European Journal of Social Psychology
Volume 49, Issue 2, 2019, Pages 213-229

When and how social movements mobilize action within and across nations to promote solidarity with refugees (Article)

Thomas E.F.* , Smith L.G.E. , McGarty C. , Reese G. , Kende A. , Bliuc A.-M. , Curtin N. , Spears R.
  • a School of Psychology, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia
  • b Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
  • c School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  • d Faculty of Psychology, University of Koblenz-Landau, Koblenz, Germany
  • e Department of Social and Educational Psychology, Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary
  • f School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  • g Department of Psychology, Clark University, Worcester, MA, United States
  • h Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands

Abstract

When and how do social movements form to mobilize action across national boundaries? In the context of the 2015 movement to support Syrian refugees, we develop an integrative model of transnational social movement formation shaped by pre-existing world-views (social dominance orientation and right-wing authoritarianism) and social media exposure to iconic events, resulting in an emergent group consciousness (“we are”, “we believe”, “we feel”). Group consciousness is, in turn, the proximal predictor of solidarity with refugees. Participants were from six countries: Hungary (N = 267), Romania (N = 163), Germany (N = 190), the United Kingdom (N = 159), the United States (N = 244) and Australia (N = 344). Multi-group structural equation models confirmed that group consciousness, shaped by individual differences and exposure to events through social media, was the proximal predictor of solidarity. The subjective meaning of group consciousness varied across samples, reflecting national differences. Results support the importance of considering individual and national differences, and group processes in understanding emergent social movements. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Author Keywords

Solidarity ideology culture Social movements Emotion Collective action Social identity

Index Keywords

ideology Romania Germany refugee Australia human social dominance Hungary United States social status social media Article group process major clinical study adult human experiment United Kingdom structural equation modeling authority consciousness wing
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85046749214&doi=10.1002%2fejsp.2380&partnerID=40&md5=deaec45b0fadfd8a359a83a55a5eca93
DOI: 10.1002/ejsp.2380
ISSN: 00462772
Cited by: 10
Original Language: English