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Introduction: In this research, we examine how intragroup fragmentation, which is the division of a group into smaller subgroups, interacts with different forms of action against gender inequality. We focused on two types of action: actions that promote social change and actions that encourage retribution. Methods: We investigated these processes within the #MeToo social movement using data collected in Australia (N = 363) and Romania (N = 135). In both samples, we measured antecedents of 'group consciousness' (previous experience with discrimination, empathic concern, and perspective taking) and its indicators (social identification, perceived group efficacy beliefs, and group emotions such as anger and contempt). As indicators of intragroup fragmentation, we measured endorsement of different categories of group behaviors such as pro-social change action versus pro-retribution action. To assess the predictive power of motivations for joining the movement (antecedents of group consciousness) and of group consciousness for either pro-social or retributive actions, we tested several structural equation models (SEMs). Results: Our results indicate that the motivations for joining such social movements were more complex than anticipated, with perspective-taking emerging as a significant differentiator. Our analyses further show that different dimensions of group consciousness could predict support for either pro-social or retributive actions. Discussion: These findings highlight the complexity of the intragroup processes in newly emerging, modern social movements such as #MeToo. Our findings have implications for the study of membership dynamics in social movements and suggest that strategies to mobilise support should be tailored to these complexities. Overall, this research contributes to the current understanding of intragroup dynamics in contemporary social movements, thereby providing insights that could inform both grassroots mobilisation strategies and policy interventions aiming to increase gender equality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

#MeToo has raised public awareness on issues of sexual harassment and misconduct at an unprecedented scale, nurturing hopes for sustainable change also in terms of gender equality. We use the concept of politicization to assess the potential for change which #MeToo might have induced in the broader print media discourse on gender equality issues. We analyse Australia as an arguably difficult case due to its conservative political and media system, thus offering political activism rather dire prospects of public resonance. We assess a total of two years of media coverage in the eight largest newspapers (October 2016 – September 2018), combining automated content analysis with manual claims analysis. Our results speak to the societal debate on gender equality as well as the potential of online social movements to change mainstream discourses and social realities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social movements pushing for social change are often met with reactionary counter‐movements that defend the status quo. The present research examined this interplay by focusing on the role of racial majority group members claiming collective psychological ownership. We examined collective ownership that stems from being native to the land and from being founders of the nation. Study 1 found that in Malaysia, the Malay majority group endorsed more native ownership than Chinese and Indian minorities, which in turn predicted greater threat in response to protests demanding electoral reforms and subsequently greater support for a reactionary pro‐government movement. Situated in the United States, Study 2 found that the more that White Americans endorsed founder ownership beliefs, the more they reported negative attitudes towards the Black Lives Matter protests, which in turn predicted more support for White nationalistic counter‐protests. This effect was stronger among White people compared to people of colour. Study 3 examined both founder and native ownership in Australia. Founder (but not native) ownership beliefs predicted more negative attitudes towards Invasion Day protests, which subsequently predicted more support for counter‐protests defending Australia Day celebrations. Implications of culture‐specific beliefs about collective ownership for social movement research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contemporary community archives movement is described as a grassroots social movement that evolved out of social, political and cultural change in the 1960s and 70s in the U.K. What is Australia's community archives story? In this exploratory essay, I set out to identify and examine who is talking about community archives in Australia and what they are (and are not) saying about it. Drawing from evidence obtained from web and literature searches, this paper highlights the complexity around the conversation about community archives in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When and how do social movements form to mobilize action across national boundaries? In the context of the 2015 movement to support Syrian refugees, we develop an integrative model of transnational social movement formation shaped by pre‐existing world‐views (social dominance orientation and right‐wing authoritarianism) and social media exposure to iconic events, resulting in an emergent group consciousness ("we are", "we believe", "we feel"). Group consciousness is, in turn, the proximal predictor of solidarity with refugees. Participants were from six countries: Hungary (N = 267), Romania (N = 163), Germany (N = 190), the United Kingdom (N = 159), the United States (N = 244) and Australia (N = 344). Multi‐group structural equation models confirmed that group consciousness, shaped by individual differences and exposure to events through social media, was the proximal predictor of solidarity. The subjective meaning of group consciousness varied across samples, reflecting national differences. Results support the importance of considering individual and national differences, and group processes in understanding emergent social movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's views on the downside of the social revolution that began in the 1960s in Australia. He opines that the changes in social values over the past 40 years have caused the biggest social problems on the lowest rungs of society and have had an unequal social impact. He comments on issues about the current divisions on the centreright over social values.

