Social Movement Networks

In Della Porta and Diani's book, Social Movements, they discuss in chapter five, social movement networks and why it is that people get involved, or pulled in to participate. They say that a big reason why people get involved in social movements is because of self-realization, or the matching of who you are with who you want to be. When people can visualize who it is that they want to become, it often makes them feel better about themselves if they get involved with an organization or movement that helps them work towards becoming who it is they are trying to be. As human beings, we are largely driven by our emotions and how we view ourselves. If there is something that makes us happy, we naturally go after that to increase our sense of self-worth and satisfaction. So if there is a movement that fights for a cause we believe in, or feel we should believe in, we are more likely to join out of a personal sense of obligation. This personal sense of obligation is usually a powerful driving force because if we do not join the network, we can easily feel guilty and feel bad about ourselves because it might appear as if we do not care about anything. So in a world where people are constantly trying to make themselves appealing to other people, being a part of a larger social movement enhances their self-worth and self-confidence because they feel as though they are doing something meaningful with their lives. This makes complete sense to me, because looking at my own life, I see how the things I am apart of, I join because it gives me a better sense of self-worth and I feel as though I am doing something important with my life. Della Porta and Diani say that social movements take advantage of this drive within people to feel worthy, and they work to make their network seem appealing and attractive to people looking to invest in a cause they believe in. Networks give people a sense of identity, and who doesn’t want to seek and understand their identity?

Diani and Della Porta say there are two types of networks that pull you into them. The first is exclusive networks. These are networks that take on a cult-like nature and are often religious. They are they only networks you are involved in because it becomes all you do. These are often extreme groups that involve brain washing and convincing people that their way is the only right way. When I think of exclusive networks, I often think of the KKK. People involved in the KKK were so set in their beliefs that black people were less human than them and undeserving of life, that they would do almost anything to keep blacks away. They convinced themselves that the violence they resorted to, and the things they would say were completed justified and right. They felt as though their beliefs against blacks were so important and worthy of defending, that they needed to join the network and devote much of their lives to fighting for this cause. It made them feel better knowing they were fighting for white supremacy, rather than sitting back and doing nothing. So the KKK got their members from like-minded people who felt a sense of personal obligation to join.

The second type of network is multi-organizational networks. These are networks that are linked to many other similar networks where the members are often involved in several. People who are involved in multi-organizational networks often switch from one to the other during latent periods within a particular movement. These types of movements also largely contribute to self-realization because people feel as though they have much importance when they are involved in several movements, fighting for several causes. In my life, I see this play out in the many religious networks I am involved in. The different networks are not partnered with one another, but they promote the same beliefs and work to glorify the same God. I am able to be apart of several different groups, and feel as though I am having more importance in my life as I come in contact with different people. Della Porta and Diani would say that this is how multi-organizational networks live and continue to grow, as people like me find their self-realization through them.