Contentious Institutionalized Movements: The Case of the Student Movement in Quebec

Social movement scholars generally claim that the institutionalization of social movements goes hand in hand with bureaucratization, professionalization, and normalization or domestication. Simply put, as social movements institutionalize, they allegedly become less disruptive. However, in Quebec the student movement has remained disruptive in spite of a process of institutionalization. We argue that in order to make sense of this relationship between institutionalization and contentiousness, we need to unpack the process of institutionalization and identify internal contradictions and tensions. We contend that in Quebec, a process of fragmented institutionalization and the existence of an alliance system which includes influential non-student actors have allowed radical student associations to reproduce their contentious repertoire over time. The persistence of contention was thus made possible not only in spite of institutionalization, but also thanks to it.