CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2010
| Author | Neely, Peter Galen |
|---|---|
| Title | The Tea Party Movement: Conservative Political Activism in the American Context |
| Summary | In the following analysis of the Tea Party Movement – a young, conservative American grassroots social movement – social movement theory and discourse analysis methodology are bridged in order to elaborate on the strategic positioning of social movement organizations within the movement. Social movement organizations within the movement are considered as strategic actors that shape the goals and action repertoires of the movement by invoking commonly contested concepts and symbols in order to justify their organizational missions, action orientations and the larger goals of the movement. The study looks at how the movement emerged, the context it emerged within, the discourse invoked by movement actors, and how this discourse shapes the action orientations of organizations and defines larger movement goals. It is hypothesized that the movement has yet to form a common movement goal, but that the discursive practice of core movement organizations clarifies that larger movement goals that are emerging. Further, it is concluded that there is a main rift within the movement: between organizations that promote electoral activism and those that encourage activists to attend protests and rallies. This division in the movement, as well as the structural positioning of movement actors within the larger context structure, is demonstrated using discourse analysis and the frameworks of political opportunity structure and context structure. |
| Supervisor | Bozoki, Andras |
| Department | Political Science MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2010/neely_peter-galen.pdf |
Visit the CEU Library.
© 2007-2021, Central European University