The Consequences of Social Movements' Institutionalization for Subsequent Cycles of Mobilization: an Ambivalent Legacy

Abstract

This article explores the consequences of institutionalization for subsequent cycles of mobilization through the case of Feminist Health Centers in Italy. It examines how the new feminist wave that emerged in the 2010s engages with the process of institutionalization that led to the creation of Public Family Health Centers during the 1970s. While previous studies have examined the immediate impact of institutionalization on the actors directly involved in it, little attention has been paid to its influence on successive cycles of mobilization. Addressing this gap, the study argues that institutionalization constitutes an ambivalent legacy that both enables and constrains subsequent activism. On the one hand, it provides organizational continuity and serves a powerful symbol of past victories in the movement's collective memory. On the other, it represents a controversial legacy for new generations seeking radical organizing. The study contends that the impact of institutionalization varies according to the meanings attributed to it by earlier cycles. When institutionalization is framed as a successful achievement, it may strengthen subsequent activism by enhancing legitimacy yet simultaneously act as a burden that complicates a return to grassroots practices. Conversely, when perceived as cooptation, its weaker symbolic resonance facilitates new generations' ability to contest it and return to grassroots organizing. The article also introduces the concept of "institutionalization of repertoires" as the process by which the State or other actors adopt a repertoire developed by social movements without incorporating movement actors themselves. Drawing on 40 interviews, archival research and document analysis, the study advances the study of social movements by exploring this distinctive type of institutionalization and its consequences for new cycles of mobilization.