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Political opportunity theory, also known as the political process theory or political opportunity structure, is an approach of social movements that is heavily influenced by political sociology. It argues that success or failure of social movements is affected primarily by political opportunities. Social theorists Peter Eisinger, Sidney Tarrow ...
Crime opportunity theory suggests that offenders make rational choices and thus choose targets that offer a high reward with little effort and risk. The occurrence of a crime depends on two things: the presence of at least one motivated offender who is ready and willing to engage in a crime, and the conditions of the environment in which that offender is situated, to wit, opportunities for crime.
Opportunity structures, in sociology and related social science disciplines, are exogenous factors which limit or empower collective actors (social movements). In explaining the evolution of social movements, the structuralist approach emphasizes that factors external to the movements themselves, such as the level and type of state repression ...
Life chances. Life chances (Lebenschancen in German) is a theory in sociology which refers to the opportunities each individual has to improve their quality of life. The concept was introduced by German sociologist Max Weber in the 1920s. [1] It is a probabilistic concept, describing how likely it is, given certain factors, that an individual's ...
Illegitimate opportunities is a sociological theory developed in 1960 by Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin. The theory states that crimes result from a high number of illegitimate opportunities and not from a lack of legitimate ones. The theory was created from Merton's strain theory to help address juvenile delinquency.
Structure and agency. In the social sciences there is a standing debate over the primacy of structure or agency in shaping human behaviour. Structure is the recurrent patterned arrangements which influence or limit the choices and opportunities available. [1] Agency is the capacity of individuals to act independently and to make their own free ...
Opportunity Seized, Opportunity Missed, engraving by Theodoor Galle, 1605. Opportunism is the practice of taking advantage of circumstances – with little regard for principles or with what the consequences are for others. Opportunist actions are expedient actions guided primarily by self-interested motives. The term can be applied to ...
James Samuel Coleman. James Samuel Coleman (May 12, 1926 – March 25, 1995) was an American sociologist, theorist, and empirical researcher, based chiefly at the University of Chicago. [1][2] He served as president of the American Sociological Association in 1991–1992. He studied the sociology of education and public policy, and was one of ...