Western Washington University Western CEDAR WWU Graduate School Collection WWU Graduate and Undergraduate Scholarship 2010 The impact of reticulation on a movement's ability to sustain mobilization in the presence and absence of opportunities Eliot Assoudeh Western Washington University Follow this and additional works at: https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwuet Part of the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Assoudeh, Eliot, "The impact of reticulation on a movement's ability to sustain mobilization in the presence and absence of opportunities" (2010). WWU Graduate School Collection. 77. https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwuet/77 This Masters Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the WWU Graduate and Undergraduate Scholarship at Western CEDAR. It has been accepted for inclusion in WWU Graduate School Collection by an authorized administrator of Western CEDAR. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE IMPACT OF RETICULATION ON A MOVEMENT’S ABILITY TO SUSTAIN MOBILIZATION IN THE PRESENCE AND ABSENCE OF OPPORTUNITIES By Eliot Assoudeh Accepted in Partial Completion Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts Moheb A. Ghali, Dean of the Graduate School ADVISORY COMMITTEE Chair, Dr. Amir Abedi Dr. Debra Salazar Dr. Sara Weir MASTER’S THESIS In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a master‘s degree at Western Washington University, I grant to Western Washington University the non‐exclusive royalty‐free right to archive, reproduce, distribute, and display the thesis in any and all forms, including electronic format, via any digital library mechanisms maintained by WWU. I represent and warrant this is my original work, and does not infringe or violate any rights of others. I warrant that I have obtained written permissions from the owner of any third party copyrighted material included in these files. 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Eliot Assoudeh August 9, 2010 THE IMPACT OF RETICULATION ON A MOVEMENT’S ABILITY TO SUSTAIN MOBILIZATION IN THE PRESENCE AND ABSENCE OF OPPORTUNITIES A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of Western Washington University In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts by Eliot Assoudeh August 2010 Abstract This thesis discusses the impact of a movement‘s reticulation structures on its ability to sustain mobilization in the presence and absence of political opportunities. It initially focuses on the relationship between the nature of a movement‘s reticulation structure and the movement‘s behavior. It goes on to explore specific connections between varied reticulation configurations and specific behaviors they are associated with, based on a detailed comparison between the student movement and women‘s movement in Iran from 1997 to 2008. This study shows that a movement‘s reticulation structure will affect its behavior. The student movement employs a hybrid composed of cliques and polycephalous structures, which gives it the ability to respond quickly to opportunities as they arise. In contrast, the women‘s movement employs a hybrid structure that is segmented, decentralized, and reticulated. This enables the women‘s movement to utilize an abeyance structure to sustain its activity under longer repression than the student movement. iv Acknowledgement I am thankful to many people who helped me complete this study. First, I have to mention the committee members of my thesis Dr. Abedi, Dr. Salazar, and Dr. Weir. I very much appreciate their wise guidance, encouragement, and constructive criticism. During my time at Western Washington University, my professors provided me with constant support and encouragement. Dr. Abedi aided me in focusing on the right direction, and encouraged me to follow my passion. Dr. Salazar helped me to shape my ideas around the topic of this research, and supported my extensive study of the topic with encouragement and direction. Dr. Weir as the department chair has supported me throughout my studies and academic decisions at WWU, and has been of great help in the process of developing my study. Her support and friendship are of great value to me. Thanks go to the graduate school and the department of political science at Western Washington University for their generous financial support. I am grateful to Mahnaz Afkhami, Dr. Mehrdad Mashayekhi, Dr. Hormoz Hekmat, Dr. Janet Afary, Dr. Mehrdad Darvishpour, Dr. Neil Englehart, and Dr. Luther Gerlach for proving me with various literature sources and guidelines to improve my