Politicizzazione dell'identità e discussione online: una ricerca su giovani attivisti di movimenti e partiti

[Autom. eng. transl.] Introduction. The collective identity is politicized when the members of a group come to agree on the need to change a situation of injustice and when they become aware of having to move in a public arena (Klandermans, 2002). To understand this process, it is necessary to: 1) examine how group identity not only influences (Van Zomeren et al., 2008) but is also influenced by the other psychosocial antecedents of collective action (Thomas et al., 2012); 2) to investigate how intra -‐ group communication leads to consensualization around collective norms (Postmes et al., 2005). In this process, online political discussion could play an important role, since it moderates the effect of the psychosocial antecedents of collective action (Alberici and Milesi, 2012). Targets. This research investigates how the collective identity of young activists of movements and parties politicizes and explores the role played by online political discussion. Method. A qualitative analysis of 20 semi-structured interviews was conducted in which the activists reconstructed the history of their political commitment. Results. Group identity is politicized by encapsulating the belief that some basic moral principles are disregarded in society, but also that the group can raise public awareness and trigger a process of social change. Especially in movement activists, online discussion, thanks to some of its characteristics (eg counter-information and homogeneity), favors the consensualization of these beliefs, thus filling the collective identity with meaning. Conclusion. It is useful to analyze how intra-group communication, even online, transforms individual beliefs into group norms that contribute to politicizing collective identity.