Collective identity

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Representatives of the Bavarian ethnic group in costume at a political event in Passau

Collective identity (from the Latin collectivus 'accumulated' and identitas 'unity') describes in sociology a social we-identity or the feeling of individuals to belong together to a certain collective unit or social community, which is characterized by specific characteristics and thereby differs from different collectives .

Conceptual approximation

Collective identity consists of characteristics that are assigned to a collective ( people , nation , religious community ). It is not the actual group characteristics that make up collective identity, but characteristics that are believed to exist. These characteristics can relate to the culture , language , history , religion or ethnicity . A collective consciousness is not generated naturally, but socially constructed. It results consciously or unconsciously from interactions that follow social patterns and structures. The collective identity can be based on a common past or a common vision of the future. It must be built into the self-concept of the individual person in order to be effective in thinking and acting. This means that the collective identity is considered relevant for the individual when the person is ready to stand up for a group identity and to align their actions and thoughts accordingly. So if someone feels like a European, for example, he is ready to stand up for Europe .

On the concept of identity

In everyday language as well as in lexical definitions, identity is often referred to as “complete equality”. In the definition of Knaur's dictionary of foreign words , 'identity' (from the Latin idem : just that, one and the same) denotes “perfect equality” or “agreement”. If objects are the same, they are two or more, i.e. not identical, objects. On the other hand, if they are identical, they exist only once. Instead of the concept of equality, concepts such as unity, distinctiveness or authenticity are more likely to apply to the concept of identity in this context. A person's individual identity and the collective identity of a community have a similar structure: people are perfectly certain that they exist; however, they are unable to fully describe their identity or the identity of a nation, family or ethnic group. According to Giesen and Seyfert, nobody who belongs to a community asks critical questions. If so, it suggests that an individual is expressing doubts about the existence of an identity. The aim of a collective identity, however, should be to construct unquestioning.

Collective identity is supposedly based on a consensus of values ​​and shared norms. However, these are so fundamental and abstract that they allow completely contrary conclusions. The collective identity is thus a matter that is not always concrete, but that, due to its indeterminacy, can be ascribed any possible meaning.

Differentiation of collective identity in sociology and psychology

The concept of identity has its origins in both the sociology of the Chicago School and Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis . The social scientists Lutz Niethammer and Bernhard Giesen as well as Jürgen Straub and Dieter Rucht point to the key role played by the psychologist Erik H. Eriksons in explaining the ego identity . Erikson's concept of ego identity is based on theories of psychoanalysis according to Sigmund Freud. It describes the subjective identity of the individual perceived in a self-reflection, which is expressed externally with formulations such as “I am ...”, “I am part of ...”.

In his contribution, Dieter Rucht criticizes the neglected conceptual analysis of collective identity and tries to approach it conceptually. He distinguishes collective identity from the concepts of personal and social identity used in ego psychology . He sees the group as a reference point for the collective identity, but not the person or role. The identity of the group is characterized by its appearance as a group, while the connectedness can be expressed physically, symbolically or rhetorically, both internally and externally. Rucht also describes collective identity as the “syndrome of forms of consciousness and expression of at least two people who know about their togetherness (as a couple, group, class , ethnicity, nation, etc.), demonstrate this - as a rule - in practical terms and, in this respect, also of their environment are perceived as belonging together ". On the one hand, it presupposes a subjective "we are ... feeling", on the other hand a certain communalization. The communalisation is consolidated through continuous interaction and organization and symbolically carried outwards or conveyed inwards.

Formation of collective identities

Several social movement theorists have highlighted collective identities as a constitutive feature of social movements. The common characteristics that serve as criteria of group membership or exclusion can be differentiated as follows. On the one hand in differences, opposites or contradictions in the objective situation in life, which means above all positional inequalities such as class and elite positions; on the other hand, differences in behavior in lifestyles and cultures. The dimensions of collective identity therefore also include common manners and customs, shared values, common interests and solidarity. Collective identity always requires a minimum of awareness and self-confidence within the group.

Specific factors that influence the formation of collective identities

  1. Relatively high homogeneity of the objective life situation within potential action collectives as well as dichotomy of the life situations between them
  2. Homogeneity of habit and lifestyles
  3. All unconscious and conscious aspects of group cultures
  4. The character of social organization
  5. The development of independent movement and conflict organizations
  6. The character of the mobilization

The development of stable common lifestyles and customs does not arise within a short time - they need time to be embodied in a habitus. In the case of high geographical mobility , for example, the emergence of new regional customs is rare, and the maintenance of class cultures is unlikely with inter- and intra-generational mobility between classes. However, high mobility exerts a certain pressure on already existing collectives, which often forms the basis for new developments and transformations.

