Leaders substantiate identity rhetoric through social practices that enact the desired vision

Evidence

However, successful constructions of social identity require more than skillful rhetoric. They also need to be structured into the practices of the social movement which seeks to affect the wider society. In this way, one can demonstrate in the present the dpractical adequacyT of a vision for the society of the future. Consider, for instance, the way in which Hitler matched his vision of Germany, his rhetoric, and the physical organization of the Nuremburg rallies. As Mosse (1991) shows, the Fuehrerprinzip (a hierarchical conception of German society with the leader predominating over the masses) was manifested in the way that Hitler would emerge from the masses to stand in the centre and above the symmetrical and undifferentiated ranks of Party members. — Stephen Reicher, S. Alexander Haslam, and Nick Hopkins, Social identity and the dynamics of…, 114

Categorization

• XREF: Connects directly to the reading purpose: how leaders make a threatened/cohesive identity feel descriptive rather than asserted — here practices embody the future vision in the present, which is the mechanism being tested. — connects to: Identity is constituted through social action and language rather than merely reflected in behavior — Mary Bucholtz and Kira Hall, Identity and Interaction: A…, 19; Social movement frames are leadership-produced worldviews that give activists ideological context. — Donatella della Porta et al., Mobilizing Against the Odds: Solidarity…, 33; One-sided identity framing lets a strawman of passive leadership gain credence — Stephen Reicher, S. Alexander Haslam, and Nick Hopkins, Social identity and the dynamics of…, 72 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Leaders convert social identity into social reality by initiating group and societal structures #expands (0.84) — Stephen Reicher, S. Alexander Haslam, and Nick Hopkins, Social identity and the dynamics of…, 118
• Shared arbitrary practices constitute a group’s collective identity #expands (0.78) — W. David Marx, Status and Culture, 137
• Personalization rhetoric makes individuals identify with their social functions #exemplifies (0.75) — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man, 392
• Identity arises from action and struggle rather than preceding politics #complicates (0.74) — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 121
• Leaders politicize groups by embodying the shared identity that makes their frames normative #qualifies (0.72) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 4439