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Introduction
Contentious politics is a form of political activity, which is beyond institutional bounds. The process starts when different social groups form and demand changes through petitions, riots, protests, revolutions, and other extra-institutional activities. Many years ago, politicians viewed such activities as a dangerous threat to political order. Nowadays, it has become an essential part of civil society (Tilly 95). Besides, contentious politics is a form of political activity and participation that shapes the regime and molds its way. Generally, such politics emerges as a result of changes in political opportunities and restrictions, while the activists respond to various incentives, bother ideological and material. Tracing back the history, it is possible to find out the examples of contentious politics in countries with democratic and authoritarian regimes (Lust and Davis 164). However, the process is also vital during the transitional state within the country, as it may determine the direction of further development.
With specific political opportunities, people with restricted resources can act sporadically. There are different forms of contentious politics, including social movements, cycles of contention, revolution, and others. When the actions of groups are based only on connective structures and social networks, the notion of social movement may be used. However, when such form of contention expands all around the society, it is possible to talk about a cycle of contention. The moment a cycle is united around several sovereignties, a revolution may burst out (Peterson 83). The solution to the problem depends mainly on connective structures, dense social networks, shared understanding, as well as the use of culturally accepted actions. The processes are more complicated when it comes to a specific, transition state of the country when one regime is being changed to another. The purpose of this paper is to discuss social reasons for the occurrence of contentious politics, its mechanisms, and processes, as well as an influence on the further relationship between social and governmental sectors.
Political Struggle and Social Processes
For many years, political scientists have been investigating the reasons, processes, and outcomes of contentious politics. The concept is known as a political opportunity structure that represents people who perceive themselves outside the limitations of formal institutions and seek legislative changes. Tilly (97), in his work, first started analyzing collective actions and mobilization of people that presupposed facilitation-repression by government and opportunity-threat to protesters. These notions are connected with mass opposition to the state. It is inevitable to analyze the movements only in combination with politics, paying attention to their structures, strategies, success and other dimensions in various states (Scott 195). Even though facilitation-repression and opportunity-threat were constituents of the original synthesis, the theorists of political processes paid more attention to opportunities (Nolan et al. 357). Through different studies, the idea of contentious politics was considered more as an opportunity provided by institutions to insurgent groups.
Political Opportunities and Restrictions
Political opportunities include the factors of political struggle, which stimulate people to participate in contentious politics. On the other hand, restrictions are factors that discourage contention. They may include repressions, or capacity of authorities to contradict to insurgents. In fact, there is no way to predict or prevent contentious politics, especially in a transitional state, as it may depend on political, historical, and other circumstances. Therefore, political opportunity structures are not always associated with invariant models triggering social movement, but rather a set of hints warning about the beginning of contentious politics. These are the clues for the time when the social movements may appear, which provide the authorities with an opportunity to start interacting with people to prevent opposition.
The very concept of political opportunity is related to the external resources of the group. They may include not only power and money but also a common idea that unites disorganized and weak challengers. According to the views of scholars (Lust and Waldner 238), contentious politics appear the moment when usual people start responding to opportunities that decrease the value of collective action. Additionally, they highlight the most vulnerable points of the authorities, reveal allies and activate social identities. There are several most important factors that create excellent opportunities for citizens, and they include political cleavage and state structures (Novan 358). Considering transitional states, it is inevitable to mention that democracy encourages the emergence of such politics and leads mainly to the change of regime. However, authoritative government can also create a perfect background for the occurrence of social movements, as they tend to appear in response to repressions, either social or political.
Constantly changing opportunities and restrictions lead to actors, who do not have enough resources to participate in contentious politics. The appearance of social movement out of contentious politics depends on the way people interact and work together, the common idea they have, and the strength for mobilizing structures. The main purpose of the issue is that people do not just act together or collectively, but they assemble and petition their demands in order to attract attention to their actions (Peterson 83). The idea of contentious politics is not planned by the organizers, but rather formulated within the society and communicated by participants. The movements of communities are expressions of knowledge about history, which help people to gain necessary attention to their problems.
The leaders of social movements should adapt the most suitable forms of contention, which will be supported by society. People who are dissatisfied with regime, as well as the ones, who live in desperation, such risky campaigns may be beneficial. Forms of contentious politics are usually inherited being a combination of old ways with new meanings. Certain groups generally have specific memory and history which leads to the expression of particular forms of content. Based on the experience of other people, people create a unique prototype of a riot or protests, which will explain their demands, emphasize conflict and lead to further actions. Contentious politics in the most different forms are the most typical for transitional states, and they tend to show the attitude of the society towards the current regime.
