Identity-Based Social Movements Analysis

Identity-based social movements have generated many times across different regions of the world. These movements have helped bring social, political and structural changes and have led to different types of political outcomes. For example, in the case of the former Soviet Union, policy change leading to the fall of the U.S.S.R in the early 1990s, the marginalization of minorities by the State of Mississippi in the 1960s during the Civil Rights movements, or perhaps the case of Nazi Germany’s State capture prior to WWII. We can study these political outcomes that have been significantly influenced by identity-based social movements to understand how they were able to use political opportunities that were created during that time to bring these …show more content…
As after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed, state officials of the Southern States rapidly transformed the political strategies of those states in order to adopt to the changes proposed by the federal government. However, the state and local officials of Mississippi still refused to make necessary changes to end racial segregation, and take action to condemn and constrain white anti-rights mobilization. While other Southern State governments relented, they eventually condemned many of these white-rights movements in their states. Mississippi stood firm with their decision, and allowed rioting and other violent acts to take place. State complicity and its unwillingness to react to these movements created a political opportunity for the white anti-rights movements, and so helped them in counter mobilizing against the identity-based social movements for civil rights that were taking place at that time. The marginalization of minorities by the state of Mississippi led to further bloodshed and violence, it encouraged white-rights movements to appear across the state which was caused by the state’s decision to not suppress violence and allow …show more content…
The cause of the marginalization of out-groups by the state can also be tied to commercial interests and the involvement of government officials in these interest groups. For example, the ‘respectable’ White Citizens Council, and the plantations of the Mississippi Delta benefited from huge donations from the state government. So it was in their best interest to marginalize the minorities and oppose the civil rights movements. However, as the political gains of defending segregation diminished and with greater pressure from the federal government in ending the violence and granting racial equality, the state of Mississippi slowly over time moved towards taking steps to control the outbreak of violence and start the process of making political changes.
Therefore, the State’s lack of willingness to suppress and condemn the anti-rights movements created the political opportunity for counter mobilization of white supremacist against the civil rights activists. The marginalization of out-group minorities by the state of Mississippi was caused by the involvement of government officials and local law enforcements with the white supremacist groups (like the Ku Klux Klan; many law enforcement agents were Klansmen themselves), the missed opportunity of the state to constrain white activist movements, and the