Introduction

Abstract This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of how emotions have played almost no role in theories of social movements and collective action since the end of the 1960s. It then suggests that although emotions are not explicitly theorized or even recognized, they are nonetheless present in many of the concepts that scholars have used to extend our understanding of social movements in recent years. Mobilizing structures, frames, collective identity, political opportunities — much of the causal force attributed to these concepts comes from the emotions involved in them. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.