Becoming a Movement: Identity and Narratives in the European Global Justice Movement (Radical Subjects in International Politics) - Hardcover

Priska Daphi

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1786603799 ISBN 13: 9781786603791

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (UK), 2017

Synopsis

Social movement scholars have become increasingly interested in the role of stories in contentious politics. Stories may facilitate the mobilization of activists and strengthen the resonance of their claims within public discourse and institutional politics. This open access book explores the role of narratives in building collective identity – a vital element in activists’ continued commitment. While often claimed important, the connection between narratives and movement identity remains understudied. Drawing on a rich pool of original data, the book’s analysis focusses on the Global Justice Movement (GJM), a movement known for its diversity of political perspectives. Based on a comparison of different national constellations of the GJM in Europe, the book demonstrates the centrality of activists’ narratives in forming and maintaining movement identity and in making the GJM more enduring.

The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by Goethe University Frankfurt am Main

About this title

About the Author

Priska Daphi is Professor of Conflict Sociology at Bielefeld University, Germany.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Becoming a Movement

Identity, Narrative and Memory in the European Global Justice Movement

By Priska Daphi

Rowman & Littlefield International, Ltd.

Copyright © 2017 Priska Daphi
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-78660-379-1

Contents

List of Abbreviations, 
List of Illustrations, 
Introduction: Narrating the Global Justice Movement in Europe, 
1 Movement Identity, Narrative and Memory, 
2 Differences in Narrating the GJM, 
3 The Shared GJM Narrative, 
4 The GJM Narrative and Movement Identity, 
Conclusion: Narrative Identity and Movement Continuity, 
Acknowledgements, 
Appendix A: Interviews and Focus Groups with GJM Activists, 
Appendix B: Selection of GJM Documents, 
Bibliography, 
Cited GJM Documents, 
Index, 

CHAPTER 1

Movement Identity, Narrative and Memory

Since the 'cultural turn' in social movement studies, collective identity has been a central theme in research about political activism. Collective identity is widely understood as constitutive of social movements since activists' collective actions and continued commitment depend on the commonalities they recognise among each other. Moreover, collective identity is considered a concept that allows insights into movement dynamics that other approaches to social movements left largely unaddressed, in particular resource mobilisation and political process models owing to their structural and instrumental focus. This concerns especially the questions how collective actors and interests emerge and what motivates collective actions and strategies beyond calculations of costs and benefits (Polletta & Jasper, 2001; Flesher Fominaya, 2010a). Accordingly, collective identity is frequently drawn upon to explain a variety of movement dynamics, including the emergence, trajectories and outcomes of movements.

The frequent use of the term, however, stands in stark contrast with its fragmentary conceptualisation (Rucht, 1995; Daphi, 2011). Francesca Polletta and James Jasper (2001) similarly argue that 'collective identity has been forced to do too much analytically', leaving key questions about how collective identity is formed unanswered (p. 284). In this way, studies often take the existence of collective identity for granted rather than exploring its formation empirically (Hunt & Benford, 2008). Furthermore, I argue that studies that do examine the construction of movement identity tend to focus on either its cognitive or emotional dimension, neglecting the interplay of these dimensions.

With the aim to provide a more comprehensive insight into collective identity formation, this book analyses the interplay of cognitive, relational and emotional dynamics of identity formation by drawing on a narrative approach. Focusing in particular on collective narratives about the movement's past, the analysis sheds light on connections between identity, narrative and memory and brings together the recently growing strand of research on narratives with that on memory in social movements. The following outlines the book's conceptual and analytical approach, first defining collective identity as a group characteristic constructed in social interaction , which outlines shared cognitions, social boundaries and emotional proximity. Second, I argue that a narrative approach to movement identity is particularly conducive to jointly considering collective identity's cognitive, relational and emotional dimensions. Third, I add detail to the book's focus on a particular type of narrative, 'group memories', that is, collective narratives about a group's history, drawing on the literature on collective memory. Fourth, I propose an analytical procedure that combines content and structural analysis of narratives. Finally, I present the data drawn upon in this book.

