Mass mobilization
Encyclopedia
Mass mobilization refers to mobilization
of civilian
population
as part of contentious politics
. Mass mobilization is often used by grassroots-based social movements, including revolutionary movements, but can also become a tool of elite
s and the state
itself. The process usually takes the form of large public gatherings such as mass meetings, marches, parade
s, procession
s and demonstrations
. Those gatherings usually are part of a protest action
.
Mass mobilization usually starts in places where individuals have significant ties to their communities (peasant village
s, urban craft and worker guild
s and labor unions, or religious communities
). News or rumors of political change (or political opportunity
) are common triggers for mass moblization, which aim is to call attention to economic distressess of the community. Peasant rebellions are an example of such an occurrence.
The extent to which mass mobilization is organized versus spontaneous, and the extent to which it relies on reason versus emotions are still debated by scholars. Informal mass mobilization is usually seen as more spontaneous and emotional.
Informal mass mobilization occurs usually suddenly, in response to a crisis (opportunity), when individual join the protest actions through networks based not on an organizational structure but through interpersonal relationships, such as friendship, workplace, or neighborhood. Increasingly modern technology, such as mobile phones or the Internet
, is used to generate informal mass mobilization. Demonstrations such as the Monday demonstrations in GDR or those during Iranian revolution
are examples.
Another term for mass mobilization is grassroots lobbying. This refers to the average citizen contacting their legislator to persuade them about an issue.
Mobilization
Mobilization is the act of assembling and making both troops and supplies ready for war. The word mobilization was first used, in a military context, in order to describe the preparation of the Prussian army during the 1850s and 1860s. Mobilization theories and techniques have continuously changed...
of civilian
Civilian
A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...
population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
as part of contentious politics
Contentious politics
Contentious politics is the use of disruptive techniques to make a political point, or to change government policy. Examples of such techniques are actions that disturb the normal activities of society such as demonstrations, general strike action, riot, terrorism, civil disobedience, and even...
. Mass mobilization is often used by grassroots-based social movements, including revolutionary movements, but can also become a tool of elite
Elite
Elite refers to an exceptional or privileged group that wields considerable power within its sphere of influence...
s and the state
State (polity)
A state is an organized political community, living under a government. States may be sovereign and may enjoy a monopoly on the legal initiation of force and are not dependent on, or subject to any other power or state. Many states are federated states which participate in a federal union...
itself. The process usually takes the form of large public gatherings such as mass meetings, marches, parade
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind...
s, procession
Procession
A procession is an organized body of people advancing in a formal or ceremonial manner.-Procession elements:...
s and demonstrations
Demonstration (people)
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...
. Those gatherings usually are part of a protest action
Protest
A protest is an expression of objection, by words or by actions, to particular events, policies or situations. Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass demonstrations...
.
Mass mobilization usually starts in places where individuals have significant ties to their communities (peasant village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
s, urban craft and worker guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
s and labor unions, or religious communities
Religious community
A religious community is a community who practice the same religion.In the wider sense it may describe members of one religion who live near or intermingled with members of other religions, who may often mix together in everyday life but worship separately. One might speak of the Catholic...
). News or rumors of political change (or political opportunity
Political opportunity
Political opportunity theory, sometimes also known as the political process theory or political opportunity structure, is a theory of social movements heavily influenced by political sociology...
) are common triggers for mass moblization, which aim is to call attention to economic distressess of the community. Peasant rebellions are an example of such an occurrence.
The extent to which mass mobilization is organized versus spontaneous, and the extent to which it relies on reason versus emotions are still debated by scholars. Informal mass mobilization is usually seen as more spontaneous and emotional.
Informal mass mobilization occurs usually suddenly, in response to a crisis (opportunity), when individual join the protest actions through networks based not on an organizational structure but through interpersonal relationships, such as friendship, workplace, or neighborhood. Increasingly modern technology, such as mobile phones or the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, is used to generate informal mass mobilization. Demonstrations such as the Monday demonstrations in GDR or those during Iranian revolution
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
are examples.
Another term for mass mobilization is grassroots lobbying. This refers to the average citizen contacting their legislator to persuade them about an issue.
External links
- Weapons of Mass Mobilization, WiredWired (magazine)Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
, Issue 12.09 - September 2004 - blogs as modern tools for mass mobilization
Further reading
- Peter KenezPeter KenezPeter Kenez is a historian specializing in Russian history and Eastern Europe. He also teaches courses on Soviet cinema and an interdisciplinary course on the Holocaust with literature professor Murray Baumgarten...
, The Birth of the Propaganda State: Soviet Methods of Mass Mobilization, 1917-1929, Cambridge University Press, 1985, ISBN 978-0-521-31398-8