Sociala rörelser. Politiska möjligheter, framing och samhällsvärderingar. En fallstudie på Sovjetunionen och transitionen till demokrati.

This thesis is a study of social movements and their possibilities to effect politics by infuencing values in society through framing. I've looked upon social movements from a functionalistic-structuralistic perspective, as if they were carriers of values from people that otherwise won't be represented in the political life. The values that the social movements are struggling for can affect both the opinion and the decision-makers since the social movements in an active way are trying ti influence the society. The thesis examines the political opportunities that social movements hav to mobilise and grow. I have looked at different factors that either improve or make the political opportunities worse. In my case study I've examined the social movements in Soviet Union during and before the transition from state socialism to democracy. I've found that the social movements even though they weren't that many in Soviet Union succeeded to put their issues and values on the agenda. Especially the politicians were influenced by their framing