COLLECTIVE IDENTITY IN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

Movement identity refers to the collective identity of a social movement. In contrast to individual and social identity, collective identity concerns the definition of a collective as a group with certain commonalities that members ascribe to it in interaction. This book hence considers collective identity as socially constructed (Blumer, 1969; Berger & Luckmann, 1991). This means that commonalities are not simply a matter of preexisting similarities (e.g., personal dispositions) or objectively shared interested, but are actively and continuously constructed and reconstructed in social interaction (Melucci, 1989, 1996; Taylor and Whittier, 1992; Hunt et al., 1994; Rucht, 1995; Eder, 2000; Flesher Fominaya, 2010a). The formation of collective identity thus involves considerable efforts in meaning making, in so-called identity work (Snow & Anderson, 1987). Such 'identity work' takes place in continued interactions that actors engage in individually and collectively constructing commonalities in relation to other actors, including opponents (Snow & McAdam, 2001). 'Imaginations about commonalities' (Jasper & McGarry, 2015), hence, are continuous 'interactional accomplishments' (Hunt & Benford, 2008).

Furthermore, this book – contrary to other publications on movement identity – locates collective identity at the group level (Melucci, 1996; Gamson, 1992; Flesher Fominaya, 2010a) rather than the individual level: Collective identity is understood to refer to the characteristics of a group rather than individuals' qualities or connections to the group. In this vein, collective identity goes beyond the sum of individual identities and identification processes and constitutes a social fact sui generis (Durkheim, 1965), a set of shared meanings that influences social action (Billig, 1995; Eder, 2009; Johnston et al., 1994). As such, collective identity also differs from social identity since it is constitutive of groups: members of the group are not only determined externally as such, but actively share and formulate commonalities (Rucht, 2011). Hence, while related, personal, social and collective identities concern different levels of identity work.

What does collective identity consist of? What are its central 'ingredients' (Daphi & Rucht, 2011)? There are various distinctions between collective identity's different dimensions (e.g., Taylor & Whittier, 1992; Hunt & Benford, 2008). I draw an analytic distinction between three dimensions – shared cognitions, social boundaries and emotional proximity. This combines Alberto Melucci's seminal distinction between collective identity's cognitive, relational and emotional dimensions with Verta Taylor and Nancy Whittier's (1992) influential conceptualisation of movement identity. Cognitive, relational and emotional dimensions of identity formation, of course, overlap empirically; for example, social boundaries may draw on differences in cognitive definitions or feelings of anger. However, their distinction provides a useful analytical tool to understand different elements of identity formation.

First, a shared outlook on the world is crucial in defining a collective as a group since an outlook defines the group's ends, means and field of action (Melucci, 1996). Such shared cognitions include what Taylor and Whittier (1992) define as consciousness: 'the interpretative frameworks that emerge out of a challenging group's struggle to define and realize its interests' (p. 111). Shared cognitions hence are malleable; they are continuously negotiated and renegotiated (della Porta et al., 2006). They centrally include diagnostic and prognostic frames, that is, shared views on relevant issues, sources of problems and solutions (see details in the next section), but they may also go beyond these kind of frames and encompass ideologies and normative beliefs (Eder, 2011).

Second, collective identity formation is embedded into a 'network of active relationships' (Melucci, 1996), which draws social boundaries. Social boundaries are crucial to forming collective identity as the image of 'the other' serves as a point of reference for one's own group (Taylor & Whittier, 1992; Rucht, 1995; Gamson, 1997; Eder, 2011; Tilly, 2002). This draws on Alain Touraine's (1977, 1981) seminal argument that conflict with another group is constitutive of social movements. The perceived similarity of a group essentially draws on the continuous contrast between 'us' and 'them', between the outside and inside. The 'others' may concern a variety of actors ranging from the movement's adversaries to other movements. Internal differentiations may also play a role, for example, signalling differences in the coherence of 'our' group versus 'theirs' (see Daphi, 2014a, 2014b).

