rebouças / Resumo: Os movimentos sociais, em busca de visibilidade e transformação, utilizam a internet e as mídias para denunciarem seus problemas, se organizarem e para produzir seu próprio jornalismo. A presente pesquisa busca analisar e identificar as formas como os movimentos sociais produzem conhecimento por meio do jornalismo, que é uma maneira de interpretar e registrar a realidade e seus saberes. Os objetos escolhidos, a Revista AzMina e a Think Olga são ligadas ao movimento feminista e se propõem a empoderar e conscientizar mulheres por meio da informação e jornalismo. Se trata de um estudo comparativo com a metodologia da Análise de Conteúdo amparada por descrições qualitativas do ambiente online, e busca identificar funções da comunicação mobilizadora e de enquadramento (framming) nos discursos. Em um primeiro momento, analisa-se as estratégias de comunicação e construção do conteúdo nos sites, a partir de descrição qualitativa. Na segunda etapa da pesquisa, aplica-se a Análise de Conteúdo em reportagens e textos publicados pelas duas iniciativas. Espera-se identificar as práticas jornalísticas que guiam esses conteúdos como forma de construção de conhecimento e transformação social, contribuindo assim para os estudos sobre movimentos sociais e mídia. Os resultados indicam um uso estratégico de recursos visuais e forte presença nas redes sociais pelos dois objetos. Apesar das muitas semelhanças, identifica-se algumas diferenças no posicionamento das organizações para executar seus o... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Aiming for visibility and transformation, the social movements make use of the internet and the media to delate about their problems, thus organizing and producing their own journalism activities. This research seeks to analyze and identify the ways that social movements produce knowledge through journalism doing, which is a form to interpret and register the reality and their own expertise. The chosen objects, the Revista AzMina and the Think Olga are connected to the feminist movement and propose to empower and create awareness in women through information and journalism. This study is a comparative analysis that uses the Content Analysis method sustained by qualitative descriptions of the online environment, to identify functions of communication for mobilization and frames in those narratives. At first, the communication strategies and the content construction in the websites are analyzed using a qualitative description. At the second part of the empirical research, the Content Analysis is applied, using as material the reports and texts published by both organizations. It is expected to identify the journalistic practices that guides this kind of content as a form of knowledge construction and social transformation, collaborating to the social movements and media studies. The results show a strategic use of the visual resources and a strong presence in the social media in the case of both objects. Notwithstanding the many similarities, it was identified some differences ... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Sociologists have studied how organizations respond to perceived risks, but overlooked how individuals react to perceptions of organizational risks. We may expect individuals to avoid the goods and services of supposedly risky organizations, but how do other social judgments of organizations, such as those concerning reputation, relate to individuals’ risk aversion independently from their perceptions of risk? Social psychological theories on legitimacy and status and psychological theories on risk perception can bridge these gaps. Using data from the 2006 General Social Survey, this paper tests how individuals’ aversion to genetically modified foods (GMOs) relates to their perceptions of organizational risks and other qualities of business leaders, medical researchers, and political officials who are involved with producing, evaluating, and regulating GMOs. Logistic regression models find that individuals’ perceptions of medical researchers’ ignorance and disagreement about GMOs’ possible risks synergistically interact to increase the probability of rejecting GMOs. Individuals’ deferral of political influence to medical researchers attenuated the increased odds of rejecting GMOs among individuals who believe that industry scientists are disreputable. Surprisingly, perceived risks among business and political leaders were unrelated to GMO aversion. These results extend sociological risk research by demonstrating how individuals’ responses to perceived organizational risks are shaped by social characteristics such as reputations. Finally, links are drawn to inform social movement literatures and debates on GMOs, as reputational correlates exist independently from individuals’ knowledge of science, environmentalism, and generalized trust.

