Social Terms Dictionary

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For more information about SoDaNet Social Terms Dictionary, please see the working paper as well as the manual

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SOCIAL TERM: Λαός / People
APPROVED DEFINITIONS FOR TERM: 1
TERM TYPE: Theoretical
SOCIAL TERM: Πολιτικό καθεστώς / Political regime
APPROVED DEFINITIONS FOR TERM: 1
TERM TYPE: Theoretical
DEFINITION (1): «By political regime, or simply regime, I mean the formal and informal organizations, relationships, and rules that determine who can employ state power for what ends, as well as “how those who are in power deal with those who are not. The distinction between democracy, totalitarianism, and authoritarianism thus deals with the question of regime type … Regimes are more permanent forms of political organizations than specific governments [or rulers], but they are typically less permanent than the state” (Fishman, Robert. 1990. «Rethinking State and Regime: Southern Europe’s Transition to Democracy.» World Politics 43: 422-440 (pp. 428). A crucial dimension of any political regime is its relative inclusiveness or exclusivity – or, to put it another way, the extent of its “embeddedness” in or connections to national society that it governs. Very inclusive regimes, including but not limited to democratic regimes, that multiple mechanisms for incorporating into decision-making processes the preferences or claims of citizens and social groups, including elections, political parties, interest groups, and even social movements. By contrast, authoritarian regimes have greater autonomy from society, though not necessarily from economic elites, and they sometimes forcibly exclude certain mobilized groups from any role in political decision making» (Goodwin 2001: 12-13).
DEFINITION TYPE: Nominal
DEFINITION WRITER: Νίκος Σερντεδάκις
REFERENCE: Goodwin, Jeff. 2001. No Other Way Out. States and Revolutionary Movements, 1945-1991. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
SOCIAL TERM: Πολιτικές ευκαιρίες / Political opportunities
APPROVED DEFINITIONS FOR TERM: 1
RELATED TERMS: Συλλογική δράση/Collective action Συγκρουσιακή συλλογική δράση/Contentious collective action Συγκρουσιακός κύκλος/Cycle of Contention
TERM TYPE: Theoretical
DEFINITION (1): «By political opportunities, I mean consistent – but not necessarily formal, permanent, or national – dimensions of the political struggle that encourage people to engage in contentious politics. By political constraints, I mean factors – like repression, but also authorities’ capacity to present a solid front to insurgents – that discourage contention. There I no simple formula for predicting when contentious politics will emerge […] because different factors may vary in opposing directions. As a result the term “political opportunity structure” should not be understood as an invariant model inevitably producing social movements, but as a set of clues for when contentious politics will emerge, setting in motion a chain of causation that may ultimately lead to sustained interaction with authorities and thence to social movements.» (Tarrow 1998: 19-20).
DEFINITION TYPE: Nominal
DEFINITION WRITER: Νίκος Σερντεδάκις
REFERENCE: Tarrow, Sidney. 1998. Power in Movement. Social Movements and Contentious Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
SOCIAL TERM: Πρωτογενής ομάδα / Primary group
APPROVED DEFINITIONS FOR TERM: 1
RELATED TERMS: Ομάδα/Group
TERM TYPE: Theoretical
DEFINITION (1): «A primary group is a small group characterized by intimate, in-formal interaction. Expressive ties predominate in primary groups; we view the people—friends, family members, and lovers—as ends in themselves and valuable in their own right. Primary group relationships are more likely to emerge if the number of people is small enough that each person can establish rapport with each other person, if there is enough face-to-face contact that people can exchange ideas and feelings in subtle and personal ways, and if people interact frequently and continuously enough to deepen their ties and develop interlocking habits and interests. Primary groups are critical to the socialization process. […] Sociologists view primary groups as bridges between individuals and the larger society because they transmit, mediate, and interpret a society’s cultural patterns and provide the sense of oneness so critical for social solidarity. Primary groups also are fundamental because they provide the settings in which we meet most of our personal needs. […] Primary groups serve as powerful instruments for social control. […] primary groups define social reality for us by structuring our experiences. By providing us with definitions of situations, they elicit from us behavior that conforms to group-devised meanings. Primary groups, then, serve both as carriers of social norms and as enforcers of them.» (Hughes and Kroehler 2009: 99-100).
DEFINITION TYPE: Nominal
DEFINITION WRITER: Νίκος Σερντεδάκις
REFERENCE: Hughes, M., and C. Kroehler. (2009). Sociology: The Core. New York: McGraw-Hill.
SOCIAL TERM: Ορθολογική Επιλογή / Rational Choice
APPROVED DEFINITIONS FOR TERM: 1
RELATED TERMS: Ορθολογική ως προς το σκοπό πράξη/Μeans-end rational action
TERM TYPE: Methodological

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