research. My deepest appreciation to Vala, Ziba, Dana, Pouya, and Kara whose willingness to share information through personal interviews made it possible to have the strongest witness possible; firsthand accounts from those who lived through some part of the history discussed here. Especial thanks to my friend Jana Gering for her great editorial help and support. Thanks also go to my parents, my grandmother, my sister; Edna Johnson, Jay and Kris Quinn, Barb and Carol Johnson; Phyllis and Al Wendorf; Sandy, Jordan, and Skylar Thomas; the Pritchett family (Jenni, Dale, Bob, and Dan); Jason de Kock, Andy Skipton, Ken Smith, Gloria McDonald, Rick Stefani, Jim Dewilde, Dr. Ojikutu, Eric, Archie, Masoud, Hormoz, Nayereh, Shahab, Faezeh, and Melita for their friendship and support. I am so grateful to Iffi who has been the source of encouragement behind this study. My deepest appreciation goes to my wife and friend, Mitra whose constant warm support and patience made all this happen, also thanks to Bouquet, Pari, and Norouz. I am proud and grateful to all brave Iranian people struggling for freedom, especially the feminine dream of my fellow Iranians. The strength of your dream has been the inspirational source behind this study, miles away from our land. It is to you and your dream that I dedicate this thesis. v Table of Contents Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………….iv Acknowledgement………………………………………………………………………….…v List of Figures and Tables………………………………………………………………..…..ix 1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………1 2. Historical Context………………………………………………………………………..…7 The power Structure of the Islamic Republic…………………………………………7 The Student Movement: 1997-2008…………………………………………………17 Introduction……………………………………………………………….…17 The July ‘99 Protests…………………………………………………………18 Students, Universities, and Mobilization………………………………….…20 Office for Consolidation of Unity…………………………………………...22 The Seventh Presidential Election………………………………………...…26 The Failure of the Reform Administration…………………………………..27 The Return of the Conservatism…………………………………………….29 The Women‘s Movement: 1997-2008………………….……………………………31 Introduction……………………………………………………………….…31 June 12, 2006………………………………………………………………...32 One Million Signatures Campaign………………………………………..….34 Women and the Reform Process…………………..…………………………38 The Women‘s Movement and the Rise of New Radicalism…………………40 3. Theoretical Background and Prior Research…….………………………………………..43 Why Examine a Decentralized Structure and These Two Movements?……………..43 vi Defining a Social Movement………………………………………………………...46 Political Process Approach and SMOs………………………………………………47 Defining a Social Movement Organization…………………………………….……56 How to Identify a SPR Organization…………………………………………..……58 Segmentation…………………………………………………………………61 Polycentrism…………………………………………………………………63 Reticulation…………………………………………………………………..63 SPR Adaptive Functions…………………………………………………..…75 Gaps in the Literature………………………………………………………...76 4. Research Method………………………………………………………………………….80 5. From Organization to Mobilization……………………………………………………….87 Analytical Framework……………………………………………………………….87 The Student Movement………………………………………………………………89 Segmentation…………………………………………………………………89 Polycentrism…………………………………………………………...…….92 Reticulation………..…………………………………………………………93 Political opportunities………………………………………………………..99 The Student Movement and Adaptive Functionality of the OCU………….101 The Women‘s Movement…………………………………………………………..104 Segmentation………………………………………………………….…….104 Polycentrism....……………………………………………………….…….106 Reticulation…………………………………………………………………107 Political opportunities………………………………………………...…….113 vii The Women‘s Movement and Adaptive Functionality of the Campaign…. 114 SPR and Mobilization…………………………………………………………...….117 Concluding Discussion………………………………………………………….….124 6. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….129 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………….…….132 Appendix A…………………………………………………………………..…………….139 viii List of Figures and Tables Figure 1 – The Power Structure of the Islamic Republic in its Constitution…………...……12 Figure 2 – Reticulation System Architecture………………………………………………...65 Figure 3 – Illustrations of Four Types of Network Structures………………………………74 Figure 4 – Logic Model of a Movement‘s Behavior………………………………………...87 Figure 5 – The Configuration of the Student Movement Structure Centered on the OCU (Allameh) ……………………………………………………………………………………98 Figure 6 – Adaptive Funtions of a SPR Structurre…………………………………………103 Figure 7 – The Configuration of the Women‘s Movement Structure Centered