Collective action frames and social movements : the case of the ‘Front Kontra l-Golf Kors’

Abstract

Social movements cannot be understood properly without references to the grievances that inspire their members to engage in collective action outside political institutions. Yet as countless situations in the world suggest, the existence of grievances by itself cannot account for the emergence of social movements. For grievances to translate into action they must first be interpreted as being problematic and also malleable. Social movement actors are thus engulfed in processes of signification, interpretation and articulation that aim to construct their object of contention into a problem in need of change, in a way that inspires others to join their struggle. These matters have been at the heart of the framing perspective, which has over the last decades established itself as a central area in social movement studies. Unfortunately, in Malta, despite the ubiquity of social movement action, general research in the area remains sparse, while movement research from a framing perspective is virtually inexistent. This study aims to begin redressing this lacuna. Informed by framing and discourse theories, this study, through the thematic analysis of numerous documents and texts, analyzes the articulation of collective action frames in the case of the Front Kontra l-Golf Kors, a broad alliance of organisations and individuals that opposed the development of an 18-hole golf course in Rabat, Malta, in a campaign between 1999 and 2004. In this regard the diagnostic and prognostic frames of the Front Kontra l-Golf Kors were found to be most salient, and are outlined and discussed in significant detail. The Front’s motivational framing on the other hand, was found to be somewhat lacking. This was deemed to be due to the context of the struggle and the strategic choices of the Front Kontra l-Golf Kors. Finally, the data suggests that the campaign of the Front Kontra l-Golf Kors rested on three main themes: agricultural preservation, environmental sustainability, and the contestation of legitimacy. Although these themes feature profusely in the framing efforts of Front Kontra l-Golf Kors they are discussed separately at the end in a separate discussion that engages with the literature and roots said theme in their contexts.