This thesis examines the turn to conflict in Syria during 2011 to see if it is revolutionary in nature and if so, why has it not succeeded? This thesis aims to analyze the anatomy of Syria's "revolution" in order to determine the causes behind the initial popular mobilization and transition to conflict. Then, further analysis of the essential elements of successful revolutionary movements will be undertaken to reveal what conditions remain unmet for Syria to culminate in a full revolutionary transformation. Special attention will be paid to the revolutionary Opposition itself, since, to date, it has proved unable to generate the power necessary to destroy the old order and rebuild a new system. The significant role of external intervention will also be addressed, since these forces have simultaneously helped cause the conflict, prolong the conflict and prop up the regime. Finally, the negative consequences of undertaking a revolutionary process, especially when left only partially complete, will be highlighted throughout the study. Syria's own "rise of the radicals," has manifested itself in the phenomenon of ISIL or ISIS, which has proven the strongest and most violent Opposition group to emerge from Syria's revolutionary environment.

Orientador: Darlene A. de Oliveira Ferreira / Banca: Dulce Consuelo Andreatta Whitaker / Banca: Maria Edna Tenório Nunes / Banca: Renata Medeiros Paoliello / Banca: Frederico Yuri Hanai / Resumo: A tese "Alternativas ao modelo hegemônico da agricultura: o caso da associação de produtores rurais dos Garcias no município de Bom Repouso (MG)", destaca a importância do entendimento da lógica operacional dos agricultores familiares, desses atores sociais em suas ações coletivas que buscam a manutenção dos seus espaços de vida e de trabalho e que, para tanto, têm trabalhado de maneira coletiva e vêm reconstruindo os laços de sociabilidade e solidariedade promovendo a retomada seu patrimônio sociocultural. Nesse estudo verificou-se que, para atingir esses objetivos, os atores sociais têm se munido do habitus. Contudo, identificou-se que a investida do modelo de produção agrícola hegemônico não tem permitido que a sua lógica, que é mais voltada aos tratos com o meio ambiente, esteja prevalecendo. Para conseguir então resolver este problema, os agricultores desenvolvem estratégias. E acabam por mesclar os modelos que estão em disputa. O motivo que leva os agricultores a desenvolverem essa prática está intimamente ligado à história da implantação da política de modernização agrícola implantada o Brasil. Essa política foi alicerçada no modelo de Ciência e de Educação pensado para efetivar a adesão dos agricultores. Esse modelo não só interferiu no modo produtivo, mas também na vida social dos indivíduos e na sua relação com o ambiente. Essa tese procurou desvelar as relações dos agricultores por dentro, refazendo as suas trajetórias por meio de depoimentos orais. A busca pela compreensão da lógica se deu devido aos agricultores terem tido uma experiência positiva com a produção orgânica, mas, aparentemente, voltado ao método de produção convencional. Diante dessa realidade, os agricultores passaram a produzir de forma coletiva para superar os entraves à sua produção e à manutenção nas suas áreas de cultivo... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: That thesis"Alternatives to the hegemonic model of agriculture: the case of the association of farmers of the Garcias in Bom Repouso City (MG) and their function to the Mogi-Guaçu's Basin recovery. We traverse the historical construction of the process of agricultural modernization and their social environmental implications to achieve the thesis' objectives. To understand the social actors' actions and their logic we have recourse to the Bourdieu's concepts (2004): habitus, field, sociability, social actors and career. In that direction, the study highlights to the importance of understanding the operational logic of family farmers. The logic of those social actors and their collective actions seeking to maintain their living and work spaces. The actions developed for them have been rebuilt the sociability and solidarity ties to promote the resumption of their social cultural heritage. In that study was realized that to achieve those goals, the social actors have to carry their own habitus, however, realized that the onset of the hegemonic model of agricultural production has not allowed that their logic more focused on dealings with the environment prevail. Farmers to solve their problem develop strategies that end up to merge the templates that are in dispute. We observed that the motivation that leads the farmers to develop their practice is closely linked to the history of the implementing of the agricultural modernization policy implemented in Brazil. It deals of a policy based on a science and education model designed to enforce the farmers' compliance. That model not only interfered to productive, but also to the social life of individuals and their relationship to the environment. Face those findings, that thesis search to uncover the relationships between farmers inside, retracing their path through oral testimony... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

