HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Sidney George Tarrow (born 1938) is an
emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professo ...
of
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...
, known for his research in the areas of
comparative politics Comparative politics is a field in political science characterized either by the use of the ''comparative method'' or other empirical methods to explore politics both within and between countries. Substantively, this can include questions relatin ...
,
social movements A social movement is a loosely organized effort by a large group of people to achieve a particular goal, typically a social or political one. This may be to carry out a social change, or to resist or undo one. It is a type of group action and ma ...
,
political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
,
collective action Collective action refers to action taken together by a group of people whose goal is to enhance their condition and achieve a common objective. It is a term that has formulations and theories in many areas of the social sciences including psyc ...
and
political sociology Political sociology is an interdisciplinary field of study concerned with exploring how governance and society interact and influence one another at the micro to macro levels of analysis. Interested in the social causes and consequences of how ...
.


Biography

B.A.
Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
, 1960, American studies; M.A.
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, 1961, public law and government; Ph.D.
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...
, 1965, political science. He is currently Emeritus Maxwell Upson Professor of Government and adjunct professor of law at
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
.


Thought

Tarrow's first area of interest was the study of
communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
in the 1960s. In the 1970s he moved to the study of comparative
local politics Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
and in the 1980s to the study of social movements and
protest cycle Protest cycles (also known as ''cycles of contention'' or ''waves of collective action'') refers to the cyclical rise and fall in the social movement activity. Sidney Tarrow (1998) defines them as "a phase of heightened conflict across the social ...
s (or 'cycles of contention'). A specialist in European politics and society, Sidney Tarrow has written widely on Italian and French politics, centre-periphery relations,
new social movements The term new social movements (NSMs) is a theory of social movements that attempts to explain the plethora of new movements that have come up in various western societies roughly since the mid-1960s (i.e. in a post-industrial economy) which are cl ...
, and
contentious politics Contentious politics is the use of disruptive techniques to make a political point, or to change government policy. Examples of such techniques are actions that disturb the normal activities of society such as demonstrations, general strike action, ...
. Tarrow is a leading expert on new social movements and, more broadly, the phenomena of contentious behaviour. His 1994 book ''Power in Movement'' analyses the cultural, organizational and personal sources of social movements'
power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...
, stressing that the
life cycle Life cycle, life-cycle, or lifecycle may refer to: Science and academia *Biological life cycle, the sequence of life stages that an organism undergoes from birth to reproduction ending with the production of the offspring * Life-cycle hypothesis ...
of social movements is a part of political struggle influenced by the existence (or lack of) the political opportunity structures. He argues that social movements rise "when shifting political conditions open opportunities for disruption and the activities of social movements in turn can alter political policies and structures". Tarrow's five elements of political opportunity structures includes: 1) increasing access, 2) shifting alignments, 3) divided elites, 4) influential allies and 5) repression and facilitation. Tarrow writes that unlike political or economic social institutions, social movements' power is less obvious, but just as real. In the book, Tarrow tries to explain the cyclical history of social movements (visible in the form of the
protest cycle Protest cycles (also known as ''cycles of contention'' or ''waves of collective action'') refers to the cyclical rise and fall in the social movement activity. Sidney Tarrow (1998) defines them as "a phase of heightened conflict across the social ...
s). He also shows how movements can affect various spheres of life, such as personal lives, policy reforms and political culture. In that book he also lists four prerequisites of sustainable social movements: 1) political opportunities, 2) diffuse
social network A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods fo ...
s, 3) familiar forms of collective action (also known as the
Charles Tilly Charles Tilly (May 27, 1929 – April 29, 2008) was an American sociologist, political scientist, and historian who wrote on the relationship between politics and society. He was a professor of history, sociology, and social science at the Uni ...
's repertoire of contention), and 4) cultural frames that can resonate throughout a population. In 2001, Tarrow, with Doug McAdam and
Charles Tilly Charles Tilly (May 27, 1929 – April 29, 2008) was an American sociologist, political scientist, and historian who wrote on the relationship between politics and society. He was a professor of history, sociology, and social science at the Uni ...
, published ''Dynamics of Contention'' (Cambridge 2001), in which the authors broadened the social movement framework to cover a broader spectrum of forms of contention. This was followed by Tarrow's ''New Transnational Activism'' (Cambridge 2005), in which he applied the framework to the new transnational cycle of contention, and by a textbook with Tilly called ''Contentious Politics'' (Paradigm, 2006). He is currently working on international
human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
. He was formerly on the advisory board of FFIPP-USA (Faculty for Israeli-Palestinian Peace-USA), a network of Palestinian, Israeli, and International faculty, and students, working in for an end of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and just peace.


