ABSTRACT
The oldest genuine sociological approach to social movements and political protest that is still widely applied is the resource mobilization perspective – sometimes called “solidarity theory” or “resource management approach.” We prefer the term “resource mobilization perspective” (RMP). The basic article is “Resource Mobilization and Social Movements” by John D. McCarthy and Mayer N. Zald from 1977. We will first present their theoretical perspective and show the implicit causal structure of their propositions. We further propose a causal model, based on the authors’ orienting statements. Other topics of this chapter are a suggestion for a definition of “resources” and “mobilization,” a detailed critical analysis of the approach, and some theoretical suggestions on the conditions when resources are mobilized and when resources affect political action.1