Third, construction of commonality draws on emotional proximity. Melucci (1996) points out that collective identity requires 'a certain degree of emotional investment', which facilitates feeling like part of a community (p. 80). In this vein, some scholars highlight that the strength of an identity comes from its emotional side (e.g., Goodwin et al., 2001). Among activists' broad spectrum of individual emotions, I argue that emotional proximity in particular is crucial to movement identity. Emotional proximity refers to the shared feelings of closeness within and distance to the outside and includes what James Jasper (1998, 2014) defines as reciprocal and shared emotions on a group level. Reciprocal emotions concern people's ongoing feelings towards each other, including feelings such as trust and admiration but also envy and resentment. Shared emotions in contrast are short lived and context specific, occurring in reaction to external factors (e.g., the police blocking the road) and include fear, surprise, anger, disgust, joy and sadness (Jasper, 1998, 2014). For collective identity formation, both sets of feelings gain their power from being expressed jointly, relived in rituals and recognised as shared (e.g., collective outrage).

Beyond sharing these three dimensions, movement identity, of course, takes different forms within each movement. Collective identity may be more concrete or abstract (e.g., Rucht, 1995), more open or more closed (e.g., della Porta, 2005a), as well as more contested or consensual (e.g., Holland et al., 2008; Barnes, 2015). Large and heterogeneous movements such as the Global Justice Movement (GJM) have been observed to base on a movement identity that in contrast to others is more open in terms of being tolerant to differences and more broad in terms of defining general but not all-encompassing commonalities (see e.g., della Porta, 2005a; Daro, 2009; Flesher Fominaya, 2010b; Daphi, 2014b). The overall movement identity hence in these cases coexists with several group-specific identities. While the form that collective identity takes in heterogeneous and networked movements may be more inclusive and fluid, collective identity here nonetheless remains a crucial factor in fostering joint action. These movements' tolerance of differences does not relieve us from answering the question how commonalities are defined; on the contrary, it makes this question all the more pressing.

DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO COLLECTIVE IDENTITY

Three different approaches can be distinguished within existing empirical studies of movement identity: frame analysis, collective enactment and narrative approaches (see also Daphi, 2011). While each approach offers unique insights into the processes of forming movement identity, I argue that particularly the first two tend to focus on either cognitive or emotional dimensions of collective identity. While all approaches consider collective identity's relational dimension to a certain extent, empirical studies employing frame analysis primarily focus on identity's cognitive dimension; and those following enactment approaches mostly focus on emotions. Narrative approaches, in contrast, address the interplay of relational, cognitive and emotional dimensions to a larger extent. In order to provide a comprehensive insight into all three dimensions of collective identity formation, this book hence draws on a narrative approach.

Frame Analysis

The majority of empirical research on movement identity focuses on activists' framing; this is the case in early studies (e.g., Snow et al., 1986; Snow & Benford, 1992; Tarrow, 1992; Gerhards & Rucht, 1992) as well as more recent research (e.g., Ferree et al., 2002; Andretta et al., 2003; Payerhin & Zirakzadeh, 2006; Dufour & Giraud, 2007; Tucker, 2013; Kern & Nam, 2013). Frame analysis constitutes a well-developed and prominent approach in the literature on social movements overall. Drawing on Goffman (1974), frame analyses focus on activists' interpretative schemata that simplify and condense the 'world out there' (Snow & Benford, 1992, p. 137). Particular attention is paid to those schemata that identify problems and their causes (diagnostic frames) and specify countermeasures in terms of targets and strategies (prognostic frames). Such shared frames help activists make sense not only of their environments but also of themselves as a movement. Frames proffer, reinforce and elaborate movement identity by attributing characteristics to the movement.

