"Collective action refers to action taken together by a group of people whose goal is to enhance their condition and achieve a common objective."
How individuals organize themselves to achieve collective goals, despite conflicting individual interests.
Basic Concepts: Introduction to fundamental terms and concepts that define collective action such as public goods, common pool resources, free riders, social dilemmas, and tragedy of the commons.
Rational Choice Theory: Theoretical framework of public choice theory that assumes individuals behave rationally and maximize their self-interest. Rational choice theory can be applied to collective action by studying the motives of individuals who participate in group decision-making processes.
Game Theory: A mathematical framework that provides tools for analyzing strategic interactions between players. Game theory can be helpful to understand the behavior of individuals in collective action situations, especially when dealing with multiple players with conflicting interests.
Public Goods Theory: A branch of public choice theory that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of public goods. Public goods theory includes the provision of public goods, the problem of free-riding, and the possibility of voluntary contribution mechanisms.
Political Institutions: Study of public institutions such as government, voting procedures, and political parties. Political institutions can influence collective action by creating rules and procedures that guide group decision-making processes.
Social Networks: Analysis of social connections between individuals and how they impact collective action. Social networks can be an enabler or a blockage to collective action depending on their structure and nature.
Legal Framework: Study of legal and regulatory frameworks that shape the behavior of individuals and groups. The legal framework can be used to encourage or discourage collective action depending on its design and implementation.
Trust, Social Norms, and Cooperation: An examination of how trust, social norms, and cooperation affect collective action. These factors can play a critical role in bringing individuals together on a common cause or dividing them based on their self-interest.
Public Policy: Study of public policies that aim to address collective action problems such as environmental protection, national security, and infrastructure development. Public policy can be an effective tool for achieving collective action by providing rewards or penalties to individuals based on their actions.
Interpreting Collective Action Outcomes: The analysis of the outcomes of collective action and how they reflect on the decision-making process, coalition formation, and individual behavior. Understanding the outcomes of collective action is important to create more effective public policies and institutions that foster collective action.
Voting: A process by which individuals express their preferences and choose candidates or policy alternatives for the common good.
Petitioning: A process by which citizens gather signatures or support for a particular cause, which can then be presented to a governing body or decision-maker.
Protesting: A form of collective action that involves the gathering of individuals to express dissatisfaction with policies or decisions made by a governing body or organization.
Boycotting: A form of collective action that seeks to put economic pressure on an individual, organization or governing body to change their policies or to meet certain demands.
Lobbying: A process by which individuals or groups use their influence to shape public policy, through the persuasion of politicians and other decision-makers.
Striking: A form of collective action by workers, in which they refuse to work in order to push for better wages, benefits or working conditions.
Direct action: A form of collective action that involves the use of non-violent or violent means to make a statement or to pressure a governing body to take action.
Forming interest groups: A process by which individuals with a similar set of interests, goals or concerns organize together to influence policy or decision-making.
Online activism: A form of collective action that involves the use of social media or online platforms to promote a cause or to organize a protest or boycott.
Community organizing: A process by which individuals or groups work to unite communities around a common cause, and to educate people on particular issues or concerns.
Civil disobedience: A form of collective action that involves the intentional breaking of laws or rules in order to make a statement or to bring about change.
Mutual aid: A process by which individuals or groups in a community organize themselves to provide assistance to those in need, without relying on a government or other outside entity.
Cooperatives: A form of collective action that involves individuals or groups coming together to pool resources and share risks, often for economic or social purposes.
Formal bargaining: A process by which recognized groups representing employers and employees negotiate collectively over wages, working conditions, and benefits.
Public interest litigation: A process by which individuals or groups seek legal remedies to address concerns related to public policy, corruption or other governance issues.
"It is a term that has formulations and theories in many areas of the social sciences including psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science, and economics."