Books by Alexander Hensby
Giving a comprehensive empirical account of the recent student protests in the UK, this book deve... more Giving a comprehensive empirical account of the recent student protests in the UK, this book develops our understanding of the social and political pathways to protest participation and non-participation in contemporary society.
There is a strong need to understand the changing dynamics of contemporary youth participation: how they engage, what repertoires are considered efficacious, and their motivations to get involved.This book uses the 2010/11 UK student protests against fees and cuts as a case study for analysing some of the key paths and barriers to political participation today. These paths and barriers – which include an individual’s family socialisation, network positioning, and group identification (and dis-identification) – help us explain why some people convert their political sympathies and interests into action, and why others do not. Drawing on an original survey dataset of students, the book shows how and why students responded in the way that they did, whether by occupying buildings, joining marches, signing petitions, or not participating at all. Considering this in the context of other student movements across the globe, the book’s combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, and its theoretical contribution provide a more holistic picture of student protest than is found in existing publications on activism.
"Clear, concise and easy to read, this book explores key debates around global studies today. It ... more "Clear, concise and easy to read, this book explores key debates around global studies today. It examines the processes and dynamics of globalization that impact on our modern world through clear explanations of complex theories.
The book:
- Presents 8 key models of global change
- Brings together the ways in which sociology, politics and economics think about global studies
- Covers a diverse range of major theorists in the field, from Giddens to Huntington, from Wallerstein to Fukuyama
- Brings to life contemporary issues, including the global financial crisis and the war on terror
Theorizing Global Studies is essential resading for all students of Sociology, Politics, International Relations and Global Studies."
Papers by Alexander Hensby
Palgrave studies in race, inequality and social justice in education, 2024
Palgrave studies in race, inequality and social justice in education, 2024
Palgrave studies in race, inequality and social justice in education, 2024
Palgrave studies in race, inequality and social justice in education, 2024
Palgrave studies in race, inequality and social justice in education, 2024
Despite its ubiquity as the term, ‘student movements’ are not easy to build or sustain. This is b... more Despite its ubiquity as the term, ‘student movements’ are not easy to build or sustain. This is because campus activism typically features a diversity of political views and tactical preferences, and is organisationally restricted by the constant turnover of graduating cohorts. This chapter uses the 2010/11 UK student protests to explore some of the challenges students face in building a wider student movement. United initially by a common grievance of rising tuition fees, students responded quickly with a multi-repertoire mass campaign. Yet its tactical breadth generated diverging collective experiences and identities, and once the fees were passed by Government these identities proved difficult to unite as an overarching movement.
Current Sociology, 2019
UK students’ desire to create disruptive, media-friendly ‘events’ during the 2010–11 protests aga... more UK students’ desire to create disruptive, media-friendly ‘events’ during the 2010–11 protests against fees and cuts is reflective of wider cycles and processes in student activism history. First, constant cohort turnover restricts students’ ability to convert campaigns into durable movements, necessitating that they must periodically ‘start from scratch’. This informs a second process, namely the need to gain the attention of mainstream media, as this can potentially amplify students’ grievances far beyond their own organizational capacities. Both have shaped student activism over the past 50 years, compelling contemporary students to create protest events that live up to their radical history. These processes were evident in autumn 2010, when an NUS demonstration saw students attack and briefly occupy Conservative Party headquarters at 30 Millbank. The protest’s mass mediation was central to activists’ ‘eventing’ processes, and provided the spark for the radical UK-wide campaign th...
