Counter-Public Enclaves and Understanding the Function of Rhetoric in Social Movement Coalition-Building

Abstract

Social movement scholarship has focused primarily on public rhetoric and single-issue movements. This focus has led to limited understanding of the function of “protected enclaves” within movement-building, at the same time that we know little about coalition-building. This article fills this gap in the literature by examining how activists in coalition interpret external rhetoric within protected enclaves. Using data collected during a field research project, this essay shows how rhetoric functions to facilitate coalition-building between a queer rights and a migrant rights organization by demonstrating how activists interpret rhetoric from 3 primary sources: media, legislation and policy, and law enforcement.