Of Minutemen and Rebel Clown Armies: Reconsidering Transformative Citizenship.

What does it mean for progressive performance activists to use citizenship as an animating rhetoric? To address this question, I examine the activist tactics of two ideologically opposed groups: the civilian border-watch organizations known as Minutemen and a neo-anarchist collective called the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army. While the Minutemen pursue a particular paleoconservative ideal of citizen-as-activist, the Clowns eschew citizenship rhetoric altogether. Through an analysis of the two groups, I conclude that citizenship as a concept operates in tension with radical democratic ideals of equality and liberty for all. Nevertheless, its hegemonic effectiveness in progressive endeavors makes it indispensible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]