There is quite a series of theories on social movements in Latin America, most of them inspired by the european and US-american context. What theory or what combination of theories has/have proven best for you? What worked and why?
I have been inspired by both, but developing my own theory on social movements in Latin America (mainly about Brazil). See:
http://www.editoraappris.com.br/produto/3871223/Redes-Emancipatorias-Nas-lutas-contra-a-exclusao-e-por-direitos-humanos
and
http://www.escenarios21.com/2012/0122.html#.UNsJ7HZDHo4
It depends on what aspect of the movement you're looking at. I use Snow & Benford's framing literature because I look at the material culture and discourse of protests against femicide in Mexico..
Thank you all. Marc, I tried Escobar - but you can hardly call his text methodological: they are -that's my impression, of course- intents to understand empirical phenomena on a theoretical level. Without a method as a way to enter this level. I see him more like, let's say, Luhmann, who puts whatever example fits - but does not enter in a methodic analysis.
Chelsea, how did Snow and Benford work out for you? I tried to apply them - but realized that they stay on a general level, making an "application" of their framing complicated. So I mixed them up with other theories that point towards a discourse analysis.
Look at the draft of "Framing Femicide" in my publications page and tell me what you think. I find it useful, and welcome comments on that work in progress article.
Phillip, Thank you for this interesting question. I like theories that de-emphasize the distinction between parties, states, and social movements. There are different approaches in social movement theory to this general theoretical orientation. There is Jack Goldstone's 2003 volume, States, Parties, and Social Movements; Mildred Schwartz's 2006 book, Party Movements in the United States and Canada; and there is the Dynamics of Contention project of McAdam, Tarrow, and Tilly (2001) and McAdam and Tarrow (2010). There is also work that is not social movement theory but related. See Deborah Yashar's 2005 book, Contesting Citizenship in Latin America and Jeff Pugh's 2008 article "Vectors of Contestation." I like all of these, because as I'm sure you know, there is quite a lot of interaction and even fusion among these institutions in the Latin American context. I hope this helps. Best of luck, Cedric
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