Debunking Spontaneity: Spain's 15-M/Indignados as Autonomous Movement

doi:10.1080/14742837.2014.945075

Home
/
Papers
/
Debunking Spontaneity: Spain's 15-M/Indignados as Autonomous Movement

Journal Article•DOI•

Debunking Spontaneity: Spain's 15-M/Indignados as Autonomous Movement

Cristina Flesher Fominaya¹•Institutions (1)

University of Aberdeen¹

04 Mar 2015-Social Movement Studies (Routledge)-Vol. 14, Iss: 2, pp 142-163

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the ability of 15-M/Indignados to sustain mobilization based on deliberative democratic practices is not spontaneous, but the result of the evolution of an autonomous collective identity predicated on the deliberative movement culture in Spain since the early 1980s.

read less

Abstract: The Spanish 15-M/Indignados have drawn global attention for the strength and longevity of their anti-austerity mobilizations. Two features have been highlighted as particularly noteworthy: (1) Their refusal to allow institutional left actors to participate in or represent the movement, framed as a movement of ‘ordinary citizens’ and (2) their insistence on the use of deliberative democratic practices in large public assemblies as a central organizing principle. As with many emergent cycles of protest, many scholars, observers and participants attribute the mobilizations with spontaneity and ‘newness’. I argue that the ability of the 15-M/Indignados to sustain mobilization based on deliberative democratic practices is not spontaneous, but the result of the evolution of an autonomous collective identity predicated on deliberative movement culture in Spain since the early 1980s. My discussion contributes to the literature on social movement continuity and highlights the need for historically grounded analyse...

...read moreread less

Citations

PDF

Open Access

More filters

Journal Article•DOI•

European anti-austerity and pro-democracy protests in the wake of the global financial crisis

[...]

Cristina Flesher Fominaya¹•Institutions (1)

University of Aberdeen¹

02 Jan 2017-Social Movement Studies

TL;DR: In Europe, anti-austerity protests were initiated by two sets of actors, Institutional Left and Autonomous actors as mentioned in this paper, who linked antiausterity claims to interpretive system of meanings framed around the crisis of legitimacy of representative democracy.

...read moreread less

Abstract: European anti-austerity and pro-democracy movements form part of a global wave of protests following the global financial crisis. Despite continuity of actors and a double critique of global capitalism and democratic deficits from the previous Global Justice Movement, the centrality of the nation as target and focus of mobilization is a significant difference in this wave. The economic impact of the crisis and austerity policies is insufficient to explain variation in mobilization across countries hardest hit. In order to transform economic/material grievances into collective resistance, grievances need to be channelled against specific targets, and interpretive frameworks of meaning tied to a collective identity need to be mobilized. In Europe, anti-austerity protests were initiated by two sets of actors, Institutional Left and autonomous actors. Autonomous actors linked anti-austerity claims to interpretive system of meanings framed around the crisis of legitimacy of representative democracy; ta...

...read moreread less

126 citations

Cites background or methods from "Debunking Spontaneity: Spain's 15-M..."

...(della Porta, 2012b, 2015; Flesher Fominaya 2014a, 2015a and b; Shihade, Flesher Fominaya and Cox, 2012)....
[...]
...The reclaiming of the state forms part of what I have called the ‘democratic turn’ (Flesher Fominaya, 2015a) and represents a key departure for autonomous activists in Europe, traditionally key actors in articulating a rejection of global capitalism, who shifted master narratives from a refusal to…...
[...]
...Effective as it is, the narrative of the 99% against the 1%, also brings it own problems, not least a failure to recognize the myriad ways power, discrimination and injustice traverse that 99% in the form of sexism, racism and classism (Calvo and López 2015; Flesher Fominaya, 2015c)....
[...]
...…squares demanded a reclaiming of democracy and its institutions, they appealed to the rights enshrined in the constitution, to national sovereignty and governments that respond to citizen needs (Benski et.al, 2013; Flesher Fominaya, 2014a, 2015a; Gerbaudo, this issue; Oikonomakis and Roos, 2016)....
[...]
...Economic/financial crises provoke legitimation crises when elites are perceived as having caused and benefitted from them, and having failed to protect citizens against their worst effects (Della Porta 2012a and b, 2015; Flesher Fominaya 2015b; Langman, 2013)....
[...]

Journal Article•DOI•

Explaining Spontaneous Occupation: Antecedents, Contingencies and Spaces in the Umbrella Movement

[...]

Edmund W. Cheng¹, Wai-Yin Chan²•Institutions (2)

Hong Kong Baptist University¹, The Chinese University of Hong Kong²

04 Mar 2017-Social Movement Studies

TL;DR: The authors examines the antecedent and contingent causes sparking the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong, and concludes that two contingent events generating pre-emptive and backlash mobilization were the main causes of the movement.

...read moreread less

Abstract: This paper examines the antecedent and contingent causes sparking the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong. Spurred by two contingent events generating pre-emptive and backlash mobilization, the ...

