Eli Ramsvik Melby

• Melby, Eli Ramsvik (2026). ‘Withdrawal from the system’. Women frontline workers’ political trajectories during Covid-19. Social Movement Studies. ISSN 1474-2837. doi: 10.1080/14742837.2026.2616465. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This article explores women frontline workers’ political trajectories during the Covid-19 pandemic, based on longitudinal fieldwork (2021–2024) within two grassroots Yellow Vest Movement (YVM) groups in south-eastern France. Drawing on interview and participant observation data, it traces how ten women from feminised and precarious labour sectors politicised work outside traditional union frameworks. The YVM provided interpretive schemas and networks for making sense of dissonant workplace experiences, particularly the contrast between public appraisal and institutional and professional mistreatment. Work contestation practices, such as vaccine refusal and workplace testimonials, emerged through informal movement networks. Over time, participants developed practices of withdrawal from the state and its institutions, including bartering, naturopathy, and gardening. These trajectories reveal how cross-sphere socialisation between work and activism shaped politicisation processes during a critical juncture. The study contributes to understanding the reconfiguration of labour contention in feminised sectors and spill-over processes between labour and social movements.

• Melby, Eli Ramsvik (2024). Under the Smokescreen of Horizontality: Gendered Leading Tasks within the Yellow Vest Movement. Gender & Society. ISSN 0891-2432. 38(5), p. 701–728. doi: 10.1177/08912432241277814. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  There is little scholarship on how gender impacts the construction of leadership in supposedly leaderless, horizontal social movements. in this study, I expand the concept of leading tasks, to get at the ways in which gender intersects with the critical organizing work of maintaining horizontal movements. Drawing on comparative data from 7 months of field-work conducted with two grassroots groups in the French yellow Vest movement, I argue that horizontal organizing in the yellow Vests (YVM) functions as a gendered structure which opens possibilities for women to take on important leading tasks: caring management, attentive listening, and superintendence. These analytically constructed, gendered leading tasks point to a tension inherent in horizontality: it creates leeway for women’s participation, while also functioning as a smokescreen for a process where group members reproduce traditional gendered expectations of women to do a “third shift” in organizing, characterized by nurturing and caring for participants and activist spaces. The study documents how women can be disadvantaged by this mode of organization. Thus, the concept of gendered leading tasks contributes to investigating how leadership is a gendered construct shaped by those who enact it, and the social structure that surrounds it.

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• Melby, Eli Ramsvik (2026). Yellow vest activists’ assembled meanings of social reproduction and the ideologies that underpin them. Full text in Research Archive
• Melby, Eli Ramsvik (2026). The Norwegian Nursing Organization's struggle for equal pay for work of equal value: an alternative economic history. Full text in Research Archive
• Melby, Eli Ramsvik (2026). Women as political actors in radical movements: Comparing activism and leadership on the far left and far right. doi: https:/www.uib.no/en/sosio/181423/eli-ramsvik-melby-trial-lecture-and-public-defence. Full text in Research Archive
• Melby, Eli Ramsvik (2025). Kvinnene i de «gule vestene» fikk mye makt. [Internet]. Kilden Kjønnsforskning. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Bevegelsen ønsket å være flat og uten ledere. Dette åpnet et handlingsrom for kvinner, viser en ny sosiologisk studie.

• Sunnemark, Erik Ludvig; Andersson, Mette; Melby, Eli Ramsvik; Bygnes, Susanne & Kok, Erlend Hua Lun (2024). Sosiale bevegelser og sted - Fra Gule Vester til russiske fredsaktivister. Full text in Research Archive
• Melby, Eli Ramsvik (2023). Pushed out by politics. Sociological Review Magazine. ISSN 2754-1371. Strikes and Care. Full text in Research Archive
• Melby, Eli Ramsvik (2023). Mobilizing women’s grievances. Full text in Research Archive
• Melby, Eli Ramsvik (2022). “We can have order without power.” How horizontality creates gendered leadership. Full text in Research Archive
• Melby, Eli Ramsvik (2022). Multi-sited pitfalls in the ethnographic study of a radical right/left social movement. Full text in Research Archive
• Jørgensen, Finn Arne; Huang, Lihong & Melby, Eli Ramsvik (2019). Education for Environmental Citizenship in Norway: A SWOT Analysis. In Hadjichambis, Andreas Ch.; Reis, Pedro & Paraskeva-Hadjichambi, Demetra (Ed.), ENEC Cost Action Report — European SWOT Analysis on Education for Environmental Citizenship. Instituto de Educação da Universidade de Lisboa. ISSN 9789898753571. p. 216–224. Full text in Research Archive
• Melby, Eli Ramsvik (2018). Queer seminars: Identity Struggles: LGBT Activism in Morocco. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This presentation discusses different approaches to identity in lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) movements in Morocco, a country known to be politically repressive in the LGBT context. On the basis of fieldwork conducted with the organization Group in Defense of Minorities (GDM) – one of the few groups in Morocco to fight for LGBT rights - I analyze three distinct ways of engaging ‘identity’ in contemporary social movements: (1) how does GDM’s collective identity interact with individual members’ activism, (2) how do the members construct mobilization strategies in a repressive political context, and (3) how do GDM members work strategically in relation to activist visibility. Several theoretical approaches from the field of social movement studies inform my analysis: perspectives and concepts from political process theory, new social movements’ theory, and network theory. My analysis shows that the GDM activists construct a space of solidarity and experience that helps to sustain and reinforce their activism. It also gives insights into the group’s strategies, which are primarily aimed at at the state through its documentation and denunciation of anti-LGBT violence. Finally, the analysis maps out the different dimensions of the organization’s visibility strategies. My findings challenge common assumptions within social movement theory that collective protest is and must be manifested publicly, arguing instead that covert activism is a necessity in a context where basic political rights are criminalized.

• Melby, Eli Ramsvik (2026). The hierarchical structures within horizontal organizing : A fieldwork study of three grassroots groups within the French Yellow Vest Movement. Universitetet i Bergen. ISSN 9788230894224. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Hvordan formes aktivisters meningsdannelse og praksiser av kjønns- og klassestrukturer i grasrota til tilsynelatende horisontale sosiale bevegelser? Basert på en komparativ feltstudie av organisering i tre lokale grupper med ulik sosioøkonomisk sammensetning og politiske verdensforståelser fra ytre høyre til ytre venstre innenfor den franske Gule Vester-bevegelsen (GVB), undersøker denne avhandlingen hvordan klasse- og kjønnsstrukturer former hvordan aktivister gir mening til og utøver politisk organisering på grasrotnivå i fraværet av formaliserte organisasjonsstrukturer. Studien bygger på data produsert gjennom longitudinelt feltarbeid over syv måneder i tre GV-grupper i 2021 og 2022. Datamaterialet består av dybdeintervjuer, deltakende observasjon, og dokumentanalyse, inkludert møtereferater. Den overordnede problemstillingen utforskes empirisk gjennom tre artikler, der jeg setter søkelys på tre dimensjoner av gruppenes aktivitet: ledelse, politikkformulering og politisk sosialisering. Den første artikkelen undersøker hvordan kjønn påvirker konstruksjonen av ledelse i to av gruppene, som er tilsynelatende lederløse og horisontale. Jeg utvider begrepet «ledelsesoppgaver» for å undersøke hvordan ledelse konkretiseres i praksisene folk utfører, og hvem som forventes å gjøre dette arbeidet i opprettholdelsen av horisontale grupper. Jeg finner tre kjønnede