ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses upon social movement activity largely oriented towards change that is achieved in the differentiated political arena— changes in the system of political rule or in the specific policies, symbols, and distributional allocations of territorially based authorities. A brief comparison of the social movement sectors of Italy and the United States may provide some illustrations that we can use to identify key dimensions of social movement sectors. The system of reproduction of the relations of production (RRP) interpenetrates the social movement sector through its effects on lifestyle choices, community structure, and "weak-link" institutions. Party structure is probably the single most important variable for understanding the pattern of social movements. The linkage of resource mobilization theory and political economy analysis helps explain the pattern in cross-national variation, as social movement action is channeled by the prevailing national political opportunities.
