Identity Switching in Activist Organizations: Getting Action for Global Economic Justice

• In Event: 4322 - Section on Political Sociology Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 02. Political Mobilization and Action

Abstract

How do entrepreneurs campaign for justice on issues with high technical complexity? This paper provides a framework for understanding how issue entrepreneurs address complexity by switching identities between different professional network domains. The article demonstrates why identity switching is critical for ‘access’ and ‘activation’ advocacy strategies on technically complex issues. Identity switching from entrepreneurs is examined through a case on the emergence of global tax justice campaigns, particularly the Tax Justice Network, drawing on data from years of participant observation and repeated in-depth interviews with the group’s key members and other activists. We discuss how this group used identity switching as an explicit strategy for ‘getting action’ on global economic justice issues prior to entering into stage of professionalization and isomorphic organizational consolidation.

Authors

• Leonard Seabrooke, Copenhagen Business School

• Duncan Wigan, Copenhagen Business School