...read moreread less

92 citations

Cites background from "Debunking Spontaneity: Spain's 15-M..."

...Contingent and unplanned actions are by no means an antithesis of rationality and organization, and they do not come from out of nowhere (Flesher Fominaya, 2015; Freeman, 1999; Killian, 1984)....
[...]
...They represent a rejection of vertical representative models and closed-door negotiations (Flesher Fominaya, 2015; Maeckelbergh, 2012; Razsa & Kurnik, 2012)....
[...]

Journal Article•DOI•

Redefining the Crisis/Redefining Democracy: Mobilising for the Right to Housing in Spain's PAH Movement

[...]

Cristina Flesher Fominaya

26 Jun 2015-South European Society and Politics

TL;DR: This article explored the Platform of Those Affected by Mortgages' controversial escrache campaign to show how social movements actively resisting austerity measures transcend the specific issues around which they mobilise to contest hegemonic definitions of crisis and of democracy, laying the groundwork for the reconfiguration of Spain's political landscape.

...read moreread less

Abstract: European anti-austerity movements are challenging fundamental assumptions about the role of the market and the state In Spain, the twin claims of the movements are a demand for ‘real democracy’ and an end to austerity measures resulting from the global financial crisis I argue that these demands are intertwined Using critical discourse analysis, I explore the Platform of Those Affected by Mortgages' controversial escrache campaign to show how social movements actively resisting austerity measures transcend the specific issues around which they mobilise to contest hegemonic definitions of crisis and of democracy, laying the groundwork for the reconfiguration of Spain's political landscape

...read moreread less

70 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Social media empowerment in social movements: power activation and power accrual in digital activism

[...]

Carmen Leong¹, Shan L. Pan¹, Shamshul Bahri², Ali Fauzi³•Institutions (3)

University of New South Wales¹, University of Malaya², Information Technology University³

04 Mar 2019-European Journal of Information Systems

TL;DR: This study builds on a case study of an environmental movement to derive a conceptualisation of the processes of how social media can allow individuals to assume a more proactive role in driving a social movement and provides a new understanding of the use of social media to sustain activism over time.

...read moreread less

Abstract: Social media assume a role in activism by enabling the powerless to voice widely shared grievances and organise unequally distributed resources. However, the predominant focus on the episodic effec...

...read moreread less

62 citations

Cites background from "Debunking Spontaneity: Spain's 15-M..."

...…activities are highly CONTACT Carmen Leong carmen.leong@unsw.edu.au © Operational Research Society 2018 visible and participants highly active [Fominaya, 2015; Taylor, 1989]) and periods of abeyance (which refer to periods in which movement activities are less visible and less active, often…...
[...]
...An example of related study has explored how a movement subculture that was imbued with the day-today lives of those involved can contribute to movement continuity (Fominaya, 2015)....
[...]
...The real dynamics of such digital activism, which span both periods, are overlooked (Fominaya, 2015)....
[...]
...visible and participants highly active [Fominaya, 2015; Taylor, 1989]) and periods of abeyance (which refer to periods in which movement activities are less visible and less active, often when the movement experiences a temporary decline or demobilisation [Fominaya, 2015; Taylor, 1989])....
[...]
...These two events represent periods of rupture, and the time gap between the two events represents the period of abeyance during which the less visible process of movement continuity occurred (Drury & Reicher, 2005; Fominaya, 2015)....
[...]

Journal Article•DOI•

Podemos and Ciudadanos Shake up the Spanish Party System: The 2015 Local and Regional Elections

[...]

Toni Rodon, María José Hierro

10 Mar 2016-South European Society and Politics

TL;DR: In this article, the main characteristics of the new party competition and the profile of those voting for new political alternatives are discussed in the context, the campaign and the results of the elections.

...read moreread less

Abstract: With a very high unemployment rate but at the first stage of a timid economic recovery, Spain held regional and local elections in May 2015. The election results showed the fall of traditional parties and the emergence of new forces and citizens’ platforms, which increased the fragmentation of the party system. The PP (Partido Popular – Popular Party) continued to be the most voted-for party but post-election agreements brought the left to power in eight of the 14 regions that held elections, ending four years of conservative general dominance. After commenting on the context, the campaign and the results of the elections, this article explores the main characteristics of the new party competition and examines the profile of those voting for new political alternatives.

...read moreread less

59 citations

Cites background from "Debunking Spontaneity: Spain's 15-M..."

...Ada Colau, who led the list, had become popular largely due to being one of the most well-known faces of the PAH (Plataforma de Afectados por la Hipoteca - Platform of People Affected by Mortgages), an organisation that has fought against abusive mortgages and evictions, calling into question the legitimacy of the Spanish democracy (Flesher Fominaya 2015, p. 466)....
[...]
...M or Indignados movement consisted of a series of demonstrations and the occupation of public spaces in the main cities of Spain to protest against the Spanish political system and the austerity measures implemented to fight the economic crisis (see Flesher Fominaya 2014 for more details)....
[...]

