Occupy Gezi and the Social Movements: Restricting Illegal Dimensions of Political Rights - Essay Example

ID: SOCIAL CHANGE AND MODERNIZATION Introduction Social movements initiated in many regions did not deliver appropriate results within political system framework. Universal values are greatly withheld through such social movements. There are two factors which are emphasized on – honorable life and good society. Social movements occurring across the globe are inspired by cultural norms of a particular society. This particular study would lay emphasis on a specific social movement started in Turkey. Social change in modernization can also be associated with a movement resulted due to people becoming more conscious about their dignity. Occupy Gezi movement which started in Taksim was an act of such dignity. This small group of individuals protested against construction of a mall. In this study, Occupy Gezi has been chosen as a social movement since it outlines the power of collectivism in context of protesting against a particular issue. Hypothesis or rather problem statement of the study is – the impact of Occupy Gezi movement on modern society. Discussion The approach of new social movement is basically related to peace movement, ecological movement, feminist movement, anti-nuclear movement, minority movement, etc. Social movements can be considered as a design of the past which re-install current societal conditions. However this trend of past design has lost its significance in the current scenario. In 21st century, features of any social movement are highly distinguishable. The socio-structural composition has changed in current century, and actors or supporters of these movements are educated personnel with stable financial background. Technological developments have enabled individuals to convey their opinion through wide array of communication networks. Middle class segment can be referred to as new base of social movements. Many theorists have stated that human beings are living in such era where desire to discover or possess individual identity is a largely destructive political force (Tilly 98). The entire approach of identity configuration indicates that identity is one of the essential spheres within political struggle. Equality is an area of concern of any modern social movements. Every individual in modern era intends to develop their own identity. This form of identity realization has initiated rise of differentiation and policies. Apart from equality, these policies are inclined towards developing identity configuration. Organizational hierarchy in context of social movements can be regarded as unofficial and weak. In new movements, individual autonomy was an essential component. There are differences prevalent between old and new social movements. In old social movement, vertical hierarchical structure was greatly observed. On the contrary, in new social movement, horizontal mobilization was observed within supporters or actors of such movements. Theorists researching on new social movements states that modern societies have now shifted from instrumental issues towards post-industrial life problems (Melucci 77). Liberalization grew rapidly with such social movements and incorporation of cultural identities reflected that democracy would gain significance in modern society. New social movements can be categorized into two different versions such as political and cultural. A radical rupture is constituted by cultural version in terms of modern and past social types. As per this version social movement is not denoted by class but rather it outlines identity and culture. New social movements have evolved as a resistance against homogenization, commodification and bureaucratization. These movements are not related to achieving power in the society. Cultural demands are proclaimed through such social movements that aim at eradicating inequalities and establishing autonomy throughout the society. Occupy Gezi was one such cultural social movement started in Turkey, which was inclined towards establishing individual dignity. This movement had started in an era when new social transformation was rapidly growing. Occupy Gezi was initiated by small group of individuals in order to protest against mall construction. Taksim Gezi Park would have been destructed completely due to such construction project. People who were present in the park were brutally beaten by police force because they intended to stop the operation (Touraine 107). More people belonging to Taksim solidarity later joined this revolution so as to guard the park. In the initial phase of this social movement there were only a group of people who were protesting against ripping of trees. Later this movement was transformed into a rebellious protocol encompassing democratization. This movement which spread across the globe had lasted for a time period of three weeks. All the essential components of new social movements were included within Occupy Gezi such as concrete demand and no great thought process, non organization movement, horizontal framework rather than vertical system, more focus on individual identity or demands in comparison to social demands, etc. There exists some common social entity amongst all participants of Occupy Gezi. Majority of supporters were either high school or university students. Middle class identification cannot be linked with such social movement. These educated supporters could view violation of rights and protested against political authority. Participants in Occupy Gezi social movement was more focused on addressing demand of freedom and equality. An effective response was generated against capital model by Occupy Gezi in terms of bourgeoisie solution and strengthening executive position. A working class rebellion image is not been highlighted through such social movement (Antoun 443). Occupy Gezi was a multi layered movement that gained importance in multiple locations. It can be stated as a participative democracy struggle which was initiated to protect identity of a particular section of the society. There are some theoretical frameworks in sociology that can well describe this form of social movement. Collective behavior is a mechanism where many individuals collectively engage with one another in order to accomplish set of objectives or goals. Collective behavior comprises of four specific norms such as crowd, public, social movement and mass. The behavior of crowd denotes effectiveness of a particular rebellion. It is essential that crowd should be able to understand intricacies of a particular situation and undertake desirable action (Langman 512). Value added theory indicates that several factors should be combined in order to portray collective behavior. Structural conduciveness is one such factor denoting people should be aware about the problem before protesting. Precipitating factor triggers collective behavior and this leads to evolution of dramatic event in such social movement case. Structural strain is closely knitted with the aspect of people’s expectations resulting into stress and strain. Spread or growth of generalized belief is another factor which is associated with problem being identified by a group or individual. Action mobilization is initiated through leaders directing group of individuals. The final aspect is centered towards action undertaken by social control agents. Collective behavior is triggered through such social control. Value added theory is able to mitigate various complexities of collective behavior. Convergent orientation theoretical framework can be correlated with collective behavioral approached observed during social movement of Occupy Gezi. In such orientation framework group members are directed towards a particular direction. In modernized society, collective approaches are undertaken to address specific social objectives. Conclusion As per the study, modernization has brought forth changes within social movement. This form of new social movement is highly distinct from that of old social movement. Old social movement is linked with vertical hierarchical process or establishing power in social context. On the contrary, new social movement is inclined towards individual identity and a horizontal hierarchical framework. To be more precise over the years there has been changes in pattern of social movement. In current scenario, most of the social movements are aligned with initiating a revolution which could alter image of the society. Occupy Gezi was one such new social movement started in Turkey. Supporters of the movement were highly concerned about restricting illegal dimensions of political rights. This movement was a cultural version of social movement. Works Cited Antoun, Richard. Civil society, tribal process, and change in Jordan: an anthropological view. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 32 (4). 2000. Print. Langman, Lauren. Occupy: A new new social movement. Current Sociology, 61(4). 2013. Print. Melucci, Alberto. The new social movements: a theoretical approach. Ankara: EOS Press. 2007. Print. Tilly, Cev. Social movements. Istanbul: Babil Press. 2008. Print. Touraine, Alain. Can we live together?: equality and difference. Istanbul: YKY Press. 2011. Print. Read More