Leaderless Movements? Rethinking Leaders, Spontaneity, and Organisation-Ness

‘Leaderless movements’ are hallmarks of contemporary contentious politics. Yet, scholars have not reached a consensus on the definition of leaderless movements – with some highlighting ‘spontaneity’ while others explore ‘organisation-ness’. This study informs the theoretical debates by conceptualisi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inPolitical science Vol. 75; no. 2; pp. 105 - 121
Main Author Fong, Brian C.H.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Taylor & Francis Group 04.05.2023
Subjects
Case studies
Extradition
Political leadership
Politics
Social movement organizations
Social movements
Spontaneity
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:‘Leaderless movements’ are hallmarks of contemporary contentious politics. Yet, scholars have not reached a consensus on the definition of leaderless movements – with some highlighting ‘spontaneity’ while others explore ‘organisation-ness’. This study informs the theoretical debates by conceptualising leaderless movements as a shifting interplay of leaders, spontaneity and organisation-ness, using the case study of the 2019–20 Hong Kong Anti-Extradition Bill Movement. This study found that a plurality of social movement organisations had integrated both spontaneity and organisation-ness when mobilising, spanning from organisation formalisation to managing resources and advancing actions. The empirical findings of this study point to the need for rethinking the dynamics of leaders, spontaneity, and organisation-ness in contentious politics, suggesting a new definition that guides future studies of leaderless movements worldwide.
ISSN:0032-3187
2041-0611
DOI:10.1080/00323187.2023.2259396