Does acclamation equal agreement? Rethinking collective effervescence through the case of the presidential “tour de France” during the twentieth century

Abstract

This article discusses the integrative function frequently assigned to festive events by scholars. This function can be summed up in a proposition: experiencing similar emotions during collective gatherings is a powerful element of socialization.

Political acclamation, social media and the public mood

“…After Marcel Mauss and Paul Fauconnet (2005: 10), we might describe acclamation as a social institution in the sense of ‘a grouping of acts and ideas already instituted which individuals find before them and which more or less imposes upon them’. Nicolas Mariot argues (2011: 208–11), following this, that an acclamation is an institution in the sense that it does not require its participants to form an idea of its meaning, to believe in the cause acclaimed, or to fully partake in the jubilation they suppose others must feel, for them to join in and perform it. To applaud, stand up and shout ‘bravo’ in the theatre does not require an individual to experience an inner feeling of approval and then seek to find a way to express it.…”

“…With important exceptions (Mariot, 2011; Schwartzberg, 2010), the social institution, in this sense, of acclamation is today only rarely addressed by sociologists and political scientists. Part of the reason may be found in the way in which acclamation is viewed as antithetical to our ideas of democratic processes as deliberative and rational ones.…”

Players and Arenas: The Interactive Dynamics of Protest

“…Fourth, and as a consequence, the conventions structuring an arena are inevitably idiosyncratic and patterned. From this perspective, studying a protest arena requires that we attempt to disentangle references to settled and mutually recognized conventions from those linked to innovation and invention (Mariot, 2011;Fillieule and Tartakowsky, 2013).…”

Beyond Memory

“…We may speculate about what touches people's heartsfrom the grand narratives of states to the intimate stories of victimsbut this is not easy to demonstrate. Researchers have shown that just because we applaud a president who evokes the glorious past or orders citizens to be tolerant, that does not mean that we listen, that we internalize the discourse, or that we alter our behavior (Mariot, 2011).…”