Resistance communities. Processes of participation, symbolic conflicts and liminality

Abstract

This paper examines resistance communities as critical actors in socio-political transformation within an increasingly digital society where social relationships shape collective action despite the atrophy of community norms. Investigating communities in liminal spaces facing economic, environmental, and cultural crises, we analyze how they challenge power structures through collective action and symbolic resistance. Our research examines the European Cerv Co-Green project across four countries and two grassroots associations in Rieti province defending mountain ecosystems. Through participant observation, workshops and interviews (2022-2024), we identify the forms of aggregate resistance, bonds of belonging, and differences between digital and non-digital approaches. We propose a conceptual model systematising the four activation spheres of resistance communities within the nexus identified in resistance studies concerning the interplay between the individual and collective dimensions, as well as constructive and destructive dissent. These spheres are: individual-value, communicative-relational, operational-strategic and socio-political-territorial. The model offers a nuanced understanding of the dynamics of liminal resistance experiences.