Notes, 2016
a stage. Meanwhile, audiences and performers made connections between the music and the civil rig... more a stage. Meanwhile, audiences and performers made connections between the music and the civil rights movement. One chapter is devoted to what Fosler-Lussier calls the 'double-edged diplomacy of popular music' (p. 143). For the officials in Washington, the problem with pop was that it was 'pure entertainment', and as such it could do 'nothing'. This concern was mitigated by the association that could be made between popular music and protest. This meant that the State Department favoured the blues-Junior Wells and Buddy Guy were presented to audiences in Africaand folk-The Phoenix singers visited Egypt. Rock music, too, featured towards the end of the programme. Blood, Sweat and Tears played gigs in Eastern Europewhich earned the band the ire of the Yippies. This response delighted the State Department who, because they were also getting criticised by the political right, could claim that BST represented the political centre ground. Meanwhile, the music itself served to excite audiences behind the Iron Curtain, where 'the West's popular music was both more commonly heard and more stringently forbidden than was its art music' (p. 170). The story told by this book is based on primary sources, and vividly captures the thinking of the government officials and diplomats in the countries that were visited. It also documents the experiences of the musicians and their audiences. For some who heard the music, this was their first ever encounter with an American; some of the musicians actively embraced their role as ambassadors. Fosler-Lussier argues that, while the USA's ambitions might look like top-down imperialism, 'if we look from the bottom up. .. we see an intensive process of negotiation and engagement' (p. 7). While there were imperial ambitions at work, there was also a developing globalisation. The book makes this case convincingly. In doing so, it has much to say about the values and meanings to be attributed to music, and about how its performance does things (both political and social) to the world in which it circulates, and how, in turn, music's involvement with government changes it. Fosler-Lussier talks, for example, of how the State Department's use of jazz facilitated its 'institutionalisation' and its inclusion in the canon (p. 100). She also notes that, while it might have been supposed that popular music evoked and inspired ideas of freedom, this was not what the State Department wanted or how it evaluated its programme's success. Rather, Washington was more interested in the music's acceptance. And towards the end, Fosler-Lussier wryly notes: 'The US embassy in Moscow routinely reported to Washington on the vicissitudes of Soviet musical judgements as if they corresponded to other political matters' (p. 185).
Social Movement Studies, 2016
Much has been written in recent years about the growing impact of social media on social movement... more Much has been written in recent years about the growing impact of social media on social movements. Whilst authors have extolled the virtues of Facebook and Twitter as organisational and informational tools for a range of movements from the Arab Spring to Occupy, evidence remains patchy as to under what conditions social media is most effective at engaging and mobilising the wider public. Authors such as Bennett and Segerberg (2012) have claimed that the openness of information and communications technology (ICT) networks have fundamentally reshaped how social movements organise and interact, creating new mobilising opportunities under an emerging 'connective action' logic. However, studies by Flesher Fominaya (2015) and Kavada (2015) point to more familiar 'collective action' tensions around identity and hierarchy with recent movements' social media use. Drawing on the work of Tarrow (1998), this article considers the impact of cycle effects on the effectiveness of social media as a mobilising and organising tool for the 2010/11 UK student protests. Although preceding the broader 'movement of the squares' contention cycle (Kavada, 2015), the protests made similar use of social media for generating mass participation. Yet its mobilising power was dependent on a number of temporal factors, including amplification through mainstream media, and the urgency of its initial campaign goal. Moreover, towards the end of the cycle, activists were found to be using social media-via 'secret' Facebook groups-in ways that reinforced emerging group hierarchies, arguably contradicting their initial commitment to openaccess networks and participatory democracy.
Theorizing Global Studies, 2011
Theorizing Global Studies, 2011
Theorizing Global Studies, 2011
Sociology, 2015
As a topic in its own right, political non-participation is under-studied in the social sciences.... more As a topic in its own right, political non-participation is under-studied in the social sciences. While existing approaches have tended to focus on the gaps between engagement patterns and public policy, or the rational disincentives to an individual’s participation, less attention has been paid to the explanatory power of socio-cultural factors. Taking its lead from studies by Oegema and Klandermans and Norgaard, this article uses recent student protests in the UK as a case study for exploring non-participation. Drawing on survey and interview data, findings indicate that whereas network access and collective identification are commonly seen as helping produce and sustain political participation, networks of collective dis-identification might help to produce and sustain political non-participation.