In this article, we use comparative historical analysis to explain agenda-setting and the timing of policy outcomes on same-sex marriage in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Unlike the United States and Canada, Australia does not have a bill of rights, making litigation to obtain rights not enumerated in existing legislation unavailable to activists. Extending the literatures on the development of public policy and on political and historical institutionalism, we argue that in the absence of domestic opportunities for legal change, international law becomes more important to activists in wealthy democracies, but it is contingent on states’ specific institutional and cultural features. Even when international law is “domesticated” into national political structures, it is still secondary to internal conditions in countries with extensive rights-based polities. International law may set a political agenda, but once introduced, policies move according to internal conditions related to party discipline, the centralization of courts, and policy legacies within those countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2007 Australian Parliamentary Elections brought a new dynamic to Australia's foreign policy: the Kevin Rudd factor. The Prime Minister sought to develop a more proactive and multi-faceted foreign policy around ‘Creative Middle Power Diplomacy’. This study aims to cast light on the dynamism in Australia's Foreign Policy with Kevin Rudd within the framework of middle power activism. The research firstly focuses on the difficulties of defining and classifying middle powers through which it will put forward specific ‘commonalities’ for successful middle power foreign policy outcomes. The study of the EU–Australia Partnership Framework and the Asia-Pacific Community proposals – both of which were priorities for Kevin Rudd – reveal the potential and limits of middle power activism. This study argues that in today's world, middle powers have growing potential to pursue specific foreign policy goals but their ability to achieve these goals is constrained by Great Powers' interests and consent, and also by the nature or ‘commonalities’ of middle power diplomatic practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A common problem in all affluent societies, particularly in the retail sector, is the burgeoning issue of food waste. In this, Australia is no exception. However, to a large extent, the main focus of research in Australia to date has been on food waste at the household level. This paper focuses on the previous stage in the food life-cycle and examines the freegan practice of collecting and redistributing food discarded as 'worthless' by supermarket chains, in particular. For freegans, this is an act of choice, not need, to protest against issues of overconsumption and waste. The practice of freeganism has had multiple manifestations throughout history. It represents an alternative ethics of consumption and has multiple forms, embracing such issues as pesticide contamination, excessive labour exploitation, packaging and more. This paper reports on ongoing ethnographic research into two freegan subcultures in Australia: dumpster-divers and participation in the activities associated with 'Food Not Bombs'. It complements freegan research conducted across the world while its analysis, applying theories of alternative food networks, food justice, diverse economies and concepts of autonomy, provides insights into contemporary forms of activism and social change around issues of food waste in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first mass Chinese immigration to Australia occurred in the 19th century, with approximately 100,000 Chinese arriving between the 1840s and 1901 (Fitzgerald 2007; Ho 2007), during which questions were raised both in relation to the Chinese rights of migration and settlement in Australia, and the validity of the government's actions against the Chinese. The latter question was in fact considered in the colonial courts (Cronin 1993; Lake and Reynolds 2008). Since then, the Chinese in Australia have never shied away from taking various legal actions, although they are normally seen as people who keep to themselves. Australia abandoned its 'White Australia' policy in 1974, and lately Australia has placed more emphasis on skilled and business migration. As a result, many believe that Chinese migrants have come to Australia under its normal skilled, business or family migration programs. This ignores the fact that a high proportion of them have obtained their chance to stay in Australia directly through a series of litigations over their political asylum claims or indirectly through the effects of Court rulings. This paper contributes to the discussion of the Chinese in Australian political life by looking at how the Chinese have fought against adverse executive decisions on their applications for asylum, or more generally against a culture of control that has spread in Australia to prevent unwelcome arrivals (Cronin 1993; Kneebone 2010). It documents key features of their experiences. This is a different type of political activism, characterising the lives of many Australian Chinese, their engagement with the Australian political system, and becoming part of the background of their identity, transnationality, socio-political attitudes and behaviour and many other traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the survival tactics and successes of Australian social movements during the Howard years (1996-2007). It explores how movements might operate in a political environment that is hostile and bereft of opportunities, and where the strategies of government seek to exclude deliberately progressive collective voices. The article examines