Social
Change Strategies
Consider 4 things when planning social change activities:
1.
The target of social change
2.
The agents of social change
3.
Relation of agent to target
4.
What will gain public support for your goal?
1. Targets: Individual, Group/Organizations,
Communities, Society
Always be sensitive to the needs of the change targets.
If
individuals, goals are to change attitudes, feelings, beliefs, values,
perceptions and behaviors.
If group
or organization, goals are to change group size, group composition, structure
of authority, status/power hierarchies, incentives to participate,
communication styles and channels, relationships among group members, tasks
associated with positions within the group.
If community, goals are to change inter group relations such
as prejudice and discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, class,
sexuality, religion, age, etc…
If society, goals are to address (encourage or discourage,
depending on your perspective) urbanization, globalization, democratization,
modernization, national and international policies, cultural patterns, conflict
resolution, national building, improving education, economy, agriculture,
environment, etc..
2. Change Agents
Always seek simplest strategy.
Maintain good relations with change target and maximum
cooperation with them.
Change should benefit the change target.
3 groups of change agents:
·
directors, administrators, organizers
·
financial backers, political supporters
·
volunteers, employees, technical and professional support
staff/consultants (Public relations, lawyers, sociologists, social workers,
psychologists, political scientists, grant writers, fundraisers, etc..)
3. Relation of agent
to target
·
If there is inequality between the agents and target on some
grounds, but not on others and the goal is to reverse this inequality, then use
empirical-rational strategies. Example, Queer Rights
·
If agents want to convince the target group to join them and
help them (want to win over the target, not defeat them), then use
normative/re-educative strategies.
Example, Women’s Rights
·
If the agents are completely oppressed and exploited by the
target group and the agents need to defeat the target, then use power/coercive
strategies. Example, Race Riots,
Revolutions
4. What will gain
public support for your goal? What
strategies will gain respect? Which will reinforce negative stereotypes or
create new negative meanings? (Public
support here are the people outside of your target group.) Violence usually does not lead to widespread public
support of your goal or your organization.
General
Social Change Strategies
Usually multiple strategies are best. And usually the simpler, the better.
Change strategies are most effective when:
a.
targets recognize problem
b.
targets agree change is necessary
c.
targets are open to external assistance in social change
d.
targets willing to change
3 categories of strategies:
·
empirical-rational strategies
·
normative/re-educative strategies
·
power/coercive strategies
a.
Empirical-rational strategies:
Goal is to provide information only.
Assume rational, informed actors who can digest and use information in their
best interest. Transform the
information into knowledge. Make
informed decisions.
Usually work best if target of change are individuals.
Example: “rock the vote” campaign; college courses ??
b. Normative/re-educative strategies
Goal is to expose targets (usually individuals, groups/organizations) to new
values and norms and the need to adopt these new values and norms.
Persuade people to internalize new values, norms, etc..
May be based on rational (such as scientific evidence) or
emotional appeals (such as charismatic leaders).
Examples: anti-smoking campaigns
c. Power/coercive strategies
Application of economic, political, and moral power and
institutions to make people change attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, values, etc..
Can be legitimate or illegitimate authority.
May withhold rewards or administer punishments to reach
goal.
Use of money, bribes, payments for complying.
Examples: family
planning education campaigns in less developed countries (people are sometimes
forced or coerced into using birth control methods); U.S. war with Iraq; Terrorism
Power/coercive strategies work best if: target is dependent on change agent(s),
agent controls change, no other feasible alternatives to produce the change or
the costs of them are too high.
Specific
Social Change Strategies
1. Violence – type of power/coercive strategy
violence = Action to restrain, injure, or destroy property
or persons
No society has been free of violence as a strategy for
social, economic or political change
Examples: riots, revolution, terrorism, police or state mob
control, guerrilla warfare
Violence usually leads to short-term change, but not
long-term change. Becomes less
effective in the short-term if used repeatedly. Violence is not effective in the long-term because it is
subverts/inhibits democracy and humanism, which usually leads to more violence
on both sides. Violence rationalizes
the use of violence to solve problems.
Becomes even more difficult to create democracy in an environment when
reason, dialogue, and compromise are not the first course of action.
Violent overthrows of governments are more common in the 20th
century than democratic political change.
More military governments than parliamentary democracies.
Sometimes groups use violence to call attention to their
needs. Other non-violent strategies did
not work. Examples: race riots. In these cases, how did organizers (such as
the Black Panthers) get people to respond violently?
a.
Change agents increase perception of relative deprivation
b.
