Cultural power is ‘everywhere’ in the work of social movements – in movements’ use of defining images, in the stories told to build political will, in the work that movements do to challenge the public image of their opponents… The table below maps 12 forms and dimensions of power in relation to:
- the role of social movements
- contributions that cultural power can make.
See the overview for a simpler version, and a profile of the place of cultural power.
The table below features ways social movements exert power through:
- accountability politics (abbreviated to ‘A’ in the table): holding actors to their previously stated policies or principles, e.g. by taking legal action or monitoring compliance
- information politics (abbreviated to ‘I’): using information to inform and influence political debate
- cultural power
- leverage politics (‘L’): using money, trade, prestige or shame to exert power.
This framework comes from an analysis of the work of transnational social movements by Margaret Keck and Kathryn Sikkink (who write about cultural power in terms of ‘symbolic politics’).
Community organising (‘O’) is added to Keck and Sikkink’s framework as another important form of social movement politics.
| Power: dimensions and factors | Role of social movements | Some examples of contributions made by community organising (O), leverage politics (L) information politics (I), and accountability politics (A). | Some examples of how cultural power contributes to the process |
| ‘People power’: social movements & organised communities | • movement-building • strengthening the base of support | (O) • building a community base for campaigning • building a public constituency for change • local campaigns • one-to-one dialogue / conversations (I) educating the public | • cultural power provides a focus for what matters and why, and makes the issues compelling (e.g. imagery from the School Strike 4 Climate). It builds energy for change, creates a sense of urgency, and generates political will and momentum.  |
| • strengthening coalitions and alliances | (O) building alliances with community groups; endorsements from significant organisations | • images and narratives give alliances a focus, and generate a vision that sustains them | |
| • building internal strength | (O) • support structures for campaigns • strengthened local community networks | The strength and vitality of the images and narratives that inspire and orient a movement. Stories and images provide a ‘horizon’ and source of motivation for action, (1) identifying key defining moments in the past and (2) conveying a vision for the future and of the pathway to get there |
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| • nonviolent protest | (O, L) pressure generated by protest/ boycotts/ visible public presence (I) drawing public attention to an issue (L) delaying or preventing projects | • imagery communicates the issue, catches public attention and motivates people to participate • Influencing the public image of governments and corporations |
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| Economic power | • economic pressure
• use of market mechanisms • development of strategies for zero emissions | (O/ L) lobbying banks to refuse to fund projects; boycotts, strikes and pickets; divestment campaigns (L) renewable energy becomes economically competitive; insurance companies refuse to insure coastal property; renewable energy industry alliances | • campaigning based on social license and reputation • making corporate actions controversial • The cultural foundation of economic power  |
| Media power | • media advocacy | (I) Using the media to influence how issues are defined – shaping perceptions, setting agendas | Stories, images and political theatre become a central focus of media coverage. |
| Cultural power • Using imagery, narrative and political theatre | • ‘winning hearts and minds’ • influencing perceptions, political identities, • energising the movement • ‘capturing’ the public imagination • shifts in social norms • building political will • building public support and influencing the ‘climate of opinion’ | (L) Using images as a focus for exercising leverage (e.g. when cultural power wielded by divestment campaigning results in the loss of social license) (I) Influencing how the public ‘imagines’ an issue; shaping perceptions of what is politically realistic and politically necessary (O) Organising around powerful images and narratives that energise social movements and provide focus and visibility for their work | using imagery, narrative and political theatre to: • dramatise and define an issue in the public mind • influence the politics of reputation, legitimacy and social license • change perceptions • create defining moments • generate political will • create a node or focal point which political activity occurs around • generate ‘moral energy’ and ‘political energy’ • influence shifts in values • normalise new approaches • generate political momentum  |
| Identities, emotions, motivations… subjective factors | • evoking emotion and motivation to respond • countering efforts to stir up public fear and prejudice • shaping the ‘public imagination’ • engaging with values | (O) Building optimism, confidence and a sense of belonging within social movement groups; applying intergroup conflict resolution processes to bring together opposing groups (I) Framing | • Using imagery and narrative to engage identity, build identification, build a sense of empowerment, counter the images used by opponents, and to motivate public responses. • turning policy debates into debates about defining images. • when people might identify with a pro-coal message, promoting alternative stories (e.g. the story of school strikers and Greta Thunberg). • using satire and social drama to challenge and de-legitimise existing power structures. • building trust – e.g. trusted public figures align themselves with the climate movement • countering powerful images used by opponents (e.g. when racist imagery is mobilised, or when images of terrorist attacks are used to bolster the case for draconian national security laws) with powerful images in response – not just with ‘information politics’ (e.g. the images generated by the US Civil Rights movement, images portrayed by “Witness Against Torture” evoking Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay).  |
| Political will and political energy | • capturing the ‘public imagination’ • shifting the ‘climate of opinion’ and the ‘political climate’ | (I) informing people about the issues (O) building and strengthening networks of people who are concerned | • using imagery and narratives to provide a focus for debate and a node around which people act • building an energised movement • energising public debate • exerting moral power • evoking iconic themes and creating defining moments  Image: Jens Volle/ Ende Gelände |
| Power over information: facts, knowledge and awareness | • informing and educating • communicating facts and reasoning | (A) Building support for holding government and corporate actors to account (I) • Informing the public about an issue • Media advocacy, publishing research and applying scientific expertise | • Images and narrative support the process of persuasion, enabling social movements to be profiled in the media: often the images and narratives more than ‘the facts’ make the strongest impression |
| Structural power | Challenging power structures organised around social divisions involving (e.g.) class, race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, the Global South and the Global North | (O) marginalised groups organise to challenge existing structures (A) legal and administrative action taken to create formal and equality and undermine structural inequality | Cultural power is used to make unjust structures visible, provide a focus for reinterpreting experience in the context of structural power, portray a picture of a different future, communicate the history of structural inequality, and galvanise movements for change |
| Legal power | Using legal processes to challenge governments and institutions | (L, A) Campaigning for changes to legislation; claims for damages (L) Delaying projects through legal action (A) Legal challenges | • Establishing the case for changing legislation – e.g. establishing a sense of scandal at the existing situation • Telling plaintiff’s stories • Using legal action as a platform to narrate the issues in public |
| Military and law enforcement power | e.g. working with retired military figures to highlight the security threats posed by climate change | Amplifying the message that climate change is a security threat. | |
| Systemic power e.g. the financial system, the entrenched place of fossil fuels in our societies | Using leverage and other forms of politics to influence institutions | (L) Financial institutions face regulatory action from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority over how they deal with climate risk (A) legal action (O) engagement with elite supporters of climate action | Cultural power is used to build momentum behind initiatives that create a more sustainable and liveable system and erode damaging systems. |
| Government power | • Lobbying and electoral politics: using mainstream political processes and lobbying for policy enactment | (L) High level lobbying; building alliances with supportive MPs (A) Using formal policy processes; applying legal, scientific, and economic expertise (I) Research and policy advice; informing the public about the issues (O) organising to exert electoral power | Cultural power generates political will, defines the issues in the public imagination, supports persuasion processes, and creates nodes around which debate and political action takes place. |