Ion Bogdan Vasi

The New Immigration Contestation: Social Movements and Local Immigration Policy Making in the United States, 2000–2011

Analyzing oppositional social movements in the context of municipal immigration ordinances, the authors examine whether the explanatory power of resource mobilization, political process, and strain theories of social movements’ impact on policy outcomes differs when considering proactive as opposed to reactive movements. The adoption of pro-immigrant (proactive) ordinances was facilitated by the presence of immigrant community organizations and of sympathetic local political allies. The adoption of anti-immigrant (reactive) ordinances was influenced by structural social changes, such as rapid increases in the local Latino population, that were framed as threats. The study also finds that pro-immigrant protest events can influence policy in two ways, contributing both to the passage of pro-immigrant ordinances in the locality where protests occur and also inhibiting the passage of anti-immigrant ordinances in neighboring cities.

Online Activities, Spatial Proximity, and the Diffusion of the Occupy Wall Street Movement in the United States *

We advance social movement and diffusion theories by exploring the role of online activities in the spread of the Occupy Wall Street movement. The results from event history analyses suggest that, after controlling for community characteristics, online activities on Facebook and Twitter are associated with the spread of protests. The association is stronger for Facebook than other Internet-enabled technologies. The importance of Facebook activities increases over time, but the importance of community characteristics such as population size decreases over time. While intermunicipal contagion does not affect the diffusion process directly, it affects the diffusion in combination with online activities: the effect of spatial proximity to prior sites of contention increases in cities where Facebook activities preexist. The results provide a better understanding of how the Internet and social media activity create new communication channels among potential sites of contention and facilitate the rapid diffusion...

How Social Media Matter: Repression and the Diffusion of the Occupy Wall Street Movement

This study explores the role played by social media in reshaping the repression-mobilization relationship. Drawing on the case of the Occupy Wall Street movement, we examine the impact of Facebook and Twitter on the spatial diffusion of protests during a period of heightened state repression. Results from event history analyses suggest that the effects of repression on protest diffusion are contingent on the presence of social media accounts supporting the movement. We find that state repression at earlier protest sites encouraged activists to create Facebook and Twitter accounts in their own cities, which then served as important vehicles for the initiation of new Occupy protests. Moreover, results suggest that repression incidents can directly facilitate future protests in cities that already have Occupy Facebook accounts. This study highlights the potential of social media to both mediate and moderate the influence of repression on the diffusion of contemporary movements.

On carrots and mobs: The transnational diffusion of a collective ethical consumption tactic

This study explores the global diffusion of a new ethical consumption tactic named carrotmob. We trace the spread of carrotmobs from the US across six continents and compare cases of successful and unsuccessful national diffusion. We argue that the heterogeneous spread of carrotmobs cannot be explained solely by differences in individual characteristics of consumers, such as post-materialist value orientation or income, or in the economic opportunity structures, such as national affluence or the availability of environmental labeled goods. Results from semi-structured interviews with organizers and activists in 15 countries suggest that activist brokers relied on social media to influence mobilization, and that social movement organizations, mass media, and governmental organizations played an important role for the diffusion of those collective actions. Our results support theories of connective action and political opportunities, but contradict theories of statism.

Plug Power: Social Movements and Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in California, 1995-2012

Do social movement organizations increase the supply of a public good? We address this question by investigating the role of generalist social movement organizations (SMOs) and technology-focused organizations (TSMOs) for the development of the electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in California from 1995 until 2012. We conducted interviews with electric auto enthusiasts to understand evangelism and their relationship with the environmental movement. We also conducted quantitative analyses and employed control function approaches to address issues of endogeneity. We find that increases in the membership of Electric Auto Association (EAA) chapters in the cities of California enhanced the number of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations set up in each city. Our analyses also show that the organizational diversity of the environmental movement spurred the growth of EAA membership, but did not directly increase the establishment of charging stations. Thus, we find evidence for an institutional ‘relay’ between SMOs and TSMOs.

Understanding the Tea Party Movement

directly with the community and its concerns? These questions are addressed in another section of the book in an exploration of alternative approaches. Participatory Action Research (PAR) and Popular Education are two methods that put people and communities at the center of research and social activism. Through PAR, sociologists assist local residents in defining, researching, and proposing solutions to their problems. The Popular Education movement, associated with Paulo Freire in Brazil, among others, also focuses on the empowerment of local communities for social change. By exploring their history, residents discover the roots of their problems and how to solve them. PAR and Popular Education put researchers and their students in the role of facilitators in helping residents discover the structural roots underlying the social issues that concern them. Throughout the book, PAR and Popular Education, along with other forms of sociological activism, are in tension with traditional forms of service learning that focus more on amelioration than transformation. However, it is in the last part of the text that this issue is examined directly, in a section aptly titled ‘‘Sociology for Whom?’’ Questions are raised about the effectiveness of service learning in promoting the sociological goal of bringing about structural change. Indeed, it is suggested that service-learning projects may even undermine this aim by misleading students into thinking that doing good works for others is the solution for social problems. Do students and colleges benefit the most and risk the least in dispensing charity instead of insisting on social justice? Sociology for whom and for what are key questions that need to be answered by those running and participating in the service-learning programs that have become so institutionalized on college campuses today. Ironically, many of these programs may serve as convenient cover for injustices in local communities that colleges do not want to confront and may even be complicit in. While service-learning programs are important in providing relief, they must be accompanied by social activist research that empowers local communities in pursuing social justice. The final section of the book, which questions the meaning and purpose of the sociological enterprise, is its strength. The questions and issues raised here should be at the center of all sociology departments and discussions with students. This section matches up well with the first part of the text, with its rich exploration of the myriad meanings of service sociology and its inspirational history of social activism. It shows us the power and promise of sociology that will engage faculty and students. The middle of the book, with case studies of college-community collaborations, is instructive but would have benefited from more depth in description and analysis. Overall, this is an excellent book that can be used for courses such as research methods, theory and senior seminars, and introduction to sociology. Most importantly, it asks students, faculty, and others what our purpose is in doing our work and helps us to clarify that purpose. It thus performs a great service.