Two-level collective action and group identity

Arieh Gavious, Shlomo Mizrahi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

We examine how group membership influences individual decisions with respect to joining a mass political struggle, under the assumption that group members have a strong group identity, expressed by a strong commitment to group decisions. We suggest a two-level theoretical game model in which, in the first stage, an individual calculates the costs and benefits of participation at the group level and then he/she calculates the costs and benefits of the group's participation in mass collective action. The model shows that when the costs of action are low and the expected benefits are high, there are two equilibria - one with high and the other with low probability of collective action. It also shows that the chances of achieving political change through mass mobilization are lower when individuals are members of two subgroups that act separately, than when they are members of one group only. The model is applied to the socio-political processes in Poland between 1976 and 1981.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)497-517
Number of pages21
JournalJournal of Theoretical Politics
Volume11
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 1999
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Collective action
  • Group identity
  • Solidarity
  • Threshold

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Sociology and Political Science

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