Identity in Motion: The Role of Social Groups in Policy Change

This paper explores the role of social identities in policy change, focusing on how changes of group identities and processes related to social groups are linked to policy change. Drawing on the Social Identity Approach (SIA), we highlight how the salience, strength, evaluation and emo-tional resonance of social identites as well as intra-group and inter-group processes contribute to policy change, both in short-term decision-making scenarios and in long-term policy processes. The SIA asserts that individuals derive their preferences, values, and behaviors from their mem-bership in salient social groups. These shared identities not only condition actors' beliefs and policy preferences but also provide the foundation for cooperation across complex actor net-works. This is particularly relevant in the decision-making stage of the policy cycle, where alli-ances become visible, and policy-preferences are influenced by group-based goals and strategies. For instance, studies of the European Parliament reveal that social identities determine voting outcomes (Vogeler et al., 2020). Moving beyond short-term decisions, the Programmatic Action Framework (Bandelow et al., 2021; Hassenteufel & Genieys, 2020) demonstrates how groups with shared identities can domi-nate long-term policy change. These groups leverage their common identities to push for sus-tained policy change by occupying key positions in the policy arena. The PAF perspective high-lights how configurations and reconfigurations of groups influence policy trajectories over time, emphasizing internal group processes, the formation of actor networks, and changing intergroup dynamics. The paper further analyzes the process dimension of policy change, focusing on how intergroup relations evolve and impact cooperation or conflict. Social identities are not static; their salience, strength, evaluation, and emotional resonance fluctuate in response to internal group dynamics and external political pressures. Policy change, therefore, can result from shifts in intergroup relations, whether through conflict, collaboration, or changing perceptions of group dominance. This is particularly evident in instances where policy actors' networks reconfigure, fostering new alliances or fracturing old ones, thereby altering the direction of policy outputs. By bridging the SIA with the PAF and the emerging literature on Social Identities in the Policy Process (SIPP), this chapter discusses policy change as the outcome of identity-driven dynamics. It contends that shared group identities are a powerful yet underexplored driver of policy deci-sions and processes, influencing cooperation, the resolution of conflicts, and the redefinition of policy goals. By examining the interplay between identity-driven preferences, group dynamics, and political processes, the paper sheds light on how shared social identities underpin both short-term decisions and long-term structural policy transformations. References • Bandelow, N. C., Hornung, J., & Smyrl, M. (2021). Theoretical Foundations of the Programmatic Action Framework. European Policy Analysis, 7(S1), 14-27. • Vogeler, C. S., Hornung, J., & Bandelow, N. C. (2020). Farm Animal Welfare Policymaking in the European Parliament – A Social Identity Perspective on Voting Behaviour. Journal of Environ-mental Policy & Planning, 22(4), 518-530. • Hassenteufel, P., & Genieys, W. (2020). The Programmatic Action Framework: An Empirical Assessment.European Policy Analysis, 7(S1), 28-47.