What They Talk About When They Talk About Mobilization: The Pragmatic Function of Narrative

• In Event: 463 - Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 12. Mobilization and Participation in Right Wing Movements

Abstract

The following study seeks to better understand the role of narratives in social movements by focusing on how Tea Party activists explain their mobilization into the movement. I draw on 23 in-depth interviews and content analysis of 158 mobilization stories to argue that Tea Party mobilization narratives are best understood by focusing on the pragmatic function of their use. I contend that when Tea Partiers talk about mobilization they are actually talking about much more than mobilization, such as the availability of resources, the influence of preexisting social ties, and the durable inheritance of Cold War era collective memory.

Author

• Christopher Robertson, Northwestern University