Why Follow the Style, Not Just the Organization?

Abstract

This chapter investigates how different scene styles inhabit different spaces of a coalition. Following scene style presents a new angle on what makes or breaks a coalition. Indeed, disagreements over style can weaken a coalition. Sparks flew as a clash of styles at two Housing Justice (HJ) coordinating committee meetings. After those episodes, the HJ coalition fractured as several HJ ally organizations withdrew their representatives and energies from the coalition's work. Field evidence suggests that these decisions emerged from an ongoing commitment to a style of action — in this case, a community of identity. The chapter argues that HJ advocates had a different kind of disagreement about framing from what the entrepreneurial model highlights. A close look at several dramatic HJ meetings shows that advocates' deeper clash was over what framing is for to begin with.