ABSTRACT
The distinction between temporally and spatially close versus distant effects of SMOs can otherwise be thought of as a narrow versus broad conception of effects. Researchers use two different framing images in thinking about the effects/consequences of Social Movement Organizations (SMOs): the SMO-centric and the cause-centric. Both are valid and useful, but they are different and each serves as a corrective for limitations of the other. While varying in frequency, some SMOs have indisputably played major roles in—or the major role in—changes of governmental systems, the downfall of particular ruling elites within governments, and the adoption of laws and policies desired by a movement. Some few SMOs and their encompassing SMs are successful in creating enduring ideas and events that become part of the society's cultural mainstream. Spectacular SMO episodes or a surge of SMOs can require people to think again and to think seriously about the meaning of such values as democracy, equality, education, freedom, and economic security.
