Why do some quit while others stay? Disengagement from collective action: People's perspectives from the Sri Lankan Uprising of 2022

Abstract

Sri Lanka as a post-war developing country within a post-colonial context has been the ground for numerous collective action initiatives such as social movements, protests, and civil disobediences while individuals taking part in different capacities including activism and volunteerism. The 2022 Uprising or ‘Aragalaya’ as known in the local language can be identified as a unique people-led collective action in the country’s history as it brought together communities deeply divided due to war and ethno-religious tensions. However, since late 2022, individual interest in participating collective action has sharply declined. Against this background, this descriptive qualitative study aims to understand the dynamics of individual intentions to disengage from collective action from a people’s perspective. The findings from four key-informant interviews and twelve semi-structured interviews conducted with a non-probability sample of 2022 Uprising participants selected through maximum variation sampling and snow-ball sampling were analysed using thematic analysis. The study identifies that intentions to disengage result from multiple factors on micro, mezzo and macro levels which are related to a crosscutting transcend level context. Through a multi-level analysis, the following themes for causes of intentions to disengage are identified: a) Biographical unavailability, and b) Identity Motives on the micro level, c) Declining relevance and attraction of the Collective Action on the mezzo level, d) Demobilization on the macro level. e) Violence, f) Something for Everyone, g) Social Class and Collective Action are identified as themes in the crosscutting context in which the above causes have emerged. In responding to ‘intention to disengage’, individuals practice different responses and adaptations. The identified themes of responses and adaptations are h) Changing the nature of involvement, i) Keep it Casual: Co-living with the community, and j) Reenergizing and Re-Engaging.