Framing collective identities in Swedish and Spanish left-leaning parties’ intra-party education

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article sets out to uncover the role that educational activities for members play in the construction of identities in political parties. Guided by a framing perspective, the study focuses on five left-leaning parties in Sweden and Spain and their intra-party education, and interviews have been conducted with party representatives and study leaders. The analysis reveals that the educational activities provided by the parties for their members are intended to create a sense of belonging and connect the members to the parties. Three different tendencies for creating a sense of ‘we-ness’ in the parties unfold – (i) Welcome!, (ii) Get in line! And (iii) Unite! – which mirrors how identities are constructed within the education to reinforce the members’ relationships with their parties. Emphasising these three identities serves to distinguish how frames are integrated into educational settings and how the parties motivate their members to become engaged in the party collectives.