Coalitions across divides: The interactional maintenance paradigm

Abstract

Over the years, scholars have investigated how alliances begin and end, paying particular attention to factors that facilitate the emergence of movement and campaign coalitions. However, the issue of maintaining co‐resistance among distinct activist groups that lasts over time is still understudied. This contribution aims to fill this gap. Through an in‐depth empirical study of the long‐lasting cooperation of Israeli‐Palestinian activist organizations in the Palestinian region of the South Hebron Hills, this article singles out various factors that allowed this alliance to survive intense repression and change in political opportunities. Methodologically, a Protest Event Analysis was carried out after 2 months of preliminary fieldwork in Palestine (2019). It was followed by another 3 months of fieldwork in spring 2022 spent living with the community of Susiya and joining their everyday life and activism. Twenty‐three interviews with activists from both communities were conducted.