Political Solidarity Based on Indigenismo and Affective Commitment: An Analysis of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers

• In Event: 106 - Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 09. Mobilization and Politicization

Abstract

Solidarity has been on the minds of sociologists since the founding of the discipline. Figures like Durkheim, Weber, and Marx were all interested in what they considered to be the ‘glue’ that held society together. While there has been a contemporary turn toward the study of emotions, especially in the study of social movements, historically there has was little attention paid to the role of emotions in solidarity studies, especially how movements build and sustain political solidarity.
In this paper, I trace the history of solidarities to find new ways in which we can understand the relationship between emotions and solidarity. To do so, I have conducted a case study analysis of a successful and enduring social movement organization, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) and their network of allies. Social movement campaigns can be arduous while successes are few and far between. Building a sustained movement that can withstand setbacks requires a deep sense of solidarity between and among its members.
I begin with an in-depth review of the history of the study of solidarities followed by a case study analysis that expands current sociological theory of solidarity that seriously considers the role of emotions in its construction. My theoretical contribution is based on an analysis of twenty qualitative interviews of social movement participants as well as field research obtained at marches, vigils, farm visits, and organizational meetings over the course of the last five years as a participant observer of a CIW allied organization, DC Fair Food.

Author

• Melissa Gouge, George Mason University