Abstract

According to the institutionalization thesis, organizations representing social movements inexorably evolve toward a higher degree of internal structuring, greater distancing between bases and leaders, and moderating their demands and action repertoire. The fieldwork which we have carried out on three social movements in Catalonia (Spain) leads us to question issues raised by this thesis such as the concept of linear development, irreversibility, or underlying political standpoints that are exclusively State based. Furthermore, we consider it necessary to reflect on the possible key factors that can explain the complex relationship between social movements and public institutions in the context of three main changes that took place in Western democracies: the State’s acceptance of demands and discourses of the social movements, the restructuring of the welfare state, and changes in the State’s decision-making processes.