There is limited research available on the role of social movements in development processes. It is widely acknowledged that establishing a causal relationship between social movements and any observed change in societies is problematic. In particular, attribution is difficult because there are usually multiple variables involved in any process of social change, including other actors and networks. The vast majority of the available case study material on social movements does not focus specifically on assessing their impact, but rather on describing their goals, tactics and experiences of engagement with the state.
Nevertheless, much of the literature on social movements supports the normative assumption that they can foster positive social change. Social movements are often viewed as important in terms of altering balances of power, promoting the empowerment of excluded groups, and improving access to basic resources for the poor. Movements rarely work directly on poverty, nor do they emerge simply because poverty exists, nevertheless they can challenge the prevailing power relations which often (re)produce poverty. Recent empirical work has further elaborated on the ways in which social movements can potentially influence on development. Bebbington (2008) identifies (from the available literature) several causal pathways through which social movements can impact on poverty. These are: Through challenges to the institutions that underlie the political economy of chronic poverty (challenging processes of exploitation or dispossession); through reworking the cultural politics of poverty (challenging ideologies surrounding poverty debates); through direct affects on the assets of the poor (providing access to land, water, shelter); and through engagements with the state.
