A survey of the literature on social movements shows that the contributions by American and European scholars have shed considerable light on two problems: why social movements emerge with particular identities and how movement organizers give coherence to a movement and coordinate the actions of their followers. The challenge faced by movement organizers in seeking to bring about change, a challenge that forces a social movement to engage strategically, as a social actor, with its political-institutional environment, has received, however, relative little attention. Seeking to fill this gap in the literature, this article argues that the distinct analytically issues raised by the problem of political strategy social movements face can only be addressed through a synthesis that builds upon but goes beyond the contributions made by American and European scholars. The challenge is to conceive of social movement as strategic actors while acknowledging the implications that a social movement's collective identity and social nature has for an analysis of strategic action.
social movements; strategic actor; collective identity; strategic action; participation
