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Communicative relationality meets Deleuzian techniques and forces: materializations of power in communicatively constituting a fluid social movement

William Roth Smith

Communication Theory2026https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qtag003article
ABDC A
Weight
0.50

Abstract

Communication constitutes organizing (CCO) theorizing offers compelling explanations of how organizations are constituted through communication, yet CCO is often criticized for paying scant attention to issues of power. This article draws upon communicative relationality and the recent Deleuzian inspired techniques and forces (T&F) framework to investigate how power materializes in the relations/links/connections communicatively constituting a fluid social movement aimed at stopping construction of a police training facility. Through interviews, observation, and social media analysis, I theorize how diverse multimodal communication by activists and the state materialize links constituting the movement. This article contributes to T&F by empirically specifying a boundary condition of techniques, adding the concept of substantiating to describe fleeting materializations, and revealing how relations constituting fluid organizing coalesce around identity, geography, temporality, and civic issues. Ultimately, the article deepens CCO theorizing of power and shows how T&F and relationality offer broader theorizing of communicative constitution of organizing.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qtag003

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@article{william2026,
  title        = {{Communicative relationality meets Deleuzian techniques and forces: materializations of power in communicatively constituting a fluid social movement}},
  author       = {William Roth Smith},
  journal      = {Communication Theory},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qtag003},
}

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

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