Social Movements as Actor-Networks: Prospects for a Symmetrical Approach to Doñana's Environmentalist Protests

Résumé 0

"Conceptualizing and understanding forms of collective action has historically been one of the primary preoccupations of social thought. In this context, I propose that the conceptual and methodological baggage that goes with Actor-Network theory (ANT) can be transformed into a fundamental resource for renewing and enriching the analysis of collective action. To achieve this, I focus on two main contributions of ANT to social thought: i) its alternative understanding of social action and ii) its alternative definition of the "collective". Both contributions, I will affirm, allow the opening up of an interesting discussion about the possibility of articulating a non-dichotomic theory of collective action that differs from the dominant traditions in that it takes into account and incorporates the materially heterogeneous and relational character of social movements. To give an example of the fertility of this approach I will focus on an analysis of the actions and reactions of environmentalist groups during the Doñana's ecological disaster (1998-2002), in Spain."