Doctoral Dissertation Research: How Does Law Matter for Social Movement Networks?

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Social movements have catalyzed change in the U.S. legal system by demanding more stringent enforcement of existing laws, the repeal of laws, and the creation of new laws. Much less research, however, has approached the interplay of law and social movements from the opposite perspective, that is, examining how the creation of law affects social movements. This research aims to shed light on these dynamics by examining how the movement opposing surface mining in Appalachia has evolved since the passage of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). The significance of SMCRA cannot be overstated, as the act called for the federal regulation of surface mining, headed off the growing movement calling for the abolition of the practice, and also legitimated the controversial extraction method known as mountaintop removal.The researchers approach this social movement as a network, aiming to understand how the relationships between anti-surface mining social movement organizations changed, and continue to change in response to legal engagements. Engagements include the tactics used, as well as the ways they frame the problem of surface mining and the goals they seek. Network analysis allows the researchers to correlate the network positions of individual social movement organizations with their legal stances. Interviews with organizational leaders allow the researchers to garner insider assessments of how the law influences intra-movement dynamics and how movement dynamics influence the law.