4/16/2008
Karl-Dieter Opp, Collective Identity, Rationality and Collective Political Action
This paper explores the effects of collective identity on protest behavior by applying an extended version of the theory of action. Hypotheses are derived on the following questions that are rarely addressed in the
literature: Has identity only additive effects or also multiplicative effects? Are there situations when collective identity diminishes protest?
Does collective identity have indirect effects - via the determinants of protest - on protest behavior? Are there feedback effect of protest participation on collective identity? The hypotheses that address these questions are tested by a three-wave panel study. Three findings seem most important. (1) The overall direct effects of identity on protest behavior are small. (2) We provide evidence that under certain conditions identity does not raise but reduce protest. (3) The major effects of identity are indirect: identity influences the determinants of protest.
KARL-DIETER OPP is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Leipzig, Germany, and Affiliate Professor at the University of Washington (Seattle). His areas of interest include collective action and political protest, rational choice theory, philosophy of the social sciences and the emergence and effects of norms and institutions. He is author of The Rationality of Political Protest (1989), coauthor of The Origins of a Spontaneous Revolution (1995) and editor (with M. Hechter) of Social Norms (2001). He has just finished a book manuscript on Theories of Political Protest and Social Movements. He has recently been involved in a long-term empirical research project on the causes and effects of identification with territorial groups such as nations or Europe. His articles were published in scholarly journals such as the American Sociological Review, Social Forces, Rationality and Society, American Political Science Review and the American Journal of Political Science.
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