Collective action and citizen opposition movements as comptrollers of government decisions: an overview from analytical sociology

Abstract

This paper describes theoretically, from an analytical sociology perspective, the structure of two psycho–political mechanisms which are suitable for describing and explaining the lack of cooperation in the provision of public goods. Then, some critics are mentioned against the assumptions on behavior foreseen by standard rational choice, pointing out to a more diverse behavioral anthropology and illustrating the aforementioned mechanisms with specific cases in Spain and Latin America. Finally, reflections regarding citizens opposition as social comptrollers of government decisions are provided.