Demonstrating Success: Identity, Emotions, and Risk in the “Trianon Demonstration” in Melbourne

Abstract

AbstractThis article reexamines the concept of successful outcome and its relation to collective social action. Specifically, it looks at a demonstration organized by Australian‐Hungarian community members in Melbourne, Australia, in 2005 that failed to meet any of its original goals, yet was nonetheless perceived as a success by participants. In order to make sense of this seeming disjuncture, I argue we need to understand the protest as a performance through which protestors’ emotional transformations were able to alter both the meaning and the content of the collective action. More specifically, I argue that the performance of identity and the perception of risk were key factors contributing to participants’ perception of the demonstration's success. Drawing on ethnographic data highlighting protestors’ experiences and interpretations, this article blends social movement literature on emotions and identity with theories on risk in order to rethink how we evaluate mobilization outcomes and participant perceptions.