theories of neoliberalism and neoconservatism and shows how these came together in the Australian example. Key theories of social movements are also discussed to foreground the empirical case studies that comprise the bulk of this special issue of Social Movement Studies. Precis of the articles making up this issue are then provided. The article concludes by reflecting on the prospects for change post-Howard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can the current education programme of the Australian trade union movement contribute to reviving union growth and union culture, develop new activists and leaders, and encourage and facilitate the organisational change needed to re-orient unions to develop broader alliances? Twenty-five Australian trade union leaders were asked to describe the educational activities of their unions and to assess the education provided by the Australian Council of Trade Unions' (ACTU) national Education and Campaign Centre (ECC). Analysis of their responses reveals a number of structural, organisational and pedagogical challenges for delivering a national union education programme. It also raises questions of how education can support a union movement trying to convince new layers of workers that unionism can be a dynamic, forward-looking, social movement. The article outlines the existing course framework as a means of understanding the scope of current educational provision. Drawing on interviewee observations and Newman's concept of three contracts in union education, it considers the roles of educator and of organiser, and how an understanding of these roles is currently expressed by union leaders. We conclude with some questions about ways that the union movement might consider the relationship between education and union renewal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can the current education programme of the Australian trade union movement contribute to reviving union growth and union culture, develop new activists and leaders, and encourage and facilitate the organisational change needed to re-orient unions to develop broader alliances? Twenty-five Australian trade union leaders were asked to describe the educational activities of their unions and to assess the education provided by the Australian Council of Trade Unions' (ACTU) national Education and Campaign Centre (ECC). Analysis of their responses reveals a number of structural, organisational and pedagogical challenges for delivering a national union education programme. It also raises questions of how education can support a union movement trying to convince new layers of workers that unionism can be a dynamic, forward-looking, social movement. The article outlines the existing course framework as a means of understanding the scope of current educational provision. Drawing on interviewee observations and Newman's concept of three contracts in union education, it considers the roles of educator and of organiser, and how an understanding of these roles is currently expressed by union leaders. We conclude with some questions about ways that the union movement might consider the relationship between education and union renewal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the history of relations between colonialism, schooling and social change in Australia, Papua New Guinea and Ireland, countries that were once part of the British Empire. It indicates that responses to schooling ranged from acceptance and tolerance, to modification and rejection, depending on the country, the issue, and the historical period. There were also differences in the historical connections in schooling between Britain itself and each country: regarding Australia, the relationship was predominantly unidirectional, from the centre to the Antipodes; in PNG British educational ideas which arrived were filtered through the Australian administration; while in Ireland, British initiatives in schooling contributed not only to social change there, but also helped produce loyal personnel to work in Britain and the colonies. Attention is also given to areas of interdependence and interconnectedness, and to illustrating how conducting such case studies is important in order to help counter alternative interpretations promoted by powerful sectors in society in the interest of reproducing their social privilege. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is the second part of a study on environmental activism and the media in 'the network society', with the first part examining the historical evolution of this phenomenon in the Australian context. This article assesses the impact of the internet and world wide web (WWW) upon contemporary media--environmentalist relations, and the deployment of environmental activist communication strategies. Drawing upon evidence collected from in-depth interviews with environmental activists and news media journalists, the conclusions presented are two-fold. First, the internet and WWWare effective communications technologies that help to influence the reporting agenda of large-scale print and electronic news media outlets. This effectiveness has ensured that groups such as the Wilderness Society manage to announce their campaigns and messages to a wide audience through the news media both in Australia and internationally. Second, and contrary to our original hypothesis, the use of the internet and websites by environmental activists is actually conservative when viewed from the perspective of media and communication power. Rather than creating a new or alternative model of media power, the internet is instead being used by environmental groups to reaffirm the historical and cultural dominance of established news media outlets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article