Choice Reviews Online, 2013
Preface ix Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Chapter 2: Who Are Conservative Students? 29 Chapter 3: Spon... more Preface ix Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Chapter 2: Who Are Conservative Students? 29 Chapter 3: Sponsored Conservatism: The Landscape of National Conservative Organizations 76 Chapter 4: How Conservatives Think about Campus: The Effects of College Reputations, Social Scenes, and Academics on Student Experience 113 Chapter 5: Provoking Liberals and Campaigning for Republicans: Two Conservative Styles at the Western Public Universities 161 Chapter 6: Civilized Discourse, Highbrow Provocation, and a Fuller Embrace of Campaigning: Three Conservative Styles at Eastern Elite University 213 Chapter 7: Conservative Femininity 270 Chapter 8: The Theory behind the Findings: How Studying College Conservatives Extends Our Understanding of Higher Education, Politics, and Culture 309 Notes 327 References 363 Index 381
Choice Reviews Online, 2011
Introduction Globalization Liberalization Polarization Americanization McDonaldization Creolizati... more Introduction Globalization Liberalization Polarization Americanization McDonaldization Creolization Transnationalization Balkanization Conclusion
Contemporary Social Science, 2013
This PhD thesis may well be the most intensely individualistic thing I have ever done in my life,... more This PhD thesis may well be the most intensely individualistic thing I have ever done in my life, but it would not have been possible without the invaluable support of some very important people. First and foremost, I wish to thank my supervisors Hugo Gorringe and Michael Rosie. Given that the student protests case study had yet to happen when I began my PhD in September 2010, I am thoroughly grateful for their mentorship and advice throughout this project's unusual evolution. Initially, they provided a great deal of support in helping me secure an ESRC studentship to fund my research. Once I began my studies, I quickly became distracted by the sudden surge of movements, campaigns and revolutions occurring between 2010 and 2011, and it was Hugo and Michael who encouraged me to follow events to assess their research potential, and, crucially, pulled me back into reality once it was time to commit to a single case study. Moreover, throughout fieldwork and the writing-up process they provided regular feedback and advice as the thesis took shape. In short, this project simply would not have been possible without their hard work and support. I am also grateful for the many debates and discussions I have had with activists and academics working on student activism, social movements and radical politics over the past four years. To this end, I would particularly like to thank Colin Crouch, Peter Hopkins, Joseph Ibrahim, Christopher Rootes, Lee Salter, Clare Saunders and Dave Tinham for their wise words and valued insights. Special mention should be reserved for Bram Meuleman and Joanne Sibthorpe, both of whom acted as enthusiastic co-conspirators during some of my more impulsive forays into activism ethnography. I am also grateful for the advice provided by Ross Bond, Paul Norris, and Taylor Spears on the project's quantitative aspects. For the realisation of the research design, there are many people I must thank, albeit anonymously. The distribution of the survey across 22 universities would have been impossible were it not for some 90 staff members from across the UK who agreed to forward my email to students in their schools, departments and colleges. The scope and depth of this project owes a great deal to their generosity. I am also indebted to student interview gatekeepers at Edinburgh, UCL and Warwick, each of whom went out of their way to put me in touch with members of each campus's activism network. Of course, I must express my deep gratitude to the 56 students who agreed to be interviewed for this project. In sharing with me their time, insight, honesty and humour, they have ultimately made this project what it is. Contents Chapter 1-Introduction………………………………...…………...11 1. Introduction: Millbank tendency 2. Studying participation/non-participation 3. The fees and cuts protests as a case study Higher education funding and injustice Creating identity: students, first-time voters, and the 'jilted generation' Protest and making history: the possibility of agency 4. Researching the student protests The research project The structure of the thesis Chapter 2-Literature review: theory and research on political participation and non-participation……….