Collective Identity Development Amid Institutional Chaos: Boundary Evolution in a Women’s Rights Movement in Post Gaddafi Libya
通过对利比亚革命后女权运动早期阶段的三年调查，研究本地利比亚人与海外利比亚侨民两个异质群体如何互动、协商并重新界定集体身份的边界，揭示差异（不共同的过去）如何先用于包容内部人、后用于排斥外部人的动态过程。
Collective identity is important for the cohesion of social movements, yet there is an inherent tension between group unity and heterogeneity when multiple groups are motivated to come together to work for change. Through a three-year investigation of the early stages of a women’s rights movement following the Libyan revolution, we explore the dynamics of collective identity development. Our findings capture how two heterogeneous groups, Libyan locals and Libyan diaspora, interact to negotiate and re-negotiate the boundaries of collective identity. We find that this process unfolds through an ongoing struggle where the point of difference between the groups—their uncommon past—is the mechanism first used to ensure inclusion of insiders, and then to exclude outsiders from the collective identity. Our paper contributes to our understanding of the relational process through which collective identity co-evolves, and the challenges faced by heterogeneous groups engaging in collective action.