Description
Since the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, the People’s Protection
Units (Yekîneyên Parastina Gel, the YPG) has been one of the most
notable groups in Syria. The group has become increasingly known
especially after playing a significant role in the fight against the
Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and, later on, declaring autonomy in
northern Syria in 2014. While various political, economic, and social
dimensions of the Rojava struggle and of the YPG have been
examined within a wide array of fields, the group and its identity
have not been adequately examined through a social-psychological
lens thus far. In this study, we seek to fill this gap by examining how
YPG supporters represent, understand, and express the identity and
behaviour of their own group and their adversaries on social media,
particularly on Twitter. In light of social identity theory, we explore
YPG supporters’ (1) ingroup representations (both ingroup members
and allies), (2) ingroup social norms, (3) outgroup representations,
and (4) outgroup social norms. Thus, we not only present the
first empirical study in this regard, but also discuss the meanings of
identity content and social norms in relation to the processes of
mobilization and solidarity among YPG supporters.
