New technologies as a neglected social movement outcome : the case of activism against animal experimentation

Abstract

Recently, scholars have focused on a growing number of social movement consequences. However, one important type of intended outcome has been neglected: the development of new technologies. Connecting to key insights from Science and Technology Studies, the aim of this article is to contribute to the literature on the effects of activism in two specific ways. First, I present and discuss four causal mechanisms that show how activists trigger the development of new technologies. Second, I demonstrate how the development of new technologies is a highly contested goal among activists, leading to divisions within social movements. Based on novel empirical research, this paper analyzes a crucial and understudied case of a movement pushing for new technologies: the animal rights movement and its efforts to push for alternatives to animal experimentation. Methodologically, I rely on semistructured interviews with activists from different social movement organizations, publications of social movement organizations, and secondary literature.