sets out the principles of Catholic social doctrine as they pertain to the rights of employees, the duties of the employers and the obligations of the state. It relates these to the historical development of industrial work and employment in Australia, noting the close proximity of the principles to the social and political arrangements that emerged over the period of the Australian Settlement. It goes on to identify the more recent demise of Catholic activism, which, in combination with the pursuit of neo-liberal policy solutions and market reforms, has purged previous arrangements of their former notions of 'fairness' and equity. It concludes that those opposing such solutions and reforms should think beyond simply framing arguments in terms of the economic or the instrumental, and might usefully draw on the labouring ideals set out in Catholic social doctrine to develop a more thorough set of moral and ethical principles to support their cause. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geographies of activism draw on many traditions but few have charted social movements over time. This paper suggests that the consideration of action over time not only enhances our understanding of the degree of social change that occurs, but also the way activists’ interests are acknowledged, or contained, by those they seek to influence. The paper reviews existing literature and proposes the adoption of a particular conceptualization of time–space geometries. The case is made for attending to kairological and topological notions of time–space while recognizing these involve complex geometries of power relations, meanings, resources and social actions. The variability of these patterns in different time–spaces can stimulate multi-dimensional studies and the example of women's agricultural activism in Australia is employed to explore the usefulness of these ideas for geographies of social movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australian unions have adopted new organizing methods to rebuild and develop their organizations. This represents a change in direction from the commitment to partnership and tripartite planning that characterized the Accord period under the Labor governments of the 1980s and 1990s to a new focus on capacity building. A serious decline in union density along with shifts in the labour process has led unions to focus on recruiting and organizing new members. The vitality involved is tempered by a hostile legal climate that supports workplace flexibility, casualization, fragmentation and low-wage work, while curtailing the rights of unions to recruit and organize. This paper explores the common heritage between the new organizing and theories of popular education, radical history and social movement experience. The paper suggests that contemporary efforts to regenerate unions as assertive organizations that rely on developing and educating new activists and leaders can benefit from drawing on emancipatory traditions of popular education, radical history and community organizing, and in so doing avoid an uncritical adoption of what might become simply a new set of organizing techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the emergence of the asylum seeker and refugee advocacy movement in Australia. This phenomenon has been examined using sociologist Alberto Melucci's theoretical framework as a guide which defines social movement as a collective action expressing a conflict. The article explores the practice of participants in their struggle to bring change to the contested policy and to the way in which asylum seekers and refugees are perceived and received. Asylum seeker and refugee advocacy dispute concerns the onshore component of Australia's refugee program. This policy is based on Australian legislation. This legislation applies to people seeking refugee status within Australian territory. Those who enter Australia without valid visas and seek protection as refugees are referred to as asylum seekers.

The article provides a historical account of the development of a disability rights movement in Australia. According to the author, disability rights movement and other social movements in Australia are different from those of other countries such as Great Britain and the U.S. because Australian social movements have not utilized direct action effectively. Gays, lesbians and bisexual individuals also experienced denial of basic human rights. The author also believes that the state played an important part in constructing and replicating disability.

The article comments on possible changes which are occurring in Australia related to the role of men as primary caregivers for their pre-school aged children. The movement of men in intact nuclear families into the role of primary caregiver for their pre-school aged children appears unusual in view of a substantial literature which describes men's and women's parenting tasks in patriarchal societies as separate and distinct. Other Australian literature based more in the interpretive tradition indicates that despite these views, change may be occurring. A values survey in 1984 found that 84 percent of a random sample of 1,200 persons thought that men and women should share household tasks and 89 percent agreed that greater emphasis should be placed on family life relative to work. For the purposes of this study the male primary caregiver was defined as a father in an intact nuclear family who took sole charge of his preschool aged children for a minimum of 25 hours per working week. The twenty five hours during the working week was to ensure the father was indeed the sole caregiver as nights was to ensure the father was indeed the sole caregiver as nights and weekends were judged as being time shared with a partner.