Bifurcation in Social Movements

Doug Smith
University of North Dakota Law School

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     Last modified: March 31, 2006

Abstract
Thsi paper examines how social movements, as complex adaptive systems, thrive, persist or dissipate in the face of novel challenges with a special focus on transitional points between movements and institutions. Historic and current examples will be considered, including a comparison of the same-sex marriage movements in Massachusetts and Vermont, current and past (pro and anti) immigration movements, the women's rights movements at the inception of the preceding century, the anti-slavery movements of the 19th century and the "new social movements" of the 21st.