Movement goals:

Recognize movement’s success and celebrate, follow up on the demands won, raise larger issues, focus on other demands that are in various stages, and propose better alternatives and a true paradigm shift.
Create ongoing empowered activists and organizations to achieve other goals.

Stage 8: Continuing the Struggle

Our struggle to achieve a more humane and democratic society continues indefinitely. This means defending the gains won as well as pursuing new ones.
Building on this success, we return to Stage 1 and struggle for the next change.
Key:The long-term impact of the movement surpasses the achievement of its specific demands.

Movement takes on “reform” role to protect and extend successes. The movement attempts to minimize losses due to backlash, and circles back to the sub-goals and issues that emerged in earlier stages. The long-term focus is to achieve a paradigm shift.

Powerholders adapt to new policies and conditions, claim the movement’s successes as their own, and try to roll back movement successes by not carrying out agreements or continuing old policies in secret.

Public adopts new consensus and status quo. New public beliefs and expectations are carried over to future situations.

Movement goals:

Retain and extend successes.
Continue the struggle by promoting other issues and a paradigm shift.
Recognize and celebrate success. Build ongoing grassroots organizations and power bases.

References

Aberle, David F. 1966. The Peyote Religion among the Navaho. Chicago: Aldine.

Aho, James Alfred. 1990. Politics of Righteousness: Idaho Christian Patriotism. Washington: University of Washington Press.

Blumer, Herbert G. 1969. ‘Collective Behavior’ in Alfred McClung Lee, ed., Principles of Sociology. New York: Barnes and Noble Books, pp. 65-121.

Chaves, Mark. 1997. Ordaining Women: Culture and Conflict in Religious Organizations. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Giddens, Anthony. 1985. The Nation-State and Violence. Cambridge, England: Polity Press.

Jenkins, J. Craig and Perrow, Charles. 1977. ‘Insurgency of the Powerless Farm Worker Movements (1946-1972)’, American Sociological Review, 42 (2): 249-268.

Kornhauser, William. 1959. The Politics of Mass Society. New York: Free Press.

Maurer, Donna. 2002. Vegetarianism: Movement or Moment? Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Mauss, Armand L. 1975. Social Problems of Social Movements. Philadelphia: Lippincott.

Morrison, Denton E. 1978. ‘Some Notes toward Theory on Relative Deprivation, Social Movements, and Social Change’ in Louis E. Genevie, ed., Collective Behavior and Social Movements. Itasca, Ill.: Peacock. pp. 202-209.

Smelser, Neil J. 1962. Theory of Collective Behavior. New York: Free Press.

Tilly, Charles. 1978. From Mobilization to Revolution. Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley.