ABSTRACT
Chapter 6 looks at CPI’s external mobilization strategy. Relying on the concept of repertoire of action, it addresses the group’s conventional and unconventional tactics in the public sphere, and examines the issues and actions that it promotes. Building on data from Political Claims Analysis, the chapter first provides an overview of CPI’s external mobilization strategies at the general level (6.1). Face-to-face interviews with high-ranking officials and the quantitative content analysis of election manifestos are then used to discuss this information specifically for activities in the protest (6.2) and electoral arenas (6.3), as well as for CPI’s main campaigns on specific themes (6.4). Overall, the chapter shows that CPI is still torn between the need for legitimization required by engagement in electoral politics, and the propensity towards the ‘logics of damage’ of social movements. CPI’s hybrid approach to mobilization implies that while protest activism is important, this is not an alternative to electoral participation, so that contentious performances coexist with conventional practices of political engagement. This hybrid external mobilization strategy contributed to building the high profile that CPI enjoys in the media, despite its minimal electoral support.
