Horizontal Models for Social Movement Organizations: A Case Study of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers

Date of Award

2009

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Pittman, Chavella

Keywords

Horizontalism, Leadership, Social Movements

Area of Concentration

Sociology

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze how social movement organizations function when using a horizontal model of leadership. This model of leadership employs direct democratic practices. These practices 1) do not have a hierarchy or leader and 2) vests authority in the organization as a whole rather than in the individual. These models have been largely ignored in the social movements literature. Therefore, this study bridges the gap between work organization literature on directly democratic organizations and social movement literature. In order to analyze this alternative model of leadership, I conductive a qualitative analysis of a horizontally-run social movement organization using in-depth interviews and participant observation. The results of my study demonstrate that horizontal leadership is a viable option for successful social movement organizations. It also shows there are significant factors which influence their ability to stay true to horizontal leadership's principles (e.g. external influences) while also achieving movement goals. Furthermore, this study encourages researchers to examine alternative leadership frameworks when analyzing social movement organizations.

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