Explain the stages of a social movement.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answers will vary. Social movements generally go through four stages: emergence, organization, institutionalization, and decline.During emergence, the first stage of a social movement, a number of people are distressed about some condition and want to change it. One or more individuals, serving as agitators or prophets, emerge as leaders. They verbalize the feelings of the discontented, crystallize the issues, and push for action.Once people's consciousness has been raised, the second stage is organization. The most active members form alliances, seek media coverage, develop strategies and tactics, recruit members, and acquire the necessary resources. The organization establishes a division of labor in which leaders make policy decisions and followers perform necessary tasks like preparing mass mailings, developing websites, and responding to phone calls and emails. At this stage, the movement may develop chapters at local, regional, national, and international levels.As a movement grows, it becomes institutionalized and more bureaucratic. The number of staff positions increases, members draw up bylaws, the organization may hire outsiders to handle some of the necessary tasks, and the leaders may spend more of their time on speaking tours, in media interviews, and at national or international meetings.Almost all social movements end sooner or later. This decline, the last stage, may take several forms.