Bourdieu meets social movement

Abstract

Pierre Bourdieu was a scholar who discussed the role of social movements, but even more importantly he provided useful concepts for the analysis of social movements. The habitus concept helps us to understand conflicts that become the starting point of social movements but can also be barriers for participation in movement activity. Bourdieu’s concept of fields aids our conceptualization of the power struggles in which movements are involved. Schmitt’s concept of habitus-structure conflicts merges Bourdieu’s thinking with social movement analysis, presenting an innovative concept to understand dynamics of social movements as well as the social composition of its constituency.