The strategic and instrumental use of verbal violence by protesters: political swearing in Hong Kong's Anti-Extradition Movement

This is the first dedicated study on how verbal violence is strategically and instrumentally used in social movements. Its primary objective is to contribute to the emerging debate on protest violence. Its secondary objective is to enrich the interdisciplinary field of swearing research by identifyi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inSocial movement studies Vol. ahead-of-print; no. ahead-of-print; pp. 1 - 18
Main Author Chew, Matthew Ming-tak
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Routledge 29.01.2023
Subjects
Anti-Extradition Movement
infrapolitics
nonviolence
Sociology of violence
swearing research
verbal violence
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:This is the first dedicated study on how verbal violence is strategically and instrumentally used in social movements. Its primary objective is to contribute to the emerging debate on protest violence. Its secondary objective is to enrich the interdisciplinary field of swearing research by identifying 'political swearing.' Based on data on Hong Kong's Anti-Extradition Movement, I identify four major instrumental uses of political swearing: attacking enemies of the movement, mobilization and politicization, identity-building, and 'personal political emotion work.' I find that political swearing can directly hurt people and indirectly do so by initiating violent enchainment processes. I also find that political verbal violence yields instrumental utility for social movements. This study's data include in-depth interviews with 30 informants, documentary and video data, and participant observation.
ISSN:1474-2837
1474-2829
DOI:10.1080/14742837.2023.2171384