Frame analysis is also very prominent in existing research on the formation of collective identity in the GJM. Donatella della Porta, Massimiliano Andretta, Lorenzo Mosca and Herbert Reiter (2003, 2006), for example, show how a GJM identity 'in the making' drew on a shared 'master frame' condensing the groups' different diagnostic and prognostic framing. Within this master frame, the groups' differing micro-interpretations (e.g., international solidarity, communist anti-capitalism) were merged into a shared definition of the problem (neoliberal globalisation) of culprits (international organisations such as the World Bank as well as multinational corporations) and of countermeasures (central among them being the globalisation of social rights).

Collective Enactment

Studies focusing on collective enactment emphasise that holding shared views and goals alone is not sufficient for the construction of collective identity; that is, these shared views and goals need to be enacted collectively (see also Rucht, 1995). Scholars of collective enactment argue that while talk is an important resource, it is somewhat less effective in cementing loyalty and a sense of community than is physical action in a public domain, especially if it is emotionally charged and ritualised (e.g., Jasper, 1997; Haunss, 2004, 2011; Juris, 2008b; King, 2003; Flesher Fominaya, 2007, 2010b).

Studies following the collective enactment approach have increased in recent years, and they focus either on actions of everyday life (e.g., Taylor & Whittier, 1992; Haunss, 2004, 2011; Taylor & Leitz, 2010) or on extraordinary actions – mainly protest experiences (e.g., Jasper, 1997; Juris, 2008b; Russo, 2014). In spite of the differences between extraordinary and everyday experiences, both strands of studies within the collective enactment approach share the Durkheimian (1965[1912]) emphasis on the role of ritual actions in bodily co-presence for maintaining emotionally charged boundaries that define movement identities (Aminzade & McAdam, 2001; Collins, 2004). For example, Sebastian Haunss's (2004) study of the German autonomist and gay movements shows how practices of everyday life in movement 'scenes' facilitated the construction of collective identity (see also Leach & Haunss, 2008). With respect to extraordinary activities, for example Jeffrey Juris (2008b) reveals in his study of the GJM's counter-summits in Prague (2000) and Barcelona (2002) how the protests' complex ritual performances and 'techniques of the body' – including occupying urban space, rhythmic dancing and violent confrontations – triggered emotions that strengthen activists' solidarity and generate alternative identities.

Narrative Approaches

Studies following narrative approaches focus on the role of telling stories in building movement identities. While some early publications on movement identities mention stories (e.g., Snow & Anderson, 1987; Snow & Benford, 1988; Hunt et al., 1994; Hunt & Benford, 1994; Melucci, 1996), it is only more recently that the narrative formation of movement identity has been explored more systematically in empirical studies (e.g., Polletta, 1998b, 2006; Fine, 1995, 2002; Nepstad, 2001; Guzik & Golier, 2004; Jacobs, 2002; Steward et al., 2002). Beyond research on social movements, various studies explore the role of narratives in building collective identity, for example, with respect to ethnic identity (e.g., Prins et al., 2013; Smith, 2007; De Fina, 2003, 2006; Anthias, 2002; Cornell, 2000), class identity (Steinmetz, 1992; Somers, 1992), national identity (Kane, 2000; Hart, 1992) or European identity (Eder, 2006; Crolley & Hand, 2006).

Drawing on the classic literature on narration and identity (e.g., White, 1981; MacIntyre, 1981; Ricoeur, 1984; Carr, 1986; Polkinghorne, 1988; Somers, 1992, 1995, 1994), narrative approaches to movement identity consider narratives as constitutive of identity. Narratives play a crucial role in how movements make sense of the world and of themselves (Fine, 1995; Polletta, 1998a, 1998b, 2006; Davis, 2002; Eder, 2011). This is how narratives are not only a medium of representing 'something that already exists independently', but also actively shape reality constituting 'the community, its activities, and its coherence in the first place' (Carr, 1986, p. 126).

(Continues...)

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Edition details

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (UK)
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1786603799
• ISBN 13: 9781786603791
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 164