Legitimacy and Social Movement Steering: Mechanisms of the Central Cultural Revolution Group’s Steering in Beijing Red Guard Movements, 1966-1968

The steering process and mechanisms of the Central Cultural Revolution Group (CCRG) in the university Red Guard Movements in Beijing are relatively understudied. One lingering question is: what determines the effectiveness of CCRG’s steering? Combining qualitative historical analysis and social network analysis, this paper provides a systematic examination of the mechanisms behind the differential effectiveness of the CCRG’s steering process in two phases of the movement. This paper argues that legitimacy is the fundamental determinant of both the steering behavior and its outcomes, and it operates through three sets of mechanisms: the manipulation of conformity through unequal legitimacy status of Red Guard factions; the collaboration with external forces to implement coercion; and the formation of discrepant assent to the CCRG’s legitimacy as the result of the prior scattered and individualized steering behavior.