What is Collective Action

Mobilization is an aspect in every sphere of human endeavor. It is the underlying force enabling the actions evident around us, be it in organizations, our individual lives, society and in governance. There are lots of social theories that provide insights into the dynamics of most actions. These could be actions triggered by individuals or groups. However, social theories that actually explain the main reasons as to why mobilization occurs are either rare or very contextual. In some of these cases, mobilization is treated as a process. But if we think about it, Mobilization is a result of a decision. The decision could either be a conscious or an unconscious decision. There ought to be rational factors that explains why these decisions are made towards mobilization. This is because the choice not to mobilize would also have been triggered by a set of factors. This chapter utilities social movement theories, actor network theory, the logic of collective behavior, and the community-based mobilization networks to attempt to identify the factors that will trigger the decision to mobilize.