From Peak to Peak: How Master Frames Bridge Protest Cycles

• In Event: 20861 - Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 15: When does Framing Work?

Abstract

Periods of transition between protest cycles present unique challenges for social movements. While previous studies have primarily focused on organizational survival and resource mobilization during periods of demobilization, we know comparatively little about how movement framing evolves to bridge transitional periods as movements progress from one protest cycle to the next. This study examines how movements strategically adapt their framing to facilitate these transitions while maintaining coherence across cycles. Using computational text analysis of fourteen years of Facebook posts from a sample of LGBTQ organizations, this paper investigates changes in discourse and framing across protest cycles. The analysis reveals that while collective action frames rise and fall in temporal patterns that coincide with transitions between protest cycles, master frames remain prominent throughout the period despite changing circumstances. These master frames simultaneously facilitate transitions by providing broad interpretive schemas that can accommodate emerging issues, while also constraining the range of available frames to maintain movement coherence. This dual role demonstrates that master frames serve not only to organize multiple movements within individual cycles but also to smooth transitions and stabilize movement framing within a single movement over time. The study expands our understanding of how master frames function, a previously sparsely theorized aspect of social movement theory. Additionally, the paper contributes to social movement theory by illuminating how movements maintain discursive and framing coherence over time. Finally, the paper demonstrates how computational methods can help identify patterns in movement framing across transitional periods.

Author

• Tom Einhorn, University of British Columbia