ABSTRACT
The sociological and political science literatures hold that social movements emerge and evolve as a function of several critical conditions: the level of cleavages and conflicts in society; the movement’s norms and values (“cultural frames”) that bind together its participants; its organization and capacity to mobilize resources; and the movement’s specific political opportunities.1 In other words, a social movement’s emergence, dynamics, and its development trajectory are measures of these parameters. Furthermore, social movements are generally seen as capable of effecting structural political and social changes – be they for wider civil rights or a better environment. To study the dynamics and potential of social movements in China, this volume zoomed in on one of the country’s earliest and most active sectors of civil society since the beginning of the Chinese reforms in 1979: the environmental realm.
