This article analyzes the effects on the collective action of the social movements’ engagement in participatory institutions, regarding to organizational and discursive dimensions. Employing instruments of quantitative and qualitative methods, the institutional effects are examined through the comparison between four social movement organizations in the state of Espírito Santo along three decades (1980-2010). The correlation between the level of institutional engagement and the changes in the patterns of collective action in the post 1990 context shows organizational and discursive effects characterized by processes of increased complexity of the organizational structure as well as of the cooperative and contentious interactions in the society-state relationship.
Social movements; Participatory institutions; Institutional engagement; Organizational structure
