American Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Research (AJHSSR)
2019
American Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Research (AJHSSR) e-ISSN :2378-703X Volume-3, Issue-3, pp-18-21 www.ajhssr.com
Research Paper
Open Access
Theoretical Foundation for social Mobilization and Citizen Participation Paul Nyende Department of Mental Health and Community Psychology, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Makerere University, Uganda
ABSTRACT: Social Mobilization involves assembling resources and utilizing them for the common good based on the principle of citizen participation with a goal to empower people for collective action. Citizen participation is regarded to be an outcome of social mobilization. Several theories try to explain why people engage in citizen participation while putting into account personal and social processes. There is no theoretical approach integrating all aspects of social mobilization. The Resource Mobilization Approach suggests that resources are central in the empowerment of social groups to launch collective action. The expectancy-value models suggests that people make projections regarding possible outcomes before engagement while empowerment theory emphasizes actions, activities and structures involved in the attempts to gain control over challenges. The social capital model of citizen participation emphasizes the nature of the social relationships and the bonds that keep the community members connected, while the functional motivation theory suggests that all volunteers engage in volunteerism as a means of satisfying underlying psychological functions. The social role theory of gender points out that while women put others needs before their own, indicating a sense of self – sacrifice, the males are seen to engage more in heroic and magnanimous helping. KEY WORDS: Social mobilization, citizen participation, resource mobilization, empowerment, social capital
I.
INTRODUCTION
The paper explores the main tenets of six theories that attempt to explain aspects of social mobilization and citizen participation. These include; resource mobilization approach, expectancy –value theory, empowerment theory, social capital model of citizen participation, functional motivation theory and the social role theory of gender. Some gaps are highlighted and an attempt is made to identify similarities while amalgamating complementary theories.
II.
THEORIES OF SOCIAL MOBILIZATION
Social mobilization is a broad scale undertaking to involve people and get them engaged in participation to achieve a specific goal through self-reliant efforts. Mobilization is the process by which a group assembles resources, both material and non-material, and places them under collective control for the explicit purpose of pursuing the group‟s interests through collective action (Canel 1992). It addresses the needs of a given community, it is based on the principle of citizen participation, with the goal of empowering individuals and groups for action. It is through psychological empowerment that social mobilization ultimately culminates into citizen participation (Wandersman & Florin, 2000). In order to understand citizen participation, it is crucial to comprehend social mobilization. There are several approaches from the social sciences that attempt to explain and guide social mobilization and citizen participation. The theories tend to focus on factors such as internal motivations, cost-benefit analysis, social and group dynamics, availability of resources, participants‟ expectations as well as gender. The theories try to provide an explanation as to why people engage in voluntary activity while putting into account personal and social processes that lead up to citizen participation. To date there is no theoretical approach that integrates all these aspects of social mobilization. According to the Resource Mobilization Approach (RMA), develop by McCarthy and Zald (1977), people willing to participate are aware of their desired goal and believe that it can be achieved through collective action. The theory places emphasis on how groups get themselves organize to pursue their goals and how they mobilize and manage resources. The Resource Mobilization Approach suggests that resources such as knowledge, money, hours of labor, solidarity and legitimacy are central in the empowerment of social groups to develop organizations and launch effective and successful struggles to achieve the desired goals. The resource mobilization approach places emphasis on the dynamics and strategies of social movement growth, decline, and change with special interest in societal support and constraint. AJHSSR Journal
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