in social movement was preceded by a growth in welfare rather than a decline in welfare. Therefore, there was a need for new theoretical approaches. Because deprivation was not a viable explanation anymore, researchers needed to search for another explanation. The explanations that were developed were different in the United States than in Europe. The more American-centered structural approaches examined how characteristics of the social and political context enable or hinder protests. The more European-centered social-constructivist approaches rejected the notion that class-struggle is central to social movements, and emphasized other indicators of a collective identity, like gender, ethnicity or sexuality. Structural approaches Political opportunity/political process Certain political contexts should be conducive (or representative) for potential social movement activity. These climates may [dis]favor specific social movements or general social movement activity; the climate may be signaled to potential activists and/or structurally allowing for the possibility of social movement activity (matters of legality); and the political opportunities may be realized through political concessions, social movement participation, or social movement organizational founding. Opportunities may include: Increased access to political decision making power Instability in the alignment of ruling elites (or conflict between elites) Access to elite allies (who can then help a movement in its struggle) Declining capacity and propensity of the state to repress dissent Resource mobilization Social movements need organizations first and foremost. Organizations can acquire and then deploy resources to achieve their well-defined goals. To predict the likelihood that the preferences of a certain group in society will turn into protest, these theorists look at the pre-existing organization of this group. When the population related to a social movement is already highly organized, they are more likely to create organized forms of protest because a higher organization makes it easier to mobilize the necessary resources. Some versions of this theory state that movements operate similar to capitalist enterprises that make efficient use of available resources. Scholars have suggested a typology of five types of resources: Material (money and physical capital); Morale (solidarity, support for the movement's goals); Social-Organizational (organizational strategies, social networks, bloc recruitment); Human (volunteers, staff, leaders); Cultural (prior activist experience, understanding of the issues, collective action know-how) Social movement impact theory This body of work focuses on assessing the impact that a social movement has on society, and what factors might have led to those impacts. The effects of a social movement can resonate on individuals, institutions, cultures,