The Art of Articulation: Political Engagement and Social Movements in the Making among Young Adults in Multicultural Settings in Norway

Abstract

Participation in conventional politics, such as elections, membership of organizations and political parties, is relatively low among young adults of ethnic minority background. Instead, engagement seems to find its way through aesthetic and other expressive channels of influence drawing on new technologies, impulses from transnational youth culture traditions, and both street riots and less conflictual actions. The aim of this article is to grasp a potential social movement in the making, by exploring the processes of articulation through which young people from immigrant families in Norway express their political engagement. The phenomenon of articulation is understood as a process comprising three steps or modes: (i) becoming conscious; (ii) generating expressions and (iii) collective action. We explore the relevance of the aesthetic dimensions in all three modes. As a point of departure, we present three ‘critical events’ that have generated resonance at both the individual and collective level. The empirical basis consists of interviews with young adults who, in terms of articulation, took part in the mobilizations that followed in the wake of these events.