ledelsesoppgaver blant grasrotgruppene: omsorgsorientert ledelse, oppmerksom lytting og tilsyn. Artikkelen viser hvordan horisontalitet fungerer som en kjønnet struktur som åpner rom for kvinners deltakelse, samtidig som den tåkelegger en prosess der gruppemedlemmer reproduserer tradisjonelle kjønnete forventninger om at kvinner skal utføre et «tredje skift» i organiseringsarbeid, fordi de oppfattes som omsorgsfulle og harmløse. Studien dokumenterer hvordan kvinners kritiske organiseringsarbeid var uunnværlig og samtidig usynliggjort, og hvordan kvinner kan komme dårligere ut av denne organiseringsformen. GVB oppstod og organiserte seg uavhengig og i opposisjon til institusjonaliserte politiske organisasjoner, politiske partier og fagforeninger. I motsetning til mange andre av nåtidens horisontale sosiale bevegelser var GVB ikke knyttet til noen feministiske grupperinger. Likevel var kvinner, og særlig enslige yrkesaktive mødre, sentrale i bevegelsens tidlige offentlige framtoning og kravformulering. Etter hvert som bevegelsen utviklet seg, forsvant saker som knyttet kvinner til moderskap gradvis fra den løselig sammensatte politiske agendaen. Hvordan forsvant de sakene som offentlig legitimerte GVB, knyttet til svekket husholdsøkonomi og enslige mødres omsorgsansvar, fra de lokale gruppenes politiske program? Med utgangspunkt i longitudinelt feltarbeid, intervjuer og ukentlige møtereferater undersøker den andre artikkelen hvordan to av gruppene i studien konstruerer forestillingen om «kvinnesaker» på grasrotnivå for å få tak i de kjønnete dimensjonene ved politisk agenda-setting. Med utgangspunkt i begrepet «implisitt taushet», hvordan politiske saker tilsidesettes i taushet, identifiserer jeg tre prosesser som skyver feminiserte saker til side fra gruppenes politikkformulering. I den venstreorienterte gruppen finner jeg prosesser jeg kaller teknisk prat og feministisk båssetting. Feminiserte krav ble ofte oppfattet som feministiske, noe som skapte splittelse og konflikt, og derfor ble slike krav best unngått. I tillegg ble krav som tok utgangspunkt i feminisert omsorgsansvar betraktet som teknisk prat om øremerking av budsjetter og vurdert som uløselige av de mange kvinnelige medlemmene som arbeidet innenfor velferdsstaten. I den høyreorienterte gruppen finner jeg en prosess hvor personlige problemer privatiseres. Der ble kvinnelige medlemmers vitnesbyrd om manglende bidrag til barneforsørgelse og levekostnader gitt tyngde innenfor gruppen fordi gruppemedlemmer ønsket legitimitet. Likevel forble erfaringene private anliggender og ble vurdert som upassende for bredere kravformulering som heller sentrerte en universalistisk konstruksjon av «folket». På tvers av venstre- og høyregruppene førte universalistiske rammeforståelser til at kjønnsspesifikke krav ble tilsidesatt over tid. Ved å utforske disse prosessene gir artikkelen innsikt i hvordan implisitt taushet kan oppstå interaktivt, underbygget av hvilke meninger deltakerne tillegger de aktuelle sakene. Funnene viser mulige konsekvenser for politiske krav som fremmes av og om kvinner innenfor horisontale grasrotbevegelser. Den tredje artikkelen undersøker politiske løp blant kvinnelige frontlinjearbeidere under Covid-19-pandemien, basert på longitudinelt feltarbeid innenfor to av studiens grupper. Med utgangspunkt i intervju- og observasjonsdata analyserer jeg hvordan ti kvinner fra feminiserte og prekære arbeidssektorer, som deltok i GVB, politiserte frontlinjearbeidet sitt utenfor fagforeningsrammer. Kvinnene brukte fortolkninger og nettverk fra GVB for å gi mening til arbeidsplasserfaringer under pandemien, og da særlig den dissonante kontrasten mellom offentlig hyllest og dårlige arbeidsforhold. Protestpraksiser på arbeidsplassen, som koronasmitte, vaksinasjonsnekt og vitnesbyrd, ble formet og opprettholdt av uformelle bevegelsesnettverk og ikke arbeids- eller fagforeningstilknytning. Praksisene ble rammet inn i en bredere kritikk av statsinstitusjoner. Med utgangspunkt i sine frontlinjeerfaringer, som forsterket deres mistillit til staten, utviklet deltakerne også andre praksiser for tilbaketrekning fra politikken, arbeidslivets hierarkier og velferdsstatens tjenester, slik som byttehandel, naturmedisin og hagearbeid. De konstruerte politiske løpene viser hvordan sosialisering mellom arbeid og aktivisme formet deltakernes forståelse av arbeidsvilkår under Covid-19-pandemien. Studien bidrar til å forstå omkonfigureringen av arbeidslivspolitikk i feminiserte sektorer og «spill-over»-prosesser mellom arbeidsliv og bevegelser. Samlet bidrar artiklene til den kritiske studien av hvordan underliggende sosiale strukturer kan forme arbeidet som foregår i dagens desentraliserte, horisontale og såkalt strukturløse sosiale bevegelser på tvers av det politiske spekteret. Studien utfordrer normative antakelser om slike bevegelser som iboende frigjørende og foreslår nye begrep for å undersøke deres indre sammensetning og synliggjøre hvordan likhet hevdes, praktiseres, og stille blir undergravd i praksis.

