Author: Tommaso Vitale Date: To: ML movimenti Bicocca Subject: [movimenti.bicocca] Toward a General Theory of Strategic Action
Fields
Toward a General Theory of Strategic Action Fields*
NEIL FLIGSTEIN
University of California, Berkeley
DOUG MCADAM
Stanford University
In recent years there has been an outpouring of work at the intersection of social
movement studies and organizational theory. While we are generally in sympathy
with this work, we think it implies a far more radical rethinking of structure and
agency in modern society than has been realized to date. In this article, we offer a
brief sketch of a general theory of strategic action fields (SAFs). We begin with
a discussion of the main elements of the theory, describe the broader environment
in which any SAF is embedded, consider the dynamics of stability and change in
SAFs, and end with a respectful critique of other contemporary perspectives on
social structure and agency.
