Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

8-1981

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Sociology

Major Professor

Donald A. Clelland

Committee Members

David L. Dungan, Roger L. Bowlby, Thomas C. Hood, Kent D. Van Liere

Abstract

Utilizing data from a survey of participants at the May 6, 1979 antinuclear rally in Washington, B.C. (N=420), this dissertation explored some of the major structural and ideological characteristics of the American Antinuclear Movement. By organizing the data around three of the key analytical concepts in the study of social movements--mobilization, recruitment, and ideology-we were able to derive from our demonstration sample a descriptive and illustrative analysis of those individuals, organizations and processes involved in the national antinuclear crusade. Given that few researchers have actively studied the antinuclear movement beyond the scope of local or regional protests, this work constitutes the only empirical study to date examining a cross-section of the movement's participants from a sociological perspective. It is also one of the few attempts to use a national demonstration as a social laboratory for the study of a social movement in general.

In terms of the mobilization variables examined in the study, we found that organizational networks, past movement activism, and individual resources were important factors in the May 6 mobilization effort. While less than one-half of the demonstrators were part of the antinuclear organizational network per se, most of them had been active in the major protest movements of the 1960's and 1970's. The demonstrators were relatively high in socio-economic resources and had occupational or educational schedules conducive to creating the necessary discretionary time for movement participation.

In terms of the recruitment processes underlying the May 6 demonstration, we found that structural proximity, availability, and pre-existing social relationships were important factors in assembling people for the rally. Of those assembled, about one-half were new recruits drawn from the sympathetic public, about one-third were "core" activists, and the remaining portion were followers of the movement with minimal amounts of prior antinuclear activism. The findings suggested that the Three Mile Island nuclear accident was a major catalyst in mobilizing new constituents for antinuclear protest, as well as those supporters who had been previously active in the movement.

In terms of the ideological characteristics of the sample, we found a surprising amount of congruence between the individual beliefs of the May 6 demonstrators and the ideological themes of the antinuclear movement (as revealed in the literature). While the demonstrators displayed a diversity of opinion in their reasons for opposing nuclear power, there was a consensus of belief that future solutions entailed shutting down nuclear plants and replacing them with alternative technologies and conservation programs. Moreover, there was a consensus of belief among the demonstrators regarding the values underlying their rationale for movement participation, values which both challenged and incorporated larger dominant beliefs of American society. Finally, we found that the overall energy beliefs and political orientations of the demonstrators were considerably divergent from and more liberal than those of the American public.

Given the historical and empirical findings of the study, it was suggested that a social movement reflects a dynamic relationship between ideological beliefs, the mobilization of resources, and the larger processes of a society. However, the future of the antinuclear movement may depend on more than just the mobilization efforts of its organizers, its protest tactics, or the nature of its ideological appeals. Rather, we believe that its fate might well revolve around future energy problems, domestic or international events, or the survival fears raised by another Three Mile Island-type nuclear accident. In the long run, such events may decide whether the current impasse over the nuclear debate will be broken and whether the Faustian bargain of nuclear energy will be worth the risk.

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