The Ambiguous Role of Welfare Structures in Relation to the Emergence of Activism Among Disabled People: Research evidence from Northern Ireland

From Advocate to Activist? Mapping the Experiences of Mothers of Children on the Autism Spectrum

“…Why some mothers remain internal activists or even advocates and others shift towards campaigning for other people’s children, is an interesting question which the analysis in this study cannot fully answer and this is an area which warrants further research. The data supports Klandeman’s (1988 cited in Acheson & Williamson 2001) observation that it does not follow that, because a person has come to experience dissatisfaction and optimism that the situation can be altered, that he or she will become an activist. As we have illustrated, it does not follow that because a mother of a disabled child sees herself as such and has advocated, or even fought on behalf of her own child, that she will make the move to become an external activist, campaigning on behalf of other people’s children.…”

“…Acheson & Williamson (2001) agree with Searle‐Chatterjee that activism can only occur among people who are in a position collectively to describe themselves as activists. Melucci (1989 cited in Acheson & Williamson 2001) also concluded that it was through participation in networks that people re‐define themselves as an activist. In this view, social movements constitute in an invisible process in which people explore new self‐definitions and new articulations of the problems they face.…”

“…Interestingly, Searle-Chatterjee does not include disability in this list, but other writers do address the issue of disability and activism. Acheson & Williamson (2001) agree with Searle-Chatterjee that activism can only occur among people who are in a position collectively to describe themselves as activists. Melucci (1989cited in Acheson & Williamson 2001) also concluded that it was through participation in networks that people re-define themselves as an activist.…”

“…For Klandemans (cited in Acheson & Williamson 2001), mobilization of new social movements requires a structure. People who see themselves as members of a minority must be in contact with one another in networks that can be used to build the social movement.…”

The Tertiary Turn: Locating “The Academy” in Autobiographical Accounts of Activism in Manchester, UK and Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand

“…A central part of this research involved individuals narrating their “career trajectory” through the various movements, campaigns, organisations and sectors with which they had been involved as their life as an activist unfolded (Acheson and Williamson 2001). In this way these “activist biographies” not only provided a lens through which individuals’ navigation of the shifting social policy and urban governance terrains of the past quarter century could be viewed but also served to identify cross‐national and cross‐sectoral similarities and differences in activists’ experiences and the strategies they adopted (see Milligan et al 2008).…”