Review "It's hard to imagine how this volume could be improved. The organizing framework is terrific and the cast of characters is a virtual 'who's who' of social movement scholars. All in all, a wonderful addition to the bookshelf of any social movement analyst." Doug McAdam, Stanford University "A comprehensive survey of the current state of the art in Social Movement Studies, and launch pad for future work. Indispensible." Colin Barker, Manchester Metropolitan University “It’s hard to imagine how this volume could be improved. The organizing framework is terrific and the cast of characters is a virtual ‘who’s who’ of social movement scholars. All in all, a wonderful addition to the bookshelf of any social movement analyst.” Doug McAdam, Stanford University “A comprehensive survey of the current state of the art in Social Movement Studies, and launch pad for future work. Indispensible.” Colin Barker, Manchester Metropolitan University Product Description The Blackwell Companion to Social Movements is a compilation of original, state-of-the-art essays by internationally recognized scholars. Covering a diverse range of topics in the field of social movement studies, this volume offers an illuminating guide to understanding the dynamics and operation of social movements within the modern, global world. The abundance of social movement activity throughout the world, both violent and nonviolent, has made the study of social movements a valuable resource for helping students and scholars to engage and understand their own social world. Issues covered in this one volume include: historical, political, and cultural contexts; leadership; organizational dynamics; social networks and participation; consequences and outcomes; and synthetic overviews of major social movements, including labor, anti-war, women’s, religious, ethnic and national, and environmental movements. This outstanding resource offers the most comprehensive discussion of social movements available.