Social movements are a type of group action. They are large informal groupings of individuals and/or organizations focused on specific political or social issues, in other words, on carrying out, resisting or undoing a social change.
Modern Western social movements became possible through education (the wider dissemination of literature), and increased mobility of labor due to the industrialization and urbanization of 19th century societies. It is sometimes argued that the freedom of expression, education and relative economic independence prevalent in the modern Western culture is responsible for the unprecedented number and scope of various contemporary social movements. However others point out that many of the social movements of the last hundred years grew up, like the Mau Mau in Kenya, to oppose Western colonialism. Either way, social movements have been and continue to be closely connected with democratic political systems. Occasionally, social movements have been involved in democratizing nations, but more often they have flourished after democratization. Over the past 200 years, they have become part of a popular and global expression of dissent.
Modern movements often utilize technology and the internet to mobilize people on a global scale. Adapting to communication trends is a common theme among successful movements.
The anti-nuclear movement in the United States consists of more than 70 anti-nuclear groups which have acted to oppose nuclear power or nuclear weapons, or both, in the U.S. The movement has delayed construction or halted commitments to build some new nuclear plants, and has pressured the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to enforce and strengthen the safety regulations for nuclear power plants.
Anti-nuclear campaigns that captured national public attention in the 1970s and 1980s involved the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant, Diablo Canyon Power Plant, Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant, and Three Mile Island. The protests reached a peak in the second half of the 1970s and grew out of the environmental movement. Though campaigning has declined since the end of the Cold War, efforts continue and have been in response to proposed new nuclear power plants, the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the transportation of nuclear waste.
Some scientists and engineers have expressed reservations about nuclear power, including: Barry Commoner, S. David Freeman, John Gofman, Mark Z. Jacobson, Amory Lovins, Arjun Makhijani, Gregory Minor, and Joseph Romm. Scientists who have opposed nuclear weapons include Linus Pauling and Eugene Rabinowitch.
Read more...
- Help to keep the News section up to date...
- Add {{Portal|Social movements}} to relevant articles (in the See also section) and to categories...