…………...29 Meanwhile, on the event's Facebook page and Twitter hashtag (#nov9) students and activists were monitoring the demonstration and its media coverage: some blamed the police for being too aggressive, others criticised the marchers for being too timid, stressing the need for direct action to attract more press attention. On the ground, however, opportunities seemed limited: with each passing barricade, tension built between marchers and police, boiling over on some occasions into direct confrontations as marchers were arrested (videos of which were soon posted on YouTube). An attempt to set up a tent occupation of Trafalgar Square was quickly quashed. By the time the march reached London Wall, a police dispersal order saw marchers being tightly encircled by a police line (a tactic known as 'kettling') with small numbers being allowed to filter out at set intervals. By 5pm, the march was over. Among demonstrators the general feeling was that the protest had been effectively snuffed outaside from the left-leaning Guardian, there was very little coverage in the national press. In the now-opened side-streets, student representatives took roll-calls of names before boarding their minibuses back home. Despite the limitations imposed by police, some students had found ways of making the march worthwhile. Among students interviewed for this research, Yvonne, a first-year undergraduate at the University of Warwick, admitted that she had also been partly attracted by a union-subsidised day out in London. Ronnie, a Warwick postgraduate and experienced activist, recalled enjoying the march because it was ultimately 'a day out with people who I get on with quite well'. For many student activists, however, 9 th November was recalled with much negativity, the march described variously by other interviewees as 'unpleasant' (Peter, Edinburgh), 'really bad' (Marianne, Cambridge), 'disempowering' (Brett, UCL) and 'the worst demo ever' (Rhiannon, Edinburgh). Angie, a second-year undergraduate at Cambridge recalled that she and her friends attended out of a 'sense of duty', convinced that they would all get kettled. Clearly, the police tactics were designed to stifle what might be considered more confrontational or spontaneous actions. For John, an Edinburgh student, there was no question as to why this was the case: 'it was because of Millbank. No-one was pretending it wasn't. They didn't want it to happen again'. 'Millbank' was on a lot of people's minds. Almost exactly a year previously, the National Student Union's (NUS) march against Government plans to enact mass-cuts to higher education and treble the cap on tuition fees for students in England had attracted 52,000 students, with over one hundred universities represented. The demonstration climaxed with a small group of students breaking off from the main march to attack the Conservative Party's campaign headquarters at 30 Millbank. With some of the crowd diverging from the main
Organization, 2011
Over the past few decades, the legitimacy of membership-based social movement organizations (SMOs... more Over the past few decades, the legitimacy of membership-based social movement organizations (SMOs) has been called into question (Bosso, 2005; Jordan and Maloney, 1997, 2007; Putnam, 2000). As professionally-run institutions, SMOs have been accused of a preoccupation with maintaining income through membership marketing at the expense of fostering active participation among their members. In a nutshell, SMOs are seen to be self-serving ‘protest businesses’ which contribute little to social movement activism, and civic engagement in general. Our research into student members of a leading SMO takes issue with this assertion. Whilst organizationally SMOs can appear bureaucratic and impersonal in their marketing strategies, it cannot be assumed that this approach is only capable of attracting passive ‘chequebook activists’. Our findings suggest that younger members feel a sense of loyalty and trust towards the SMO as an effective ‘brand leader’ in its field, though this is by no means un...
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Books by Alexander Hensby
There is a strong need to understand the changing dynamics of contemporary youth participation: how they engage, what repertoires are considered efficacious, and their motivations to get involved.This book uses the 2010/11 UK student protests against fees and cuts as a case study for analysing some of the key paths and barriers to political participation today. These paths and barriers – which include an individual’s family socialisation, network positioning, and group identification (and dis-identification) – help us explain why some people convert their political sympathies and interests into action, and why others do not. Drawing on an original survey dataset of students, the book shows how and why students responded in the way that they did, whether by occupying buildings, joining marches, signing petitions, or not participating at all. Considering this in the context of other student movements across the globe, the book’s combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, and its theoretical contribution provide a more holistic picture of student protest than is found in existing publications on activism.
