30480 - Mobilization and Contemporary Democratic Elections: Coping with Violence & Extremism

Description

Recent election cycles in nations around the globe have led to rising concerns over the vulnerability of democratic norms and safeguards. In the U.S., for instance, the emboldening of hate groups, the sanitization of the January 6th insurrection, increasing appeals to violence, extremist rhetoric, and even assassination attempts have compounded an already troubling situation in 2024. Here and elsewhere, the rising toxicity of politics, which appears unlikely to ameliorate in coming years, is a major threat to the sustainment of democracy. Given such context, this session explores instances of collective action in response to these challenges: how have grassroots organizations adapted to an increasingly dangerous political sphere? In which ways do activists with different agendas address an environment in which dissent, debate, and organization carry higher risks of retaliation? Given that strong social movements are essential to any hope of rebuilding a tolerant and inclusive consensus in American society, learning about their challenges and strategies holds much importance for the future of democratic governance.

Sub Unit

• Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements / Mobilization and Contemporary Democratic Elections: Coping with Violence & Extremism

Presiders

• Marcos Emilio Perez, Washington and Lee University

• David Cunningham, Washington University in St. Louis

Individual Presentations

• Global Organizing for Rights to the City: An Antidote to Corporate Rule and Political Polarization - Jackie Smith, University of Pittsburgh

• “If we aren’t organizing white people around their suffering...” contesting the politics of Rightwing extremism - Chandra Russo, Colgate University

• The Fight For (the meaning of) Democracy - Avital Sicron, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

• The Social Production of Counterprotest: The Dynamics of Anti-Racist and Anti-Fascist Contestation, 2016 to 2020 - Michael Gould-Wartofsky, Columbia University

• Threading Political Ecologies: How Anti-Immigration Legislature Reshapes Latino-Serving Organizations in Conservative States - Wendy K Dedmond, University of Oklahoma

Session Organizers

• David Cunningham, Washington University in St. Louis

• Marcos Emilio Perez, Washington and Lee University