• Melby, Eli Ramsvik & Bredal, Anja (2019). Flergifte. Kunnskapsstatus om polygami, migrasjon og kvinners situasjon. OsloMet - storbyuniversitetet. ISSN 9788278947104. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Rapporten gir en kunnskapssammenstilling om flergifte og polygam praksis hovedsakelig blant ikke-vestlige migranter i en vestlig kontekst. Litteraturgjennomgangen viser generell mangel på forskning om temaet, og det er gjort svært lite forskning i Norge. Rapporten er del av et prosjekt om vold og utnyttelse av kvinner, og forskningsfunn om kvinners erfaringer er særlig vektlagt. Kunnskapsdepartementet har finansiert arbeidet. Publikasjonen kan bestilles, pris kr. 80,-

• Bredal, Anja & Melby, Eli Ramsvik (2018). Sårbarhet og styrke. Barnevernets møte med minoritetsjenter utsatt for vold og sterk kontroll. NOVA, OsloMet. ISSN 9788278946732. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This is the report from a research project commissioned by the Ministry of Children and Equality. The study has investigated the experiences and challenges of the Child Welfare Services (CWS) in cases about ethnic minority girls who have been exposed to severe control and violence at home. The analysis builds on individual and group interviews with altogether 72 persons from the following groups: 12 young women with experience from the CWS 10 municipal CWS offices 10 regional offices in charge of foster care service and 10 offices in charge of residential child care institutions (Bufetat) 9 foster homes and youth care homes The young women’s experience The girls and young women that have been interviewed for this project are of different national and socioeconomic backgrounds. Some of them are born in Norway while others have lived here since their childhood or teens. Their commonality is to have grown up in a classical patriarchal family with a strict gender and age hierarchy. The informants have experienced strong, restrictive control during their puberty. Most of the women in our data material have experienced physical violence, and all of them have experienced psychological violence including sexualized verbal abuse. Control of female sexuality and concerns for family honor is central to the rationality of the violence, although the abuse may also be related to the perpetrator’s drug abuse, psychological problems and/or trauma. The study finds a clear divide between the young women that are satisfied with the help provided by the CWS and those who feel misunderstood and overlooked. The latter feel that the CWS were not able to look beyond the young women’s unrestrained and aggressive behavior. Some of the informants also claim that the support system did not understand the complexity and the extensiveness of the family’s control. The young women’s accounts speak of different current challenges due to an authoritarian upbringing of strong control and violence. Independence and relationship building are central challenges – some have strived to learn how to trust their own decision-making and their own feelings while others are most concerned with not being controlled. Building sustainable and healthy relationships becomes a challenge when one is restricted from having friends outside the family and the minority community. Some also have experiences with boyfriends that were controlling and violent. Current family contact is variable. Some of the informants have broken ties with their family, while others maintain limited contact. One of the women have moved back after the CWS’ placement, as both the father and the family has shown flexibility and potential for change. The CWS’ experience Our data show that the school is the first to express concern to the CWS after the girl has opened up about her problems. The CWS then proceeds to speak with the girl alone, before contacting the parents or spending additional time with her. Apparently, it is relatively common that the girl