The reinvention of political community in a transnational setting: framing the Kabyle citizens’ movement

Abstract

Spontaneous demonstrations of solidarity in response to some significant event in migrants’ homes are a common feature of modern diasporas. Periodic mobilizations around natural disasters or political events activate latent feelings of belonging and challenge notions of deterritorialized identities. Analysis of transnational social movements highlights framing processes as a key tool of analysis, focusing attention on the agency of participants. The Kabyle citizens’ movement provides an important example of a transnational organization that was rapidly established in the absence of, and indeed as a rejection of, institutional forms of political engagement. Attention to framing processes highlights key differences in the ways in which this movement was presented to participants within Algeria and to those in the diaspora. The emphasis on the central importance of territorially based legitimacy gradually redefined the understanding of the Kabyle diaspora among those who identified with it. This ultimately resulted in a decline of agency in the diaspora which was unable to sustain mobilization once the cycle of protest within Algeria came to an end.