Demarcation between non-organized and organized collective identities

With regard to social movements and with reference to communities, it is an essential characteristic of collective actors (collectively a collective) that they are characterized by specific forms of organizing. Both social movements and communities are based on implicit and explicit rules and their members share a conscious sense of togetherness. Organized collective identities are also known as collective actors. The difference to the unorganized or unorganized collectives lies in the existence of an interaction within the collectives or a goal thought. People who z. For example, not eating animal products out of disgust and thus eating a vegan diet can be seen as a non-organized collective identity, since their veganism is only based on the existence of common disgust, but not on a common goal. In contrast, there are the collective actors who officially describe themselves as vegans with the aim of improving animal welfare or environmental aspects.

Ideal-typical properties of individuals, organizations and collectives

According to Ulrich Dolata and Jan-Felix Schrape , the following ideal types of social actors can be distinguished according to their basic characteristics:

Individual actors

z. B. User

Unorganized collectives

z. B. mass, quantity

Collective Actors

z. B. Movements, Communities

Corporate Actors

z. B. Companies, government organizations, NGOs

Capacity to act On an individual level No independent strategy ability Ability to act strategically beyond the individual Ability to act strategically beyond the individual
Action resources Individual resources Situational aggregation of individual resources Collective resources Organizational resources
Activity pattern Individual behavior and action Collective behavior as an aggregation of individual actions Collective action based on consensus, negotiation, parentage Corporate action based on formal hierarchical structures
Decision mode Individual decisions based on individual preferences and objectives no collective decision-making ability Strategic decisions depending on the individual preferences of the participants Strategic decisions decoupled from individual preferences of the members
stability - Low Context dependent High

The table is based on types of social actors that appear both in the reality of modern societies and on the Internet: individuals, organizations and collectives. They are each characterized by specific action orientations, perceptions of reality and decision-making methods as well as material and immaterial action resources.

Causes of the emergence and development of collective identity

There are several approaches to how collective identities are formed and which specific factors play an important role in this process. There are both sociobiological , psychological and symbolic-interactionist explanations for the formation of collective identities. The sociobiological approach assumes that group identities can be genetically transferable and instinctively anchored. In psychological explanations, collective identities are described as a “sense of group belonging”. The symbolic-interactionist approaches see collective identities as necessary prerequisites for all social relationships. Distinctions between “we” and “they” or “ ingroup ” and “ outgroup ” arise from social interactions, which in turn are always linked to stereotyping, development, stylization and homogenization.

In contrast to these approaches, the sociologist Veit-Michael Bader assumes that collective identities “arise in situations of competition or the struggle for resources or rewards that are barely experienced and defined”. These situations are determined by the processes of perception and experience of similarities and differences. Collective identities are thus constituted in conflicts. So they always have a real common ground. This real commonality of habitus and morals is the basis for a sense of community.

The specific factors involved in the process of collective identity formation include those mentioned under "Formation of Collective Identities": homogeneity of the objective life situation, homogeneity of habitus and lifestyles, conscious and unconscious group cultures (customs, customs, rituals) , social organization, development of independent movement and conflict organizations as well as internally recruited opposition elites.

Collective identities and common interests

Collective identities arise in strategic action situations of the competition. In conflicts, in addition to positional inequalities, lifestyles, customs and values ​​also become “interests”; those interests function as the basis of all collective identities. The existence of collective identities cannot, however, be reduced to strategically variable interests. Bader distinguishes between four different ways of orienting oneself on the existence of collective identities:

  • Affectively trusting the community
  • traditionally based on collective identity
  • orientate value-rational to collective identity
  • strategically orientate towards collective identity

The different aspects of collective identity have different meanings for different conflict groups and strategy types. They depend on the topic of the conflict, on the phases of mobilization, on the escalation of the conflicts and, in particular, on the respective positions of power of the conflict factions. Some parties (negatively privileged) are e.g. B. more dependent on collective strategies than others (positively privileged).

Collective identity using the example of movement research

People who are once part of a social movement that comprises more than a few hundred people and exists for a longer period of time experience a feeling of solidarity and community with one another. Characteristic subcultures that are formed by the social movement sometimes emerge. This connection between the actors plays a crucial role in analyzing the process of collective identity or in understanding what collective identity means.

In the 1920s and 30s, the social psychologist Gustave Le Bon described the individual's identification with the group as an irrational, unconscious process and a consequence of social collapse. Work of the 1960s, on the other hand, especially that of the Chicago School , advocated rational action by collective actors. Until the mid-1980s, the resource mobilization approach dictated research based on the work of the Chicago School, which mainly dealt with political exchange processes and opportunity structures and how activists and organizations used these structures. This largely ignored the identification processes of the previous research approaches. For this reason, researchers in the following years increasingly dealt with cultural aspects and construction processes of social movements and collective identities. In the 1990s, research increasingly turned to identity-oriented movements such as the gay and lesbian movement , nationalist movements and self-help groups . Their political, cultural and lifeworld constructions came to the fore. This showed that individuals identify with communities such as the gay and lesbian movement and become part of them. Yet, despite identity-oriented movements like this, the process of collective identity must not be equated with the identity of individual individuals. The individual identities do not have to match the collective identity that was formed in the movement. Instead of looking at the self-definition of individual actors, one has to look at construction processes such as collectivity, solidarity and exclusion within the collective identity.