Publications

Selected Publications: * Peasant Communism in
Southern Italy Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the pe ...
,
New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...
,
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...
:
Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous. , Yale Univers ...
, 1967; (revised and translated as Partito comunista e contadini nel Mezzogiorno,
Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
:
Giulio Einaudi Giulio Einaudi (; 2 January 1912 – 5 April 1999) was an Italian book publisher. The eponymous company that he founded in 1933 became "a European wellspring of fine literature, intellectual thought and political theory"Saxon, Wolfgang ''The New ...
, ed., 1972). * Between Center and Periphery: Grassroots Politicians in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
and
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, Yale University Press, 1977; (translated as Tra centro e periferia, Il Mulino, 1979). * Democracy and Disorder,
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...
, 1989 (revised and translated as Democrazia e disordine, Laterza, 1990). * Power in Movement: Collective Action, Social Movements and Politics,
Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pr ...
, 1994. (Spanish trans.: El Poder en Movimiento, Alianza, 1998; revised as Power in Movement: Social Movements and Contentious Politics, Cambridge University Press, 1998). * The New Transnational Activism, Cambridge University Press, 2005. * (with Bert Klandermans and
Hanspeter Kriesi Hanspeter Kriesi (born 1949, in Bischofszell, Switzerland) is a professor of political science at the European University Institute in Florence where he holds the Stein Rokkan Chair in Comparative Politics. Previously, he has been teaching at the ...
, eds.) From Structure to Action: Comparing Social Movement Research Across Cultures, International Social Movement Research I, (JAI Press, 1988). * (with David S. Meyer) The Social Movement Society: Contentious Politics for a New Century.
Rowman & Littlefield Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an independent publishing house founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns the book distributing comp ...
, 1998. * (with Doug Imig) Contentious Europeans: Protest and Politics in a Europeanizing Polity. Rowman and Littlefield, 2001. * (with Doug McAdam and
Charles Tilly Charles Tilly (May 27, 1929 – April 29, 2008) was an American sociologist, political scientist, and historian who wrote on the relationship between politics and society. He was a professor of history, sociology, and social science at the Uni ...
) Dynamics of Contention. Cambridge University Press, 2001. * (with Ron Aminzade, et al.) Silence and Voice in the Study of Contentious Politics. Cambridge University Press, 2001. * (with Donatella della Porta) Transnational Protest and Global Activism, Rowman and Littlefield, 2005. * The New Transnational Activism, Cambridge University Press, 2005. * Strangers at the Gates: Movements and States in Contentious Politics, Cambridge University Press, 2012. * War, States, and Contention,
Cornell University Press The Cornell University Press is the university press of Cornell University; currently housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage. It was first established in 1869, making it the first university publishing enterprise in ...
, 2015. * (with David Meyers, et al.) The Restistance: The Dawn of the Anti-Trump Opposition Movement, Oxford University Press, 2018 * Movements and Parties: Critical Connections in American Political Development, Cambridge University Press, 2021.


See also

* * *


References


External links


Homepage at Cornell
includes a CV
"Contention and Institutions in International Politics" (2001)

"The Dualities of Transnational Contention" (2005)

"Rooted Cosmopolitans," (2005)

"Identity Work" from Tilly and Tarrow, Contentious Politics (2006)


* ttps://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=16461FC6FB807A2F interview with Sidney Tarrow about social science methodology {{DEFAULTSORT:Tarrow, Sidney 1938 births American sociologists Living people Cornell University faculty Columbia University alumni