Doctoral Dissertation Research: Commitment and Disengagement in Social Movements

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SES- 1409581Rory McVeighDaniel EscherUniversity of Notre DameThis project examines why some efforts to create social change fail while others succeed. The study builds on classical theories of collective action by focusing on the interactions between activists, organizations, and community members in central Appalachia, home to a contentious mining practice called mountaintop mining. Some organizations succeed in gaining the support and participation of community members while others tend to fail. The investigators hypothesize that the reason for this is their ability to match culturally in certain key ways. In other words, successful cultural matching is an important process enabling activists to convert the structural potential for change into residents' actual mobilization. The co-PI will examine this process through 65 interviews with randomly and purposively selected residents and activists, examining various moral commitments, symbolic boundaries, and personal and collective memories. The investigator will also observe interactions between these two groups over the course of three months of fieldwork. This study will contribute to scholarly understanding of why social movements sometimes fail (or never even begin) by showing a key yet overlooked component of collective action.Broader ImpactsThis project has two broader impacts. First, this project is useful for practitioners who work for social change among marginalized populations and the scholars who study them. It demonstrates that factors like grievances, organizational resources, and appropriate framing are not enough to fuel a movement; building trust with local residents is a key initial component of organizing for community change. This project highlights what effective organizations accomplish and also reveals some of the salient values and priorities of residents that are likely to be similar across the globe, particularly in rural areas with limited economic diversification. I will distribute my findings to the environmental organizations I examine and present and publish them widely. Second, this project brings to the fore an underrepresented group, bringing to light their attempts to live out their commitments amid severe structural disadvantages. Results from this study will enable community groups to better understand the people they serve.