withdraws her account of family violence and control, usually early in the process or after being placed in care by the CWS. A key challenge for the CWS is to prevent the girl’s retreat, which may happen because of family pressure or lack of support from the CWS and other helpers. The study indicates that the CWS needs to understand the young unmarried woman’s position in the family’s gender and generational hierarchy. Joint meetings with the girl and her parents should be avoided early in the process. Concerning the initial phase of the case, the report discusses the possibility to move slowly and cautiously in those cases where there has not been violence or other acute incidences. Collaboration between the school and the CWS is central to support the girl over time. The CWS has dismissed several cases because of the girl’s withdrawal. If this occurs, we advise the CWS to emphasize information collected from outside the girl’s family and relatives. If the case is dismissed, concern should be noted so the file can reopen after 6 months. It is recurrent that the girl is indecisive, moving back and forth between the family home and the institution/foster home. Such alternation can be the result of family pressure and the girl’s hardship and feelings of guilt, while it also is an expression of the girl’s divisive life situation. The CWS should make an effort to hold an open door for both the girl and her family. The study shows that not only the parents perpetrate violence and control. Several informants speak of older brothers that are restrictive and violent. Other relatives and family members, living in Norway or abroad, may also be involved. In CWS’ experience, it is challenging to establish and sustain a dialogue with the parents, as both parents and girls can be skeptical of the CWS’ intervention. Some of the parents lack knowledge and insights into the lives of Norwegian youths, and the severe restrictions they impose are partly due to their fears and concerns. It is important that the CWS follow up on the parents and the family after out-of-home placement in order to avoid pressure on the girl. The CWS should consider family follow-up as a part of their safety routines. Safety issues Girls who are placed outside the home may suffer from both strong fear of and a strong longing for their family. Strict safety measures may increase the girl’s isolation, to the point that she contacts her family, sometimes without the helpers’ knowledge. The level of knowledge concerning safety measures vary within the CWS. There is a need for increased competency on risk assessment and safety work, including cooperation with the police. Some CWS offices should take safety more seriously. On the other hand, the study shows a tendency of defining honor-related cases as dangerous per se. This may trigger strict safety measures without a thorough, individual assessment. Several interviewees are concerned that such measures will be counterproductive and distressing for the girl. A constructive dialogue between the CWS and the police should seek solutions that are realistic and adapted to each individual girl. Expertise The study shows that there is considerable expertise in some parts of the CWS. However, the expertise is often restricted to especially dedicated individuals, both within and outside the CWS. It appears that the CWS sometimes prefers to discuss cases with informal experts on an ad hoc basis, rather than to contact the national expert team on forced marriage and honor based violence. Recommendations The report recommends a review of the risk and safety procedures of the CWS, including routines for the cooperation with the police on risk assessment and safety plans. We advise that a legal review be carried out on how severe, authoritarian control of young people should be regarded in relation to the child protection law. Cases on severe control often involves girls in their late puberty and girls who are approaching 18 years. The CWS should be aware that getting older does not imply getting more freedom and autonomy. The control and restrictions do not cease when the girl reaches the formal age of maturity. This implies, for instance, that the CWS should be open to placing girls even if they are close to 18 years of age. Information and trust-building campaigns about the CWS among immigrants should not only be directed at adults but also target children and young people.

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