The book:
- Presents 8 key models of global change
- Brings together the ways in which sociology, politics and economics think about global studies
- Covers a diverse range of major theorists in the field, from Giddens to Huntington, from Wallerstein to Fukuyama
- Brings to life contemporary issues, including the global financial crisis and the war on terror
Theorizing Global Studies is essential resading for all students of Sociology, Politics, International Relations and Global Studies."
Papers by Alexander Hensby
There is a strong need to understand the changing dynamics of contemporary youth participation: how they engage, what repertoires are considered efficacious, and their motivations to get involved.This book uses the 2010/11 UK student protests against fees and cuts as a case study for analysing some of the key paths and barriers to political participation today. These paths and barriers – which include an individual’s family socialisation, network positioning, and group identification (and dis-identification) – help us explain why some people convert their political sympathies and interests into action, and why others do not. Drawing on an original survey dataset of students, the book shows how and why students responded in the way that they did, whether by occupying buildings, joining marches, signing petitions, or not participating at all. Considering this in the context of other student movements across the globe, the book’s combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, and its theoretical contribution provide a more holistic picture of student protest than is found in existing publications on activism.
The book:
- Presents 8 key models of global change
- Brings together the ways in which sociology, politics and economics think about global studies
- Covers a diverse range of major theorists in the field, from Giddens to Huntington, from Wallerstein to Fukuyama
- Brings to life contemporary issues, including the global financial crisis and the war on terror
Theorizing Global Studies is essential resading for all students of Sociology, Politics, International Relations and Global Studies."
news coverage of the recent ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings, the emergence of ‘open source’ protest networks such as UK Uncut, the Tea Party movement, not to mention the controversy created by Wikileaks’ publishing of classified government papers. For the comparatively snail-paced world of academic publishing, however, capturing activist new media in its present form is something of a Sisyphean task, with new innovations in media technology advancing the narrative ever-forward. It is therefore unsurprising that the above examples are too recent to make it into Leah A. Lievrouw’s Alternative and Activist
New Media. This does not prove a major hindrance, however, as instead of breathlessly chasing activist media’s ever-unfurling present, Lievrouw sets out, instead,on the more important task of explaining how we got here in the first place.
For students who opposed to the government’s HE policy but remained inactive, however, doubts remained over the efficacy and the meaningfulness of protest participation. This paper will explore the relationship between participation and non-participation in two ways. First, it will use original survey data to identify key social and political indicators which make protest participation more or less likely. Second, the paper will use original interview data with student protest participants and non-participants to compare attitudes of towards the student protests and the broader role of activism in the political process.
tuition fees for students in England represented an issue of widespread grievance for the student population, a grievance which was compounded for many by the Liberal Democrats’ decision to u-turn on its 2010 election campaign pledge. The student response featured large- scale regional and national demonstrations, as well as the formation of a network of simultaneous campus occupations across the UK, arguably presenting a greater scale and diversity of protest than had been seen for a generation. Despite these multiple participatory opportunities, however, student participation did not come close to matching the scale of opposition to trebled fees and university funding cuts as articulated in surveys. This raises fundamental questions about the social and political differences between participants and non-participants.
Using original survey data of students from 22 UK universities, and 56 in-depth interviews with students from 6 universities, this research examines social and political patterns and relations between high, medium and low-cost/risk participants, and non-participants. Taking
into account the idea of the university campus as a network of actors, the research posits that networks may preclude as well as facilitate participation. The research studies in detail the formation and maintenance of student activism networks – including their collective
identifications and dis-identifications. Conversely, the study also looks at the social networks of non-participants, and how these may help to socially produce and sustain non- participation at an agency level. Finally, the research considers whether the protests against fees and cuts should be seen as a unified movement, and whether student attitudes taken together reveal a broadly-identifiable ‘participatory ideal’.