At a peripheral glance the collective action of a social movement group creates a perception of rational and homogenous internal group identity. This fa??ade has led some social movement theorists to take for granted the internal cohesiveness of the groups they are studying. Yet this emphasis on the rationality and structure of collective action over-simplifies the complex and dynamic interactions that occur in the construction of individual and collective identities. Accordingly, the constructivist New Social Movement theoretical paradigm actively eschews these misleading assumptions, instead granting primacy to the study of the reflexive, complex and dynamic interactions that occur in the construction of individual and collective identities. By employing the tools provided by New Social Movement theory my study unravels one such under-researched identity, namely the diverse and multifaceted ??eco-spiritual?? identity. The rich narratives of actors who consider themselves spiritual and are environmental activists are analysed through a case study of the Wilderness Acton Group, a collective within The Wilderness Society, Sydney. Analysis of the fieldwork data informs a theoretical and empirical understanding of social movements with regard to the negotiation and construction of political goals; trajectory and rejuvenation; individual movement motivation and participation; ongoing construction of group identity and solidarity; emotional commitment; action event selection; and group rituals, activism and practices

PhD / This study investigates how actions – especially narratives and claims – of civil society advocates influenced electricity generation planning and hydropower project implementation, in the context of a democratising authoritarian state. To pursue this research agenda, I use a critical realist philosophy of science to ground a conceptual framework whose fundamental components consist of institutions, interests, and discourses. The research presents three case studies from Thailand, a nation-state with distinct authoritarian legacies, as well as significant economic and political dynamism in the late 20th century. The cases step from macro to micro levels of analysis: (1) Electricity generation planning: an overview and critique of the social construction of peak power demand and supply options in Thailand, 1960s–2004. I focus on the rise of energy conservation advocacy in the early 1990s, and the rise of more confrontational energy activism in the late 1990s; (2) Pak Mun Dam: contention between EGAT, anti-dam villagers, and other state and civil society actors, 1989–2003; (3) Pak Mun Dam: analysis of how knowledge discourses shaped debates over fisheries and local livelihoods in the lower Mun river basin, 1999–2004. I pursue these cases in the larger context of Thai state–society relations, 1932–early 2000s: from the Khana Ratsadorn (People’s Party) and its founders’ increasingly authoritarian struggles to shape the state; through to the rise of civil society in the Indochina-war era; through the emergence of parliamentary politics and NGO evolution in the 1980s and early 1990s; to the Thai Rak Thai “money politics” party that emerged in 1998. Specific research questions focus on patterns and outcomes of state–society interaction, the role of lay and expert knowledge discourses in structuring conflict, and plausible causal connections between outcomes and concepts used in the conceptual framework. The study is based on fieldwork conducted between 2001 and 2005, with 18 months of intensive work concentrated in 2002 and 2004. Recurrent procedures consisted of collecting policy narratives and arguments and re-constructing actors’ interests (including those of leaders in organizations) via participant observation, interviews, and textual analysis. The thesis argues that anti-dam advocates influenced project implementation practices at Pak Mun Dam by forming social change networks, gaining contingent recognition as new political actors. Through innovative and disruptive action, through claims for transparency and justice, through mass performances of worthiness, unity, and commitment, and through the production of local knowledge, they helped set agendas. They triggered elite intervention, as well as reactive counter-mobilization and occasional violence. The escalation of uncertainty from unintended outcomes challenged elites – aided by deliberative exchanges – to reconsider unfavourable decisions, to reconsider their preferences, and to make concessions. At the same time, a number of events made the Assembly of the Poor, the main anti-dam movement organization, vulnerable to destabilizing action at the local and national levels. These include: the formation of competitive organizations in the lower Mun basin; complex and intractable issues (such as multiple rounds of compensation); and inability to take credit for championing the interests of vulnerable small farmers. Destabilizing interactions occurred particularly in the restricted media space of the post-financial and economic crisis years. Populist platforms put forward by Thai Rak Thai and Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra pre-empted the AOP’s influence. Sustainable energy advocates influenced practices of power system planning by teaching new techniques of energy conservation, and diffusing new norms. In the recent period, however, as some of them engaged in more contentious interaction, such as intervening in conflicts over new coal and hydroelectric power plants (in southern Thailand and Laos respectively) they disrupted dominant rationalities, and found themselves confronting some of the same core practices of a power-wielding bureaucracy and an authoritarian state, namely rhetorical strategies that police the boundaries of policy-relevant knowledge. The thesis, intended to contribute to social science methodology and theory, concludes with a critical appraisal of the conceptual framework. I suggest new research agendas for analysts interested in mechanisms of civil society advocacy in the context of democratising states.