Social movements and activist-protest volunteering

Abstract

Scholars of volunteering have long excluded the radical, political forms of formal volunteering from their analytical gaze, especially more contentious social movements and collective activist-protest volunteering. This false dichotomy hinders scholarship by perpetuating analytical blinders. The present chapter helps remedy this oversight by reviewing research and theory highlighting overlaps between conventional volunteering, including conventional political volunteering, and unconventional, social movement activism as volunteering. Conventional political volunteering and unconventional political activism are both means for inclusion, participation, accountability, and change (sometimes even democratization) of polities. Both conventional political volunteering and protest activism rely on commitment, values, solidarities, and often altruism, as ordinary citizens seek solutions to collective problems/issues.