NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENT THEORY: AN ANALYSIS THE CONTEXT OF FOUNDING IDEAS, CONTENT AND CRITICISM

New social movements are one of the most discussed phenomena in social sciences since their emergence in the 1960s. These movements, which are considered as a reflection of the economic, political and social transformations experienced in contemporary societies, are discussed with their various characteristics and are subject to many theoretical approaches. This study examines the New Social Movements Theory, which is one of the most influential of these theoretical approaches. Two important names of the theory, Touraine and Melucci, evaluate new movements within the framework of post-industrial social theories and examine them in the context of transition from class-based movements to culture-identity-based movements. This approach lays the foundational idea of this theory. Elements such as the actors, goals, discourses, and organizational structures of the new movements are basically addressed on this ground and the differentiation between the new movements and the old movements is explained within this framework. This theory, which treats new social movements as a part of a new social construct, has been the subject of many criticisms. The analysis of this theory based on the post-industrial society and its explanation frames based on culture-identity have been criticized especially by Marxist approaches. Hence, this study examines the new social movements theory in the context of founding ideas, content, and criticism of the theory. In the study, firstly, the basic ideas of the theory in relation to social analysis are discussed, and then the approach of the movements towards the actors, values, goals and forms of organization is analyzed. Finally, the main criticisms of this approach are discussed. The main conclusion reached in the study is that the new social movements theory is insufficient to develop a comprehensive and accurate understanding of contemporary social movements.