Researcher ORCID Identifier
0009-0008-3904-5974
Graduation Year
2026
Date of Submission
4-2026
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
International Relations
Reader 1
Peter Uvin
Abstract
This thesis examines whether veganism constitutes a social movement through Social Movement Theory frameworks, emphasizing Sidney Tarrow's Power in Movement. Through analysis of veganism's empirical properties (collective challenge, common purpose, collective identity, and sustained interaction) and key procedural mechanisms (framing, mobilizing structures, and repertoires of contention), this thesis determines that veganism fails to meet the empirical criteria of a social movement and is more accurately classified as a lifestyle movement—a movement in which political participation is expressed through private consumption rather than sustained collective contention. Using the Make America Healthy Again movement as a counterexample, this thesis comparatively illustrates the properties and mechanisms veganism lacks. This thesis concludes that until veganism resolves the gap between its political objectives and its dominant mode of participation (sacrifice), it will remain a morally coherent but structurally diffuse lifestyle movement.
Recommended Citation
Carfaro, Luke M., "Morals without Movement: Veganism, Contentious Politics, and the Lifestyle Politics Constraint" (2026). CMC Senior Theses. 4190.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/4190
Included in
Food Studies Commons, Health Communication Commons, Organization Development Commons, Political Theory Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Social Influence and Political Communication Commons, Social Media Commons
