Collective identity politicizes only when a confrontation is widened into a society-wide power struggle

Evidence

These examples are drawn from very different cultural, national, and political contexts, but they all share three critical themes. First, the protagonists in these scenarios acted not as single individuals but as members of social groups. Second, these groups and their members were involved in power struggles. Third, the power struggles were about control in the wider societal context so that besides the immediate antagonists, these struggles also involved third parties such as societal authorities or the general public. We suggest that it is possible to derive from these themes the critical constituents of a social psychological conceptualization of politicized collective identity. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 4395 (#expands, via linked claim)

A group that shares grievances and holds an external enemy or opponent responsible is likely to demand corrective action or compensation from that opponent. If the opponent complies with such claims, no politicization of collective identity takes place. However, if the claims are refused and the aggrieved group does not give in, the interaction becomes more confrontational, and politicization continues. This is not to say that increased confrontation as such is responsible for a politicized collective identity. Many fierce intergroup confrontations exist that do not provide the members of the antagonistic groups with a politicized collective identity (e.g., confrontations between fans of competing soccer teams or confrontations between members of different street gangs). Instead, we hold that the collective identity of the members of an aggrieved group who engage in adversarial attributions finally politicizes to the extent that these group members try to transform the confrontation into a more comprehensive power struggle forcing society at large to take sides either with their in-group or with their opponent. This implies that they acknowledge or even stress their identity as a member of that society because only by virtue of their membership in this more inclusive group or community are they entitled to societal support for their claims (Wenzel, 2000). This insight is nicely captured in a recent statement made by the then leader of the parliamentary faction of the German socialist party, Gregor Gysi, who, shortly before his resignation, admonished his party that “[we] have to become part of society—if we want to change it” (“Words of the Week,” 2000, p. 2). In a similar manner, Klandermans et al. (1998; see also Roefs et al, 1998) observed that, while their ethnic identity as Afrikaners politicized, supporters of the Freedom Front in South Africa also maintained a strong national identity. In more general terms, politicized collective identity is always also nested identity in that it presupposes identification with the more inclusive social entity that provides the context for shared grievances, adversarial attributions, and the ensuing power struggles for social change (or resistance to such change). — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 4433 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Political movements require private indignation to coalesce into collective identity — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 20; Politicization requires forcing wider society to take sides, not mere group confrontation. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology: Key Readings, 4433; National identity becomes nationalist ideology only through emotionally charged crafting against others. — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized:…, 1655 (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• Politicized collective identity requires power struggles reaching beyond immediate antagonists #expands (0.97) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 4395
• Political mobilization requires transforming a confrontation into a broader societal power struggle #expands (0.92) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 4433
• Collective identity can have unintended political repercussions without becoming politicized #complicates (0.76)