Conditions and mechanisms of the activist engagement: an analytical model

Abstract

This article aims contributing to the enlargement and qualification of the research field on activism in Brazil by proposing an analytical model that enable advances in the explanation of processes of activist engagement. That is, the proposed model aims to explain forms of socio-political activism that involve an ongoing action over time in defense of some cause, which tend to be empirically expressed by an organizational identification and participation. In order to achieve this goal, the argumentation developed is oriented by a realist perspective, aiming to identify which are the causal mechanisms that constitute the processes of engagement. Based on a bibliography review and empirical researches, four perspectives to explain the activist engagement have been identified: dispositional, identity, relational, and retribution. The proposed model is formulated by articulating arguments from these perspectives.

Keywords:
activist engagement; causal mechanisms; militancy; activism; social movements.