WHEN FAILURES ARE INTENDED: THE USE OF STRATEGIC DEFEAT TO SHAPE LEGISLATIVE OUTCOMES*
Influencing the lawmaking process is crucial for social movement success, but activists struggle to specify the content of bills. This article proposes that activists can shape legislation through strategic defeat, which involves using tactics expected to fail in achieving their primary goal but aimed at securing alternative advantages to enhance the movement's position. To develop this concept, this study draws on archival research and interviews with LGBT+ leaders, legislators, and key informants who participated in the campaign to legalize civil unions in Chile, where activists introduced politically unfeasible bills. While this strategic choice seems counterintuitive, their aim was not to pass these bills but to gain access to legislative spaces and cultivate a network of supporters. Then, as political conditions improved, activists leveraged these advantages to significantly shape the civil unions law. This article highlights how specialized strategic choices create opportunities for influence and reevaluates the role of defeat for social movements.
Contributor Notes
* I would like to thank all the participants of this research for their openness in discussing the challenges they faced during their decades-long efforts to enhance the lives of LGBT+ people in Chile. Their insights and dedication, often at significant personal sacrifice, greatly advanced the movement and enriched this study. I am especially thankful for the leadership and generosity of Rolando Jiménez and María Antonieta Saa, as well as the commitment and enduring impacts of Luis Larraín and Antonio Leal, who both sadly passed away recently. I also thank the comments and suggestions from the anonymous reviewers and the support from the Center for Social Conflict and Cohesion Studies (COES) [ANID/FONDAP/15130009].