Activism in the City Council: De Vonk and the Dilemmas of Radical Politics in Amsterdam

Abstract

This research examines in what way De Vonk, a new political party in the city council of Amsterdam, navigates the paradox of being part of a resistance movement in opposition to the system while operating within the formal structures of municipal politics. De Vonk sits at the intersection of a political and activist identity, which contradict each other in their core orientation. Their case allows to gain insights into how social movements can institutionalize and function in a formal arena while maintaining relevance, ideology and credibility. The research asks: How does De Vonk balance their activist identity and their position within the formal municipal politics of Amsterdam? The methodological approach of this research combined participant observation during a 5-month period and semi-structured interviews with party members, activists, and institutional actors. Results show that De Vonk actively rejects a political identity consisting of compromise and consciously decides not to partake in its norms. Instead, they form an activist identity based on an oppositional stance towards the system and the aim to bring about change in the form of a revolution. Rather than identifying as a political party, De Vonk constructs a collective identity with the larger movement. Their intersecting identities reveal an ‘activist party package’ defined by three dilemmas they face: the being-there dilemma (how much to embed yourself in formal politics without losing influence over the implementation), the radicalism dilemma (how much to dilute your radical argument without losing credibility with the movement) , and the false arena dilemma (how to function within the formal arena without legitimizing it). While the first dilemma is navigated through a division of labor within the movement, the latter two present a risk by causing internal conflicts and unclarity for the party. De Vonk balances their activist identity and formal politics through a diversity of tactics and a differentiation in strategy for short-term political engagement and long-term revolutionary goals. Using an interdisciplinary approach, this research contributes to a broader discourse on social movements looking to institutionalize.