Subversive fidelity theory

Abstract

Although often overlooked in the academy, fidelity is a critical notion for any kind of human group, whatever the size, from a simple couple to a geopolitical alliance, as it necessarily depends on it to work properly. In Social Psychology, fidelity or loyalty has mostly been approached indirectly through Social Identity Theory in a rather simplistic way: a person is considered a loyal member of a group as long as they accept all of its mainstream ideals and rules with no exception. In other words, Fidelity is thought to be inextricably linked to believing and behaving, understood in an orthodox-conformist way. By contrast, we postulate that it is possible to be faithful to a group while subverting its ideology and norms, or, to put it another way, to integrate fidelity and subversión in a paradoxical yet coherent position: subversive fidelity. There have already been similar conceptual propositions both inside and outside Social Psychology, but we delve into its distinctive features, thus laying the foundations of an initial but promising theory.