Most social network analysis works at the level of interactions between users. But the vast growth in size and complexity of social networks enables us to examine interactions at larger scale. In this work we use a dataset of 76M submissions to the social network Reddit, which is organized into distinct sub-communities called subreddits. We measure the similarity between entire subreddits both ...

Why are some ethnic identities become of focus of activist campaigns, while others are not? I argue that identity mobilization is non-linearly related to group socioeconomic status, since very poor groups do not have an educated elite to participate in activism, while in very rich groups this elite exists but its members are so wealthy that they have no need to use explicit identity rhetoric to...

Ubaid-Allah Sindhi is among those very few political thinkers and activists of the twentieth-century India who were initially associated with the traditional theological seminaries but their political vision was marked by liberalism and openmindedness. He established a non-communal political party— Mahabharat Sarvrajia Party in 1924 in order to translate his political ideals into practice. The ...

Highly entitative sub-groups with strong ideologies ensure members are committed to the groups cause making disengagement a significant life event. This paper provides an insight into the current study of the psychological and social factors influencing the experience of personal disengagement from HESGIs. Semi-structured interviews were held with former members of one percent motorcycle clubs,...

Abortion politics are often about ‘‘pro-choice’’ and ‘‘pro-life’’ countermovements trying to gain power by winning the support of political bystanders. While more is known about the reasons people become pro-choice activists, far less research has examined the motives for pro-life men and women. To address the factors that mobilize abortion activism, this study examined the role of education, r...

In this paper, we explore the relationship between creative practice, activism, and urban place-making by considering the role they play in the construction of meaning in urban spaces. Through an analysis of two activist groups based in Stokes Croft, Bristol (UK), we argue that cultural activism provides new political prospects within the wider context of global capitalism through the cultivati...

Lipset's 'Democracy in Private Government' was a remarkable publication for three reasons. It was his first attempt to challenge Michels' 'iron law of oligarchy' and would lead to a programme of research that that would culminate with the publication of the widely admired classic study Union Democracy. Second, the inspiration for this work came from Lipset's student days when he was a socialist...

This article investigates the strategies of the ‘leaders’ in EU environmental policy-making. A typology of strategies of influencing EU environmental policy is introduced, distinguishing between different kinds of ‘pushers’ and ‘forerunners’. With the help of this typology, the positions and strategies of the ‘green’ member states after the accession of Sweden, Finland and Austria are analysed....

There are two opposed views on the proper relationship between academic research and political activism. The first argues that academics who study politics must remain objective, hence precluding second can should also be activists, scholarly objectivity. This article against an assumption shared by these otherwise opposing positions: activism objectivity incompatible. It conceptually identifie...