In European movement research ( Touraine and colleagues), the concept of collective identity described the role of certain movements in a changing society. From this perspective, the only possible collective identity is conceptually predetermined: it must be the “agent” for social change. According to Touraine , the identity of social movements indicates the dissolution of traditional roles in post-industrial society . In traditional as well as in industrial society, social roles were fixed and predetermined, in the post-industrial society, on the other hand, they became increasingly unstable. By establishing a relationship with identities, individuals try to re-establish their own insecure position.

With his approach, Melucci tried to close the gap between the resource mobilization paradigm and the action-oriented approaches of social psychology. At Melucci, collective identities are tools for analyzing the emergence, change and duration of social movements.

controversy

The concept of collective identity is controversial. While the existence of an identity as a person who develops in the course of our socialization is seen as confirmed, the definition of collective identities remains questionable for some. There is no doubt that one person can be part of several communities at the same time and cross social boundaries.

Bernhard Giesen speaks of a paradoxical situation in which the concept of identity cannot be definitely determined. This does not mean that what is meant by the concept of identity is misleading, but rather that collectives are suspicious of themselves. It connects something that is not tangible; which is why people give meaning to this indeterminacy. The lack of transparency of identity, both individual and collective, forces people to constantly reinvent it. In their imagination, communities shape a collective identity, which they z. B. express through pictures, flags, monuments or songs.

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Karl-Heinz Hillmann: Dictionary of Sociology (= Kröner's pocket edition. Volume 410). 5th, completely revised and enlarged edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-520-41005-4 , p. 431.
  2. ^ A b c d Bernhard Giesen, Robert Seyfert: Collective identity. Politics and Contemporary History, 2013, pp. 39–43 , accessed on December 23, 2017 (Issue 63 (13–14); ISSN 0479-611X. EISSN 2194-3621).
  3. ↑ Ursula Hermann: Knaurs Fremdwortlexikon . Ed .: Lexicographical Institute. Droemersche Verlagsanstalt Th. Knaur Nachf., Munich 1992, ISBN 3-426-82008-0 .
  4. ↑ Erik Erikson: Identity and Life Cycle . Suhrkamp Taschenbuch Wissenschaft, Frankfurt a. M. 1993, ISBN 3-518-27616-6 .
  5. ↑ a b Dieter Rucht: New Social Movements. Social Movements and Collective Identity. (PDF) Research Journal, 1995, accessed on October 10, 2017 .
  6. ^ Veit-Michael Bader: Collective action. Protheory of social inequality and collective action . tape 2 . Leske + Budrich, Opladen 1991, ISBN 3-8100-0917-2 .
  7. ^ Veit-Michael Bader: Collective action. Protheory of social inequality and collective action . tape 2 . Leske + Budrich, Opladen 1991, ISBN 3-8100-0917-2 , pp. 114-119 .
  8. ^ A b c Ulrich Dolata, Jan-Felix Schrape: Collective action on the Internet. An actor-theoretical foundation . Ed .: Berlin Journal for Sociology. tape 24 , no. 1 . Springer VS, 2014, p. 5-30 .
  9. ^ FW Scharpf: Games real actors play. Actor-centered institutionalism in policy research. Ed .: Westview Press. 1997, ISBN 978-3-531-14005-6 , pp. 51 ff .
  10. ^ Veit-Michael Bader: Collective action. Protheory of social inequality and collective action . tape 2 . Leske + Budrich, Opladen 1991, ISBN 3-8100-0917-2 , pp. 112 .
  11. ^ Veit-Michael Bader: Collective action. Protheory of social inequality and collective action . tape 2 . Leske + Budrich, Opladen 1991, ISBN 3-8100-0917-2 , pp. 112-119 .
  12. ^ Veit-Michael Bader: Collective action. Protheory of social inequality and collective action . Ed .: Leske + Budrich. tape 2 . Opladen 1991, ISBN 3-8100-0917-2 .
  13. ↑ a b c d Sebastian Haunss: What on earth is "collective identity"? : Comments and suggestions on identity and collective action. (PDF) trade union monthly books 52 (5), 2001, pp. 259–262 , accessed on December 29, 2017 .
  14. ^ Rogers Brubaker: Ethnicity Without Groups . Hamburger Edition, Hamburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-936096-84-2 .