The Strength of Weak Identities
In: Forschungsjournal Soziale Bewegungen: Analysen zu Demokratie und Zivilgesellschaft, Band 24, Heft 4, S. 73-84
ISSN: 2192-4848
In his article Dieter Rucht states that a strong identity should not be presupposed as a condition of the success of social movements. In the contrary, weak identities of social movements present some advantages in mobilizing for protest. To validate this thesis, Rucht analyzes the case study of the anti- Castor-protests and also draws upon the globalization critics movement. Both cases show that a rather weak identity of heterogeneous groups results in larger mobilization and -- concerning the anti-Castor-protests -- success. He concedes that weak identities will not automatically assure a movement's political strength; but he points out five strengths of weak identities -- amongst others a larger communicative outreach and a more flexible approach to new internal and external challenges. Adapted from the source document