1
2
3
4
…
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47

Collapse

References

PDF

Open Access

More filters

Book•

Power in Movement: Social Movements and Contentious Politics

[...]

Sidney Tarrow¹•Institutions (1)

Cornell University¹

01 Jan 1994

TL;DR: The history of contention in social movements can be traced to the birth of the modern social movement as discussed by the authors, and the dynamics of social movements have been studied in the context of contention.

...read moreread less

Abstract: Introduction 1 Contentious politics and social movements: Part I The Birth of the Modern Social Movement: 2 Modular collective action 3 Print and association 4 Statebuilding and social movements Part II From Contention to Social Movements: 5 Political opportunities and constraints 6 The repertoire of contention 7 Framing contention 8 Mobilising structures and contentious politics Part III The Dynamics of Movement: 9 Cycles of contention 10 Struggling to reform 11 Transnational contention/conclusion: the future of social movements

...read moreread less

3,676 citations

Book•

Political Process and the Development of Black Insurgency, 1930-1970

[...]

Doug McAdam

01 Jan 1982

TL;DR: McAdam as discussed by the authors presented a political process model that explains the rise and decline of the black protest movement in the United States, focusing on the crucial role of three institutions that foster protest: black churches, black colleges, and Southern chapters of the NAACP.

...read moreread less

Abstract: In this classic work of sociology, Doug McAdam presents a political-process model that explains the rise and decline of the black protest movement in the United States. Moving from theoretical concerns to empirical analysis, he focuses on the crucial role of three institutions that foster protest: black churches, black colleges, and Southern chapters of the NAACP. He concludes that political opportunities, a heightened sense of political efficacy, and the development of these three institutions played a central role in shaping the civil rights movement. In his new introduction, McAdam revisits the civil rights struggle in light of recent scholarship on social movement origins and collective action. "[A] first-rate analytical demonstration that the civil rights movement was the culmination of a long process of building institutions in the black community."--Raymond Wolters, Journal of American History "A fresh, rich, and dynamic model to explain the rise and decline of the black insurgency movement in the United States."--James W. Lamare, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science

...read moreread less

3,370 citations

Monograph•DOI•

Power in Movement: List of Figures

[...]

Sidney G. Tarrow

01 Jan 1998

2,258 citations

Book•

The city and the grassroots: A cross-cultural theory of urban social movements

[...]

Manuel Castells

01 Jan 1983

TL;DR: In this article, the authors proposed the establishment of a multilateral forum to discuss trade, money, finance and macroeconomic policies, and the inter-relationships between them, based on the Second Amendment of the United Nations Treaty.

...read moreread less

Abstract: strengthened, IMF conditionality reformed, and World Bank, IDA and other official development assistance expanded. These are all well-known remedies, but it is important that they have been endorsed by a representative North-South group. The group also favours the establishment of a multilateral forum to discuss trade, money, finance and macroeconomic policies, and the inter-relationships between them. 'The IMF, World Bank, GATT and UNCTAD should jointly service a body functioning somewhat like the IMF's advisory Interim Committee, eventually evolving into the analogue of the decision-making Council authorised in the IMF's Second Amendment' (paragraph 7.36). This, says the report with somewhat less realism than usual, 'must not be or be seen to be an extension of the jurisdiction of the IMF into trade policy issues' (ibid). The report leaves it to be understood that the Bretton Woods system of weighted voting would apply, and it is this that would determine the character of the new mechanism, regardless of whether or not IMF jurisdiction were expanded. While there is a case for saying that any international institution possessing such extensive powers would have to be subject to weighted voting, the Bretton Woods weighting is so one-sided as to limit the incentive for the major powers to take the views of the Third World fully into account. Thus, a concentration of authority of the magnitude envisaged in the report could conceivably represent a step backwards for world trade and development. On the other hand, the group is to be commended for raising this problem, and there is probably no solution to it that would satisfy everybody.

...read moreread less

1,063 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Social movement continuity: the women's movement in abeyance*

[...]

Verta Taylor

01 Oct 1989-American Sociological Review

TL;DR: The authors used social movement and organization theory to develop a set of concepts that help explain social movement continuity, including temporality, purposive commitment, exclusiveness, centralization, and culture.

...read moreread less

Abstract: This article uses social movement and organization theory to develop a set of concepts that help explain social movement continuity. The theory is grounded in new data on women's rights activism from 1945 to the 1960s that challenge the traditional view that the American women's movement died after the suffrage victory in 1920 and was reborn in the 1960s. This case delineates a process in social movements that allows challenging groups to continue in nonreceptive political climates through social movement abeyance structures. Five characteristics of movement abeyance structures are identified and elaborated: temporality, purposive commitment, exclusiveness, centralization, and culture. Thus, social movement abeyance structures provide organizational and ideological bridges between different upsurges of activism by the same challenging group.

...read moreread less

977 citations