NCJ Number
204528
Journal
Social Problems Volume: 51 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2004 Pages: 16-42
Date Published
February 2004
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This study examined how members of the White power movement (WPM) materialize, communicate, and sustain White power identities under antagonistic social conditions.
Abstract
Culturalist analyses of social movements contend that the social construction of collective identity is a key component of activism. Collective identities are typically formed in “free spaces” or “protected spaces” that are safe havens and provide autonomy from the dominant cultural group. It is within these “free spaces” that oppositional movement identities can be forged and nurtured. Drawing on this notion of “free spaces,” the authors analyzed the specific roles of free spaces in enabling members of the WPM to materialize, communicate, and sustain a collective identity. Ethnographic data were collected from participant observations and interviews with 56 WPM activists. The participant observations were conducted with Christian Identity activists in the Southwest, Aryan Nation activists in Idaho, and a variety of WPM participants in Southern California. The analysis focused on contrasting the social ties and cultural practices that different types of free spaces within the movement enable or inhibit. Two main types of free spaces were noted within the WPM: “indigenous-prefigurative” spaces and “transmovement-prefigurative” spaces. “Indigenous-prefigurative” spaces are small local networks where dominant cultural practices allow WPM members to participate in relationships that “prefigure” the WPM dominance. These cultural practices take place in everyday settings such as family homes or informal parties where members are able to act in relative safety from social controls. “Transmovement-prefigurative” spaces refer to the chance to pull otherwise unconnected local participants into broader networks of the White power culture. Intentional White power gatherings, including cyberspace gatherings, connect individuals with extra-local movement networks where solidarity and commitment to the WPM is solidified. The final analysis indicated that free spaces contribute to the persistence of White power activism by creating a bi-leveled infrastructure of spaces that support different kinds of network ties that help to sustain a collective identity. In general, social movement scholars should pay more attention to right-wing, radical movements to learn more about the various contexts through which members solidify commitment to the movement and develop networks that sustain the broader movement culture. Tables, references