Editing Political movement (section)

{{Short description|Movement to obtain a political goal}}
[[File:Skandinavism.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|The mid-19th century [[Scandinavism]] political movement led to the modern use of the term [[Scandinavia]].]]
A '''political movement''' is a collective attempt by a group of people to change [[government policy]] or [[social values]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Meyer|first=David S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_698EqNBFxQC&q=%22political+movements%22&pg=PA237|title=Coalitions & Political Movements: The Lessons of the Nuclear Freeze|publisher=Lynne Rienner Publishers|year=1997|isbn=978-1-55587-744-6|pages=164–166|language=en}}</ref> Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the [[status quo]],<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Rochon|first=Thomas R.|date=1990|title=Political Movements and State Authority in Liberal Democracies|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/world-politics/article/political-movements-and-state-authority-in-liberal-democracies/0A056F8B48F5962768DC27649D273CC8|journal=World Politics|language=en|volume=42|issue=2|pages=299–313|doi=10.2307/2010467|jstor=2010467|s2cid=153900090 |issn=1086-3338|url-access=subscription}}</ref> and are often associated with a certain [[ideology]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last=Nicholas|first=Ralph W.|date=1973|title=Social and Political Movements|journal=Annual Review of Anthropology|volume=2|issue=1|pages=63–84|doi=10.1146/annurev.an.02.100173.000431|issn=0084-6570}}</ref> Some theories of political movements are the [[Political opportunity|political opportunity theory]], which states that political movements stem from mere circumstances,<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Koopmans|first=Ruud|date=1999|title=Political. Opportunity. Structure. Some Splitting to Balance the Lumping|journal=Sociological Forum|volume=14|issue=1|pages=93–105|doi=10.1023/A:1021644929537|jstor=685018|s2cid=148013872|issn=0884-8971}}</ref> and the [[Resource mobilization|resource mobilization theory]] which states that political movements result from strategic organization and relevant resources.<ref name=":2" /> Political movements are also related to [[political parties]] in the sense that they both aim to make an impact on the government and that several political parties have emerged from initial political movements.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|last=Kitschelt|first=Herbert|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wgAkmpfSwXkC&q=movement+parties&pg=PA278|title=Handbook of Party Politics|publisher=SAGE Publications Ltd|year=2006|isbn=978-0-7619-4314-3|location=London|pages=282|language=en|chapter=Movement Parties|doi=10.4135/9781848608047}}</ref> While political parties are engaged with a multitude of issues, political movements tend to focus on only one major issue.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book|last1=Hague|first1=Rod|title=Comparative Government and Politics|last2=Harrop|first2=Martin|last3=McCormick|first3=John|publisher=Red Globe Press|year=2019|isbn=978-1-352-00505-9|location=London|pages=317}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite book|last=McDonald|first=Neil A.|title=The Study of Political Parties.|series=Short studies in political science,26|publisher=Doubleday & Company|year=1955|location=Garden City, New York|hdl=2027/mdp.39015003545509}}</ref>

An organization in a political movement that is led by a [[communist party]] is termed a [[mass organization]] by the party and a "Communist front" by detractors.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}