Lisa Leitz - Böcker

The 43rd Volume of Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change continues the series' tradition of publishing peer reviewed chapters, which advance our understanding of peace, political contention, and social change, by offering new ways to research and theorize attempts to challenge divides. Dedicated to the memory of Gregory M. Maney, Bringing Down Divides engages with and continues Maney's work on international conflicts, peace and justice movements, and community-based research. The volume is organized around three types of divides:Attributional divides, meaning the quality or feature of people around which resources, rights, and powers are distributed unequally, such as race, gender, and ethno-nationality. Ideological divides which encompass the systems of meaning, ideas, and beliefs that split and polarize people, such as conservative vs. progressive and antiwar vs. pro-war.Epistemological divides, namely the types, productions, and usages of knowledge over which conflicts occur, such as the academic-activist divide.   The contributions to each of these sections focus on a variety of global issues, including the changing nature of political murals in Northern Ireland; armed actors' responses to civilian demands in Colombian peace territories; boundary-blurring in Turkey's leftwing-Islamist movement; and community-based action research. This makes Bringing Down Divides essential reading for those working and researching within the social movement field.

The 2020 Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests highlighted with sharp clarity the role of race in social conflict and social movements. Building on more than a century of political and sociological scholarship, Race and Space considers the connections between race as a descriptor of physical differences between humans and space as a geographic location, and their subsequent impact on the human experience.The chapters address racialized issues spanning from how the characteristics of our community shape whether we experience police or immigrant violence, whether first-hand experience (or lack thereof) of this violence is likely to shape one’s choice to engage in ethno-racial justice activism, to analysing how the space of the prison shapes one’s sense of self and political possibility post-incarceration. Drawing together key drivers of activism such as flaws within the criminal justice system, race, ethnicity, and citizenship, this collection demonstrates how these elements interact to shape immigration policy and the experience of being accepted as a full member of one’s society.Emphasising location-specific human experience and incorporating insights from geography, Race and Space’s careful study of the differences of physical spaces gives rise to more complete explanations for social issues and variances in social movements.

Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change, Volume 49 presents a rigorous and timely examination of contemporary social change, conflict, and collective action across global contexts. Through peer-reviewed chapters, it explores how individuals and communities respond to systemic challenges and engage in constructive interventions aimed at fostering justice and resilience.The first two chapters focus on activism in response to pressing social issues. One offers a comparative analysis of racial justice movements in the United States and Cape Verde, highlighting both convergences and divergences in their approaches. The other investigates how service providers navigate and resist state anti-trafficking policies they perceive as detrimental to survivor welfare. Subsequent chapters examine diverse strategies for addressing entrenched social problems. In India, theatre is employed as a medium for confronting oppression and promoting civil discourse. In Ohio, USA, community-engaged research offers and analyses initiatives that foster connection between refugees and locals. A European case study explores participatory technology development among farmers, contributing to the literature on innovation and social change. The final chapter addresses Nigerian chieftaincy conflicts, offering qualitative insights into how local actors and state institutions might facilitate more peaceful transitions.This collection is interesting reading for scholars seeking global, interdisciplinary perspectives on the mechanisms and impacts of social transformation.

Fulfilling a need for innovative research that derives from multiple countries and time periods, Volume 48 of Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change offers a collection of cutting-edge scholarship on protest politics, effects of activism, and rights and equality based social movements.Split into separate parts on strategies and outcomes, chapters analyze the mobilization, organization, tactics, diffusion, repression, and successes/failures of social movements. Authors present research about attempts to make change on issues such as sustainability, animal rights, racial inequality, labor, white supremacy, and opposition to former U.S. President Donald Trump.In the same way that social movements influence policy and culture by raising awareness and framing issues, Strategies and Outcomes stands ready to influence future scholarship on these topics.