A partial organization approach to the dynamics of social order in social movement organizing

Abstract

This article builds on the theoretical notion that social order in organized settings is both emergent and decided. It examines the dynamics of emergent and decided social order in a timebank, a local community initiative within the alternative currency social movement. The authors propose that organized settings are in practice associated with a continuously evolving blend of elements of both decided and emergent social order; thus, allowing organizing to evolve over time. Shedding light on the broader puzzle of how social order in organized settings evolves, the authors empirically show how organizational dynamics change through the interplay of networks, institutions and decisions, as participants adopt and reject various elements of emergent and decided sources of social order. In their analysis, the authors combine content analysis and social network analysis of archival data to describe and explain dynamic and inherently relational organizing activities that unfold in the community’s day-to-day interactions.