Outcomes of Contentious Politics
With the growing opportunities and more accessible information, ordinary people, together with activists start testing the limits of social control. Contradictions between authorities and people highlight the weak points of the government and the powers of challengers. Consequently, even timid social actors take one of the sides. Following the spread of political information, and growing of the uncertainty of people in the current state, the social movement sector rises and launches contentious politics (Tilly 96). The process is usually contagious, so, with the time, an increasing number of people get involved.
The only way for the authorities to respond to the challengers is with repressions or reforms that may also be combined. When the ideas of the protesters are not satisfied, revolutions appear. The results of such movements may be drastic, leading to a complete change of the regime and constant struggle for power (Lust and Davis 149). While the primary purpose of contentious politics is to change the social life, it is inevitable to remember its influence on the political situation. Additionally, following the history of revolutions and riots, it is possible to enumerate two types of protesters’ efforts: to promote group goals and to guarantee personal development.
There are numerous dimensions that contribute to the forms and degree of contentious politics and its prosperity. The level of democracy in a country plays a crucial role at this point, as it creates perfect backgrounds for peaceful contentions. Additionally, it promotes the organization of specific institutions that facilitate assembly, speech and other components. The democratic regime also guarantees the accessibility of mass media so that the political parties may operate beyond the electoral contests.
The reason why contentious politics prosper in democratic and semi-democratic countries is hidden for several reasons. First of all, people find the political opportunity structures that may lead them into participation in political processes with other elites and actors within the state institutions. On the other hand, the authoritative regime suppresses and lacks such infrastructure of social movements. Depending on the cultures and histories of various regimes, it is possible to tell the difference between different types of contentious politics. When it comes to the transitional state of the country, this question becomes even more complicated. The outcomes of the contentious politics, at this point, depending on both, the desire or challengers to communicate their demands, and the willingness of the authorities to discuss and accept them. Historical and innovation accumulation is not based merely on claimants and their objectives, but it is usually the outcome of a long process of national and international policy.
To summarize the concept of contentious politics in transition states, it is important to note that it appears simultaneously with the increase of political opportunities. Once people see the potential for an alliance between people and noticed the vulnerability of the regime and authorities, they are ready to start the politics. Contention transforms into a social movement the moment it engages connective structures and supportive citizens, who can sustain the contention with potential and powerful opponents (Dahl 59). By creating familiar forms of politics, the contention movement transforms into useful resources for changing the current regime. Cultural frames, repertoires and social networks bright people together, decrease the cost of collective actions, and inspire them to feel united. As a result, the challenges have a better understanding of the demands and power of their claims. Together, all these dimensions activate the dynamic and rapidly spreading process, which influences the establishment or change of the state, and leads to both political and social changes.
Contentious politics may appear in both democratic and authoritative countries, but the process is the most dubious during the transition state. The ideas of politicians and scholars about the influence of the politics on the regime differ, but all of them agree that such processes are inevitable in society’s development. Knowing the reasons for the appearance of contentious politics, its processes, and mechanisms, it is easier to analyze its possible outcomes and impacts on the state of the country.
Works Cited
Dahl, Robert A. Politics, Economics, and Welfare. Routledge, 2017.
Lust, Ellen, and David Waldner. “Unwelcome Change: Understanding, Evaluating, and Extending Theories of Democratic Backsliding.” US Agency for International Development 11, vol. 1, no. 4, 2015, pp.146-165.
Nolan, Laura‐Jane, and David Featherstone. “Contentious Politics in Austere Times.” Geography Compass, vol. 2, no. 45, 2015, pp. 58-64.
Peterson, Abby. “Policing Contentious Politics At Transnational Summits: Darth Vader or the Keystone Cops?.” The Policing Of Transnational Protest. Routledge, 2016.
Scott, Alan. New Critical Writings in Political Sociology: Volume Two: Conventional and Contentious Politics. Routledge, 2017.
Tilly, Charles. “Contentious Performances.” Collective Violence, Contentious Politics, and Social Change, edited by Ernesto Castañeda and Cathy Lisa Schneider Routledge, 2017, pp. 37-63.
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