The Strength of Pushback Collective Identity in a Fragmented Mass Movement

Bibliographic Data

ID6209928
AuthorsElise Lobbedez (0000-0002-6044-3634, The authors of this article warmly thank Valerie Arnhold, David Courpasson, Claire Le Breton, and Dima Younes for their friendly reviews on earlier versions. We would also like to show our gratitude to the participants of the several workshops and conferences where we had the opportunity to present our work and especially to the people who kindly accepted to discuss our paper in these events. In particular, we thank the participants of 2020 EGOS conference’s subtheme “Collective Action in Crisis?”..., corresponding author), Lisa Buchter (0000-0001-7899-6061, The authors of this article warmly thank Valerie Arnhold, David Courpasson, Claire Le Breton, and Dima Younes for their friendly reviews on earlier versions. We would also like to show our gratitude to the participants of the several workshops and conferences where we had the opportunity to present our work and especially to the people who kindly accepted to discuss our paper in these events. In particular, we thank the participants of 2020 EGOS conference’s subtheme “Collective Action in Crisis?”...)
Year2023
Volume28
Issue1
Pages61-88
Publication date2023-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueMobilization An International Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1086-671X • E-ISSN: 1938-1514
PublisherMobilization Journal (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.17813/1086-671x-28-1-61
OpenAlexW4353064259
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited40

This article examines how social movement actors can forge and sustain a collective identity despite heterogeneous backgrounds and the absence of pre-existing commonalities and networks. Based on an ethnography of the French yellow vest movement, we build on the concept of reactive identity to describe two key mechanisms. First, we show this movement’s collective identity crystallized through the actors’ shared reactions to the broader sociopolitical environment. Then, we describe how identification processes are reinforced when social movement actors feel rejected, stigmatized, and repressed in their interactions with national institutions, civil society, and individuals. We explain how these mechanisms are useful for understanding the development of collective identities within mass movements, which encompass individuals with various and fragmented identities. Exploring new dimensions of reaction beyond the us-versus-them mechanisms of identity formation, we show how collective identity can coalesce for groups who became stigmatized as they mobilize to oppose their environment

Aesthetics · Civil society · Collective action · Collective identity · Ethnography · Identity formation · Political science · Politics · Self-concept · Social group · Social identity theory · Social movement · Social science · Sociology · Anthropology · Anthropology: Ethics, History, Culture · Gender Studies · Law · Psychology · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Social Psychology

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