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Sibling Rivalry in Social Movements: Bureaucratic Splitting and the Factionalization of Sister Organizations

Sat, August 11, 10:30am to 12:10pm, Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, Floor: Level 4, Franklin Hall 2

Abstract

In this piece, a chapter of a larger project, I examine the causes and consequences of dividing single social movement organizations into organizational families. In movement families, movement groups grow to include a core membership group and additional peripheral groups, such as political action committees, legal defense funds, and educational foundations. Each part of the organizational family is designed to engage in distinct tactics and to maximize overall group resources. However, this division of labor frequently sparks conflict among the sister organizations, leading to more serious schisms among the previously aligned groups. This chapter includes comparisons cases from the National Organization for Women and the Sierra Club.

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