Blog 9.

In Chapter 14 of Persuasion and Social Movements, Stewart, Smith, and Denton Jr. introduce to us resisting social movements. Specifically they give us strategies used by institutions to help social movements not achieve their desired goal. These strategies include conferring of powers on institutions, democracy and resistance to social movements, the strategy of evasion, the strategy of counter-persuasion, the strategy of coercive persuasion, and the strategy of adjustment.

            The one strategy I am going to focus on is the strategy of coercive persuasion. Coercive persuasion involves violence or force in order to cause a social movement to a desirable end. The strategy of coercive persuasion is broken down into six subcategories. These subcategories include expulsion, restrictive legislation and policies, harassment, use of surrogates, infiltration, and arrests and use of courts. Expulsion involves several different scenarios. Expulsion can be closing factories or deporting foreign born. Restrictive legislation and policies is when people implement a sort of law or policy in order to prevent a social movement from progressing. Harassment involves an institution making fun of protestors in order to show them who has the power. Use of surrogates involves institutions forming opposing social movements to challenge the other social movement’s ideals. Infiltration involves institutions getting involved with the opposing social movement in order to gain information. Lastly, arrests and use of courts involves arresting protestors and leaders of the social movement in order to hinder the social movement from reaching their goal. 

            One example of an institution using the strategy of coercive persuasion comes from “Occupy Wall Street.” This example can be found at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/23/occupy-wall-street-arrests_n_3326640.html.

In the article it fully resembles the strategy of coercive persuasion through its subtopic of arrests and use of courts. The article includes the fact that “nearly 8,000 Occupy Wall Street protestors have been arrested, while not one banker has been prosecuted for the actions that lead up to the country's financial meltdown.” The article fully represents how the police are preventing the social movement from progressing through the arrests of protestors.