Creating Free Spaces: Self-Segregation in the Radical Left
(2022) Sociologidagarna- Abstract
- The ability for groups to engage in collective action depends on a variety of factors, ranging from social organization to resources to political opportunities amongst others. Yet, on a much more basic level, collective action is dependent on the ability of individuals to come together to interact and coordinate action, or in other words, to create a collective. Individuals must have spaces in which they can develop ideas, a sense of togetherness, and plan for the future. Research argues that free spaces or social movement communities, both online and offline, can often function as abeyance structures, enabling groups and individuals to maintain ties, commitment, and knowledge even in periods of low movement activity. In this paper, I... (More)
- The ability for groups to engage in collective action depends on a variety of factors, ranging from social organization to resources to political opportunities amongst others. Yet, on a much more basic level, collective action is dependent on the ability of individuals to come together to interact and coordinate action, or in other words, to create a collective. Individuals must have spaces in which they can develop ideas, a sense of togetherness, and plan for the future. Research argues that free spaces or social movement communities, both online and offline, can often function as abeyance structures, enabling groups and individuals to maintain ties, commitment, and knowledge even in periods of low movement activity. In this paper, I explore the community of the extra-parliamentary left in Southern Sweden, and the way individuals involved in this group work to create spaces where interactions that bring the community into existence can occur.
This paper is based on data produced through extensive ethnographic field work, interviews with community members, and document analysis. The extra-parliamentary left, usually classified as a radical left-libertarian movement, is a stigmatized actor in Swedish politics, and government agencies regard it as one of three Swedish extremist environments. To create a space in which the habits of the community can be maintained, reproduced, and reconstructed; I argue that the extra-parliamentary left engages in a process of self-segregation. This self-segregation characterizes not only large-scale collective actions such as demonstrations, but even everyday interactions such as interpersonal relationships, parties, and working out. At times, this self-segregation is aggressive, as in the case of anti-fascist violence, while at others, it is reactive, as for example in the practices and understandings of feminism within the community. However, I argue that this self-segregation remains fragile and vulnerable to interruption. Not only can interactions between extra-parliamentary leftists create situations where the community’s identity becomes problematic, but interactions with actors outside the community can also threaten the continuing existence of collective and individual identities. I find that the individuals in the extra-parliamentary left use self-segregation as a means of managing tensions and threats to their identities as anti-capitalists, and as a means of creating a social reality that enables them to engage in a politics of the first person. I close in arguing that understanding the extra-parliamentary left as a stigmatized community, rather than a social movement community, enables us to better understand both the group’s collective identity and collective actions.
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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/398e97e1-8eae-457d-893c-b0175f91daac
- author
- Flaherty, Colm LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2022
- type
- Contribution to conference
- publication status
- published
- subject
- conference name
- Sociologidagarna
- conference location
- Uppsala, Sweden
- conference dates
- 2022-03-16 - 2022-03-18
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 398e97e1-8eae-457d-893c-b0175f91daac
- date added to LUP
- 2022-03-23 14:28:45
- date last changed
- 2022-03-24 15:41:17
@misc{398e97e1-8eae-457d-893c-b0175f91daac,
abstract = {{The ability for groups to engage in collective action depends on a variety of factors, ranging from social organization to resources to political opportunities amongst others. Yet, on a much more basic level, collective action is dependent on the ability of individuals to come together to interact and coordinate action, or in other words, to create a collective. Individuals must have spaces in which they can develop ideas, a sense of togetherness, and plan for the future. Research argues that free spaces or social movement communities, both online and offline, can often function as abeyance structures, enabling groups and individuals to maintain ties, commitment, and knowledge even in periods of low movement activity. In this paper, I explore the community of the extra-parliamentary left in Southern Sweden, and the way individuals involved in this group work to create spaces where interactions that bring the community into existence can occur. <br/><br/>This paper is based on data produced through extensive ethnographic field work, interviews with community members, and document analysis. The extra-parliamentary left, usually classified as a radical left-libertarian movement, is a stigmatized actor in Swedish politics, and government agencies regard it as one of three Swedish extremist environments. To create a space in which the habits of the community can be maintained, reproduced, and reconstructed; I argue that the extra-parliamentary left engages in a process of self-segregation. This self-segregation characterizes not only large-scale collective actions such as demonstrations, but even everyday interactions such as interpersonal relationships, parties, and working out. At times, this self-segregation is aggressive, as in the case of anti-fascist violence, while at others, it is reactive, as for example in the practices and understandings of feminism within the community. However, I argue that this self-segregation remains fragile and vulnerable to interruption. Not only can interactions between extra-parliamentary leftists create situations where the community’s identity becomes problematic, but interactions with actors outside the community can also threaten the continuing existence of collective and individual identities. I find that the individuals in the extra-parliamentary left use self-segregation as a means of managing tensions and threats to their identities as anti-capitalists, and as a means of creating a social reality that enables them to engage in a politics of the first person. I close in arguing that understanding the extra-parliamentary left as a stigmatized community, rather than a social movement community, enables us to better understand both the group’s collective identity and collective actions. <br/>}},
author = {{Flaherty, Colm}},
language = {{eng}},
title = {{Creating Free Spaces: Self-Segregation in the Radical Left}},
year = {{2022}},
}