SOCIAL MOVEMENTS IN ACTION: REPERTOIRES, TACTICAL CHOICES AND PERFORMANCES

Abstract

Scholars of social movement have long investigated the reasons why collective action takes a certain form in each period of time and space. This problem has been approached by the literature through a number of different concepts and debates. In this paper, we analyse three of these conceptual tools, also reviewing their appropriation by the Brazilian literature on social movements: repertoires, tactical choices, and performances. First, we argue that each of these concepts and debates is related to a different analytical framework that redirects this general problem towards specific research questions. Second, we suggest that their appropriation by the Brazilian literature has unevenly favoured the concept of repertoires. Finally, we argue that the articulation of these concepts can provide a complex response to this general problem, helping us move beyond theoretical dichotomies and the obstacles imposed by their uneven appropriation in Brazil.

Keywords:
Repertoires; tactics; performances; social movements; protests