Pinballs, religion, and the family: explaining the growth of rightwing transnational activism with a new theory of strategic interaction

This article explains the growth of rightwing transnational family-centric networks. Emerging in the late 1990s, these networks have increased in size and visibility, even appearing before international organisations such as the UN. Building on the scholarship on transcalar transnational activism, I present a theory that explains the dynamics of network growth by analogy with pinball—using techniques that I call shooting, bouncing, and ramping—to champion a pre-political, heteronormative conception of the ‘natural family’ when acting and reacting to political developments in cities, states, universities, the press, and international organisations. In pinballing, rightwing networks strategically deploy their conception of family values to strengthen alliances, increase visibility, and change policy.