Singing like a Socialist: Coalitions, Worksongs, and Organizational Sociability

• In Event: 3451 - Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 2. Coalitions and Collaboration

Abstract

Sociologists have theorized that to form and sustain alliances, people in social movements must figure out how to similarly interpret political threats, opportunities, and strategies, through “processes of frame alignment.” Some have argued that shared ways of framing reality—derived from congruent ideologies, cultures, or identities—constitute a prerequisite or, at least, a robust predictor of movement organizations deciding to form coalitions together. This paper addresses a gap in our knowledge about coalition formation by examining how movement organizations with distinct ideologies, cultures, and identities frame potential alliances with each other, at two critical junctures of collaboration: before frame alignment begins and when it stalls due to interorganizational conflict. Relying on the case of the Boston Socialist Movement, the paper analyzes data from participant observations and interviews, which capture the different ways organizations participated in and talked about the same coalitions during the movement’s period of growth following the 2016 U.S. presidential elections. The analysis reveals that socialist organizations used distinct series of ideological frames, what the author calls "worksongs," to convince themselves that hostile partnerships—even with enemy groups—were worth pursuing. The findings suggest theories of collaboration consider the role of organizational sociability.

Author

• Andrew Keefe, Harvard University