Old, New, Radical: Political Activism in the Czech Republic through the Prism of Social Movement Theory Cover Image

Staří, noví, radikální: politický aktivismus v České republice očima teorie sociálních hnutí
Old, New, Radical: Political Activism in the Czech Republic through the Prism of Social Movement Theory

Author(s): Ondřej Císař, Kateřina Vráblíková, Jiří Navrátil
Subject(s): Social Sciences
Published by: AV ČR - Akademie věd České republiky - Sociologický ústav
Keywords: social movements; activism; political opportunity structure; action repertoire; transactional capacity; Czech Republic

Summary/Abstract: The goal of this text is to offer a systematic analysis of political activism in the Czech Republic. The article first differentiates between and theoretically defines three types of political activism. These are old, new, and radical types of activism. The first is primarily represented by trade unions, the second by organisations with a post-materialistic orientation, and the third by political groups positioned on the far right and left. To analyse them, the text utilises selected tools of social movement theory. Drawing on this theory, the article shows the differences between the three activist types in the following dimensions: action repertoire, political opportunity structure (context), organisational resources, and so-called transactional capacity, which captures the ability of activist organisations to cooperate among themselves. The text analyses data from both protest event analysis (PEA Czech Republic) and a survey of Czech activist groups (SMO Czech Republic).

  • Issue Year: 47/2011
  • Issue No: 01
  • Page Range: 137-167
  • Page Count: 31
  • Language: Czech