Radical left-libertarian identities in change: Analyzing activism in Sweden and Denmark 2001–2014

The development of a collective identity is pivotal for a social movement’s ability to mobilize and motivate activists to engage in various forms of contentious politics. In relation to other types of social movements, radical left-libertarian movements have often been characterized as either having collective identities based on sub-cultural lifestyles and identity politics, or as being based on an “anti-identity” which seeks provisional political positions and avoid more coherent subjectivities. These types of movements’ identities have often been regarded as driven by internal dynamics and less affected by the surrounding political context and institutionalized politics. Consequently, previous research has paid little or no attention to how changing political opportunities may affect the development and gradual transformations of the collective identities within radical left-libertarian movements. This paper therefore explores how the collective identity of the radical left-libertarian movement – consisting of anarchists, autonomists, anarcho-syndicalists, and libertarian socialists – in Scandinavia has been affected by changes in political opportunities. This is investigated both through an analysis of how patterns of movement mobilizations change, and an analysis of the activists’ collective action frames and self-perceptions. The empirical basis for the analysis is a protest event dataset for Denmark and Sweden, covering around 2,500 protest events announced in the movement’s own media during the period 2002–2014. This data is combined with frame analysis of movement manifestos and semi-structured interviews with approximately 50 activists from both countries.