Contentious politics and social movements --;Part I. Contentious politics. Modular collective action ; Print and association ; States, capitalism, and contention --;Part II. Powers in movement. Acting contentiously ; Networks and organizations ; Making meanings ; Threats, opportunities, and regimes --;Part III. Dynamics of contention. Mechanisms and processes of contention ; Cycles of contention ; Struggling to reform ; Transnational contention ; Conclusion: the future of social movements.
The book focuses on the rise and fall of social movements as part of contentious politics in general and as the outcome of changes in political opportunities and constraints, state strategy, the new media of communication and transnational diffusion.