Social Movements and Mobilization of Political Identities

Abstract

The definition and delimitation of collective identities can be instrumental to a successful political mobilization of the citizens, either by state actors, competing political parties and their candidates, or social movements. Competing visions and definitions of collective identities are often used to build support for existing institutions, as well as to change or challenge them. Moreover, partisan use of collective identity for electoral purposes can potentially lead to conflict and polarization within the society. This panel brings together papers which examine several such processes and improve our understanding of the role of identity in political mobilization.