Spanish Politics and Society Hispanic & European Studies Program Fall 2009 Raimundo Viejo Viñas Office

Contentious politics in Spain Political participation and social movements

Contentious politics in Spain I. Theoretical framework on social movements

What’s a social movement?  When we speak about social movements it is necessary to differentiate them from related concepts such as political parties, interest groups, protest events, etc.  A social movement is a network of informal interactions between a plurality of individuals, groups and/or organizations sharing a common identity and engaged in a series of sustained collective actions challenging political authorities in a contentious way

What’s a social movement?, 2  Our definition emphasise at least four aspects of social movement dynamics: Networks of informal interaction Shared beliefs and solidarity Contentious collective action Political autonomy

Networks of informal interaction  Social movements are sustained by activist networks of informal interaction  The characteristic of these networks may range from the very loose and dispersed links to the tightly clustered networks which facilitate adhesion to armed groups  Activist networks promote the circulation of essential ressources for collective action as well as broader systems of meaning.  Activist networks create then necessary preconditions for political mobilisation

Shared beliefs, identity, and solidarity, 1  To be a social movement requires a shared set of beliefs and a sense of belongingness  In so far as a social movement implies a sustained series of contentious collective action, its continuity relies upon group identity and ideologies  Unlike political parties, social movements do not have clear boundaries. Collective identity plays then an essential role in defining the boundaries of a social movement.

Shared beliefs, identity, and solidarity, 2  Group identity is both a matter of self- and external definition. Actors must define themselves as part of a broader movement and, at the same time, be perceived as such, by those within the same movement, and by opponents and/or external observers  The presence of shared beliefs and solidaritues allows both actors and observers to assign a common meaning to specific contentious events which otherwise could not be identified as part of a common process

Contentious collective action  Conflict is the core component of social movements. To put it otherwise: there is no movement without conflict  Contentious politics (i.e. the politics of social movements) also involve cultural conflicts (conflicts over the meaning of events). Since in pluralist, democratic societies the meaning of events is subjected to different interpretations, social movements try to convince the public opinion of their interpretations  Social movements give new meanings to old facts. Thus, conflicts considered typical of private sphere involving problems of self-definition (identity) can be transformed into public issues (i.e. domestic violence against women)

Political autonomy  Until the early 1970s, social scientist believed that social movements were the result of some kind of anomie (i.e. chaos or the absence of norms)  Social sciences proved, however, that beyond the irrational appearance of the protest there was in fact a rational way of acting.  Since social movements are organized outside the State, the State do not recognizes the movements their ability to create and organize institutions.  But social movements are not anomic, but autonomous in relation to the State.

Contentious politics in Spain II. Social movements in Spain

A tipology of Spanish social movements  Labor: strikes, conflicts in business and economic sectors…  National (or regional): anticentralist claims, language rights…  Civil liberties: Corcuera law, euthanasia, the Basque conflict, antirrepresión, prisons…  Feminist (queer) gender (or anti-gender), gay and lesbian, women’s movement…  Ecology: protests for environment, against infrastructure...  Migrant: emigrant and immigrant alike, undocumented people...  Student: include demonstrations of the educational world, but no labor disputes teachers (labor movement)  Neighborhood (squatter) housing…  Free culture: hacker, copyleft, and copysharing copyfight...  Pacifist: mobilizations against war, conscientious objection…  No global (international solidarity): Campaigning against the Discover of America, 0.7%, pro-Cuba, Palestine, Nicaragua...

Waves of mobilisation  Social movements develop in waves of mobilisation  Over the past thirty years there have been three waves of mobilisation 1960s – early 1980s (“movements for democracy”) Mid1980s – early 1990s (“new social movements”) Mid1990s – early 2000s (“no global movements” )