Understanding Individual Commitment to Collective Action: Theoretical and Methodological Approaches(Routledge Studies in Political Sociology)

When speaking colloquially of political participation or civic action, one thinks, in the first instance, of groups and organizations such as political parties, social movements or various types of voluntary associations. The perspective of individuals is not the first thing that comes to mind when seeking to understand their functioning. In contrast to this vision, understanding the dynamics of participation requires taking a closer look at the individual, that is, at his or her moral dispositions and projects, his or her multiple and simultaneous identities, the breaking points in his or her biographical trajectory, the roles he or she adopts in an organization or the styles of communication which he or she uses. The book comprises a variety of case studies and theoretical and methodological contributions that, independent of rational choice theories, seek to understand collective action at the level of the individual and, in doing so, to articulate the various fields of study in this regard with the singularity of biographies and the reflective personal identities that characterize contemporary individualism.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Carlos Ramírez Individual engagement in social activism: an interactionist account Paul Lichterman The ogre and the activist. The sociology of activist careers in a structural interactionist perspective Oliver Fillieule Thinking the engagement: dispositionalism, contextualism, and observation scales Bernard Lahire The commanders-educators of the FARC-EP and the links between their biographical trajectories and the guerrillas’ organizational plans. Ingrid J. Bolívar and Sergio F. Lizarazo Individual activism in collective dynamics: some methodological approaches to the practices of –political– resistance Virginie Laurent The (Ambivalent) Lives of Others. Reconstructing the Trajectories of Egyptian Revolutionaries Through Social Media Traces and Biographical Interviews. Youssef El Chazli Individual and collective dimensions of the Parisian revolution of 1789. Historiographic reflections and research strategies Haim Burstin QCA and radicalisation Carlos Ramírez Conclusion: building bridges Carlos Ramírez

About the Author :
Carlos Ramírez is a Colombian political scientist and philosopher from the Universidad de los Andes and holds a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Heidelberg. He is currently Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and Global Studies at the Universidad de los Andes. His research interests are political and social theory, qualitative research methods, and religion and politics.

Review :
'With illustrations ranging from the 1789 Revolution to the FARC, this edited volume contributes to our understanding of the individual paths into various forms of collective action. Bridging different approaches and methodologies, it locates the analysis of activists' trajectories within a processual and relational perspective that goes beyond micro-dynamics.' - Donatella della Porta (Professor of political science and dean of the Institute for Humanities and the Social Sciences at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Florence, Italy. 'With an all-star cast of contributors, this short book covers an immense theoretical terrain. It probes the mystery of action, linking individuals to the social world around them. They think, feel, and engage with others in and out of many public and private settings, coming to politics with a range of goals and fantasies.' - James Jasper (Professor of Sociology, CUNY Graduate Center) 'What if social movement theory were more generous with individuals so often crushed under the weight of structures and reduced to rational abstractions? This book presents a range of innovative ideas for how to sociologically approach the protester. Here we find brighter colours in the palette of our methods and concepts that help bring into the foreground the idiosyncrasies, motives and dilemmas of those individuals who give flesh and soul to the movements in which they participate.' - Erik Neveu (Professor Emeritus, ARENES/CNRS)