Blackwell Reference Online

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Within social movement theory, collective identity refers to the shared definition of a group that derives from its members’ common interests, experiences, and solidarities. It is the social movement's answer to who we are, locating the movement within a field of political actors. Collective identity is neither fixed nor innate, but rather emerges through struggle as different political actors, including the movement, interact and react to each other. The salience of any given collective identity affects the mobilization, trajectory, and even impacts of social movements. Consequently, collective identity has become a central concept in the study of social movements. The concept of collective identity emerged in the 1980s in Europe within new social movement (NSM) theory. Most locate its origin in the work of Alberto Melucci (1995) . After the 1960s, Europe witnessed an increase in movements espousing post-materialist programs. These “new social movements” focused on questions of identity, originated largely from the middle class, politicized everyday life, and carried out their struggle through cultural and symbolic means. Scholars of new social movements felt that the dominant European paradigms, based on models drawn from materialist movements, offered little conceptual insight into these “new” movements and reoriented the field toward more cultural issues. Believing these differences ... log in or subscribe to read full text