Modern Day Abolitionists: Contestation and Collaboration in the Local Anti-Human Trafficking Movement

• In Event: 277 - Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 08. Movement Organizations and Fields

Abstract

How do ideologically and structurally different organizations create collaborations and coalitions as micro-level actors in a larger social justice movement? How do they justify their willingness to ignore conflicting ideological perspectives and activities on a controversial social issue, what influences their willingness to form competing and conflicting coalitions, and how do these types of coalitions affect their efforts at successfully furthering their overall goal? I answer these questions through an in-depth examination of one metropolitan area's local anti-human trafficking community, with a specific focus on the community’s nonprofit organizations and their role in the larger modern day abolitionist movement. I find that larger, resourced organizations use niche-making explanation to justify their unique positions in the larger anti-trafficking community, while smaller, under-resourced organizations use resource-sharing explanations to justify their desire to join larger coalitions. Both justifications necessitate working in tandem with other nonprofit organizations. Coalition fracture and dissolution frequently occur as a result of various forms of conflict. Ultimately, this study uses one local anti-trafficking community in order to bring together two significant yet currently under-synthesized bodies of literature on the sociology of organizations and human trafficking as an ideologically conflicting humanitarian issue.

Author

• Lilly Yu, Rice University