The Dialectics of Institutionalisation and Radicalisation in Social Movement

Movements in contemporary times are not radical at one moment and then institutionalised at another moment instead they are caught in a dialectic process of the two moments and sometimes the two process are simultaneously maintained. They are trying to maintain themselves at both the levels and thus there exists a constant struggle between ‘organisational’ and ‘radical protest’ imperatives of the movements. There is a back and forth flow mechanism between the two moments. There is a cyclical relation between these moments, conceptualised as ‘cycles of protest’. Movements oscillate between moments of institutionalisation and radicalisation. And thus they hold a dialectical relationship between them. And the various aspects of the dynamics of this dialectical relationship are: organising, framing, networking and alliance making. Thus a period of ‘visibility phase’ of the movement is followed by a ‘latency phase’ where the movement exists in the form of ‘hidden networks’. This can be understood in terms of ‘struggle phase and dialogue phase’ or as ‘politics of contention and politics of engagement’.

Keywords:
Social Movement Organisation, Institutionalisation, Radicalisation, Autonomy