Change agents maximized anger of the group – told them the
deprivation was illegitimate and severe
c.
Change agents gained buy-in from other groups
d.
Change agents point to violent incidents used against them
(examples – police brutality, state imposed curfews, institutional racism)
2. Terrorism (a type of violence)
terrorism = indiscriminate use of threat or violence.
Goal is to alter the state of mind or policy of a nation or
society. This is done by:
Coerce the targeted group into taking action. For example,
to end
Demoralize and intimidate opposition. Examples: suicide bombings induce fear in
troops – they don’t know who the enemy is.
Fear of unknown. Example: 9/11
– Americans now feel unsafe. Press
coverage helps instill fear beyond the terrorists true ability to cause harm
(the exception here now is chemical, biological and nuclear weapons have
ultimate ability to cause harm).
Call attention to the cause. Example, press coverage of terrorist acts informs huge number of
people of the terrorist group’s allegations.
(Sometimes terrorism appears to have no social change agenda – for
example, Internet and computer viruses)
What is defined as terrorism depends on definition of the
situation: What one group defines as terrorism, another group will define as
liberators.
Terrorists are usually not supported by nation states.
Unintended consequences of terrorism: solidarity across
world – everyone lives in fear now and this has brought some countries together
against common enemy.
3. Non-Violent
Strategies
Pickets, strikes, marches, demonstrations, rallies, consumer
boycotts, teach-ins, sit-downs, civil disobedience, public meetings, press
releases, newspaper articles, radio ads, cultural performances, arbitration and
negotiation, educational campaigns
The goal of non-violent strategies is to change attitudes,
beliefs, values, behaviors, and to stop injustices and violence.
Non-violent strategies often stop violence because targets
who are acting violently find it difficult to attack individuals who are not
defending themselves. There are common
values and beliefs cross culturally against attacking passive others. If the targets still respond violently, this
often leads them to lose support of followers.
Many of the non-violent strategies serve as a moral appeal
to injustice/unfairness/cruelty.
Sometimes creates guilt in oppressors and controlling groups.
Nonviolent strategies are effective if (1) the target is
open to moral appeals (for example, these strategies may not work at all in
societies with military governments) and (2) there are 3rd parties
to intervene for social change, particularly 3rd parties with
political power or influence (for example, the Civil Rights Movement worked
well because it leveraged support from whites in positions of power who helped
establish legal changes)
4. Social Movements
Movements form from non-violent social change groups when
the group gains momentum and begins attracting large numbers of people and
expands their agenda beyond a few objectives into changing larger institutions,
norms, culture, and organization.
Because of their large numbers of members/participants,
movements are able to:
a.
bargain: can guarantee a large number of votes for political
candidates in exchange for the candidate adopting their platform. Or, can threaten to boycott a company if
they do not change a policy.
b. raise money to support the movement.
This often enables a paid administrative staff which enables the
organization to be much more effective.
Movements have the disadvantage of disorganization sometimes
because of the large numbers of people all working towards a common goal. Difficult to keep lines of communication
open and not duplicate work. Having an administrative staff and office cuts
down on these problems.
Accomplishments of social movements in the
Labor movement: end of child labor, shorter working hours
per day, shorter work weeks, safer working conditions, right to unionize and
collective bargain
Environmental movement: leglislation protecting environment,
recycling, pollution controls, land usage, ability to sue and fine companies
that do not comply to federal or state standards
Consumer protection: car seat belts, air bags, protection
against “lemons,” safety inspections of
manufactured products, testing of drugs and food
Civil rights movement: legal changes, education integration,
addressed voting violations, representative juries, employment discrimination,
affirmative action
Women’s movement: acess to health care and birth control,
divorce law changes, children’s rights and child support reform, property
rights reform, welfare reform, pornography regulation, Family Medical Leave
Act. Currently addressing child care
reform, maternity and paternity leave
5. Legal Change
Nearly all social change groups seek various types of legal
change. Why? Because in modernized
societies:
a.
people respond to legal changes, they respect the law (it is
seen as democratically driven and rationally determined), and legal change
leads to relatively quick social change.
b. changes in the law lead to changes in all other institutions. For example, in the 20th century
education became compulsory. This lead to changes in family and the
economy. Recently, legal changes
limiting where you can smoke in public has lead to changes in business. In
c. the law can be used to punish those who do not comply
with social changes. This reinforcing
the social changes.
Sometimes legal change doesn’t work – examples include Prohibition and the war
on drugs.
Legal change can either create a new social order or disrupt
an existing oppressive order.