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Habermas and Social Movement Theory
Author(s) -
Edwards Gemma
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
sociology compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 31
ISSN - 1751-9020
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-9020.2009.00207.x
Subject(s) - sociology , critical theory , social movement , criticism , epistemology , social movement theory , social theory , context (archaeology) , relevance (law) , politics , new social movements , movement (music) , capitalism , social change , social science , political science , aesthetics , law , paleontology , philosophy , biology
This article outlines Habermas’ social movement–related ideas and reviews the critical reception of them from within critical theory and social movement studies more widely. Criticism of Habermas’ explanation of the new social movements has been wide‐ranging and persuasive. There have however been some contemporary critical engagements with Habermas’ ideas within social movement studies. The direction they take suggests (1) the concept of ‘colonisation’ finds political relevance in the twenty‐first century context of global capitalism and resistance to neo‐liberal policies; (2) that recent engagements with Habermas loosely unite in a concern with the ‘applied turn’ in critical theory; and (3) there is some potential for aspects of Habermas’ theory to be used in ways that make him capable of engaging in dialogue with the current concerns of social movement theory.