(PSM3c) Political Sociology and Social Movements III: Revolution, Populism, Social Movements

This panel brings together critical analysis of various aspects of populism, democracy, and dynamics of social movements. The panelists present empirical cases involving diverse political contexts. They offer nuanced analysis of populism’s relationship to the pluralist principles of liberal democracy, the effects of right-wing populism on citizen’s trust in voting by mail, the choice of movement tactics in dealing with an authoritarian government not willing to negotiate and compromise, and the politics of language, especially the strategies of anti-bilingualism movement to occupy public spaces and gain access to political power. In doing so, the panelists enrich our understanding of the dynamics of populist politics and social movements. Tags: Mouvements Sociaux, Politique

Organizer: Sherry Fox, CSA; Chairs: Catharina O'Donnell, Harvard, Deena Abul-Fottouh, Dalhousie University

Presentations

Andrew Dawson, York University

The Trump Effect? Right-wing Populism and Distrust in Voting by Mail in Canada

Does Trump’s attacks on voting by mail influence how some Canadians view mail-in ballots? The Trump effect on views and behaviors surrounding voting by mail has been well documented in the United States. North of the border, more Canadians than ever voted by mail in the last general election. In this study, we consider how right-wing populism is associated with trust in voting by mail among Canadians. Specifically, we seek to test two main hypotheses. First, we consider whether Canadians holding populist views—and, in particular, those holding right-wing populist views—are less trusting of voting by mail. Second, we consider whether political media exposure amplifies this association. We analyze data from both the 2021 Canadian Election Study and Democracy Checkup Survey. We find that those who hold populist views clearly have less trust in voting by mail. This is especially true among right-leaning individuals. Furthermore, as in the United States, this effect is moderated by one’s level of political media exposure, with higher levels of political media exposure amplifying the effect populist views on trust in voting by mail. Our findings, therefore, suggest that the politicization of mail-in voting by President Trump has important implications for not only the legitimacy of the electoral system in the United States, but also in Canada and potentially in other parts of the world.

---

Non-presenting author: Cary Wu, York University

Zitian Sun, McGill University

Pitfalls of Popularity: The Radicalization Dynamics in the 1989 Tiananmen Student Movement

In the late 20th century, the 1989 Tiananmen Student Movement (TSM) was one of the most ambitious democratic struggles worldwide. The death of a liberal political figure, Hu Yaobang, inspired millions of students and workers to march on the streets of Beijing on April 15, demanding political liberalization and democratic reform. Yet, after rounds of negotiations, students and the government failed to reach an agreement. Several student leaders mobilized a hunger strike to pressure the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party. However, radical tactics conflicted with the ongoing negotiation and marginalized the position of the more moderate negotiators. Eventually, on the night of June 3, the government ordered its military to repress the movement and brought the process of Chinese democratic reform to a halt. This tragic outcome for what had been such a hopeful movement raised a question: Under what condition does radicalization contribute to movement failure when regime-movement negotiation is feasible? In this article, I process-trace both elites’ interactions and the movement’s dynamics via historical archives to answer the question. First, in contrast to existing accounts on radical mobilizations, I argue that radicalization, as in escalation in demands and tactics, can be a nonviolent identity formation process without state repression. In the TSM, student mobilization decreased when the Chinese government offered to negotiate. Leaders employed cultural repertoires to highlight their legitimacy, gain political leverage via continued mobilizations, and avoid possible repression. Spectacular but nonviolent hunger strikes facilitated a distinctive moral authority of students, paralyzing the state’s bureaucratic establishment via demonstrations and strikes. Second, I argue that radicalization and its associated mass mobilization reshape elites’ coalitions and regime-movement alignments via a symbiotic dynamic. Radical discourses with cultural repertoire weaken the movement by undermining both the moderate negotiators and soft-liner elites. During the hunger strike, radical leaders disrupted negotiations and deeded any possible compromises with the state as traitorous behaviors against the movement. Moderate student leaders failed to extract meaningful concessions from the regime soft-liners, leading to a regime-movement standoff. Alternatively, this process became an opportunity for the regime hard-liners to exploit the standoff by marginalizing soft-liners, ceasing negotiations, and eventually repressing the movement violently. In brief, my case study indicates that radicalization in responding to the practical needs of mobilization and regime-movement interactions generates unintended consequences and contributes to the movement’s eventual demise. Radical tactics and repertoires establish an interconnected relationship with regime elites, but they generally undermine the concession extraction capabilities of the movement. Furthermore, I also demonstrate that China’s weak civil society in the 1980s is not the only contributing factor to the failure of the democratic transition. Instead, the radical dynamic in the movement remains equivalently critical. This paper sheds light on how social movement dynamics lead to violent repressions and the consolidation of authoritarian rule.

Joannie Jean, Université d'Ottawa; Michelle Landry, Université de Moncton

Mouvement antibilinguisme : les choix stratégiques d'occupation de l'espace public du parti People's Alliance

Les politiques linguistiques au Canada sont plus souvent analysées sous langle des politiques ou des droits linguistiques. Cette communication sinscrit dans le cadre dun programme de recherche visant à améliorer notre compréhension des enjeux linguistiques du point de vue des mouvements sociaux. Lobjectif est de mettre en lumière les stratégies du mouvement anti-bilinguisme pour occuper lespace public et accéder à la politie. Lanalyse présentée se concentrera sur le parti politique Peoples Alliance au cours de lannée précédant les élections de 2018. Dans certains cas, comme celui-ci, nous pouvons considérer les partis politiques comme des organisations s’insérant dans un mouvement social puisqu’ils sont formés pour défendre une cause, ou que la cause est assimilée à un parti existant (Kriesi, 2014). Le parti Peoples Alliance, fondé en 2010 autour de la question dune éventuelle vente dÉnergie NB à Hydro Québec, a embrassé la cause des militants qui veulent redéfinir le régime linguistique du Nouveau-Brunswick, faisant progressivement de la question linguistique un des principaux enjeux du parti (Chouinard et Gordon, 2021). Ce tiers parti a fait élire trois députés aux élections de 2018 et deux aux élections de 2020 en axant ses campagnes électorales sur des propositions visant à limiter les droits linguistiques des francophones et la dualité linguistique de certains services publics (p. ex. autobus scolaires, réseaux de santé). Les partis qui s’insèrent dans un mouvement social comme le People’s Alliance nont pas exactement les mêmes conditions daccès à lespace public que d’autres organisations de mouvements sociaux qui sont largement soumis au traitement des questions sociales par les médias dominants (Granjon, 2000). En tant que tiers parti ayant des députés élus, les journalistes leur accordent une certaine attention dans le traitement des enjeux politiques de la province, mais notre analyse montre que le People’s Alliance a stratégiquement choisi doccuper lespace public dune manière différente. En effet, en analysant loccupation de lespace médiatique par la Peoples Alliance, cette étude montre comment ce parti politique utilise principalement les médias sociaux, tels que Facebook, Twitter, YouTube et son site officiel, ainsi que les médias alternatifs tels que Voice of the Province et The Dennis Report. Ce pendant du mouvement anti-bilinguisme dénonce et critique les médias dominants, perçus par ses leaders comme des appareils idéologiques de domination des citoyens où les partis traditionnels et le bipartisme règnent. Ces choix stratégiques permettent détayer davantage son positionnement tout en usant d’une morale de grandiloquence, au sens où lentendent Tosi et Warmke (2020).