Contemporary Left-Wing Activism Vol 1: Democracy, Participation and Dissent in a Global Context (Routledge Studies in Radical History and Politics)

Présentation de l'éditeur : "Within many societies across the world, new social and political movements have sprung up that either challenge formal parliamentary structures of democracy and participation, or work within them and, in the process, fundamentally alter the ideological content of democratic potentials. At the same time, some parliamentary political parties have attracted a new type of 'populist' political rhetoric and support base. This collection, along with its accompanying volume 2, examines the emergence of, and the connections between, these new types of left-wing democracy and participation. Through an array of examples from different countries, it explains why left-wing activism arises in new and innovative spaces in society and how this joins up with conventional left-wing politics, including parliamentary politics. It demonstrates how these new forms of politics can resonate with the real life experiences of ordinary people and thereby win support for left-wing agendas." Within many societies across the world, new social and political movements have sprung up that either challenge formal parliamentary structures of democracy and participation, or work within them and, in the process, fundamentally alter the ideological content of democratic potentials. At the same time, some parliamentary political parties have attracted a new type of 'populist' political rhetoric and support base. This collection, along with its accompanying volume 2, examines the emergence of, and the connections between, these new types of left-wing democracy and participation. Through an array of examples from different countries, it explains why left-wing activism arises in new and innovative spaces in society and how this joins up with conventional left-wing politics, including parliamentary politics. It demonstrates how these new forms of politics can resonate with the real life experiences of ordinary people and thereby win support for left-wing agendas. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series Page 3 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Table of Contents 6 List of figures 8 Contributors 9 Acknowledgements 12 1. Democracy and participation: liberal and left-wing perspectivesh 14 Introduction 14 Civic culture and civic voluntarism models of participation 17 Social capital 21 Deliberative democracy 24 New social movements and socialist democracy and participation 28 Conclusion: the structure of the book 33 Note 37 References 38 PART I: Political culture and public spheres of the left 40 2. Organizing Attac! Organization and political culture of Attac in Italy 42 Introduction 42 Why do organization and collective identities matter? 43 Why do organization and the structure of political opportunity matter? 44 Theoretical and research questions 45 The methodology 46 Organization, participation and political parties 47 Organization, participation and social movements 50 Organization and decision-making 53 Decision-making and governance: local groups and national council 54 Conclusion 56 Notes 59 References 60 3. TEKEL resistance in Turkey: the making of the proletarian public sphere 61 The private sphere of public interests versus the public sphere of private interests 63 In-between the mysterious charm of the bourgeoisie and its repulsiveness 69 Publicizing the TEKEL resistance: an example for the proletarian public sphere 73 Conclusion: rethinking the working-class movement 78 Notes 80 References 81 4. Refuse, resist, revolt: cognitive capitalism and the struggle for the general intellect 84 Introduction 84 Restructuring the university 85 Refuse, resist, revolt: the three Rs and pedagogic resistance 86 Universities, cognitive capitalism and the struggle over the general intellect 88 Conclusion 95 Notes 95 References 96 PART II: The state and social movements 100 5. Peasant revolts and political change in Saint Lucia: the rise and fall of peasant movements, 1952–1957 and 1992–1997 102 Introduction 102 A Caribbean peasantry? 104 Peasant revolts and political change – 1952–1957 and 1992–1997 106 Conclusion: the end of peasant revolts in Saint Lucia 118 Notes 120 References 120 6. The return of the left? Post-crisis social movements, anti-austerity activism and social policy in the UK 122 The political challenge of the economic crisis 122 Mapping the methodological terrain 124 Reflections and observations on contemporary struggle 124 Movements, unions and institutional politics 125 Social movement ideas and objectives 129 The impact of the decision to act 130 Discussion 133 Conclusions 136 Notes 138 References 138 7. Social movements, media activism and parliamentary organization: a brief history of Podemosh 140 Introduction 140 Late 1990s to late 2000s: from anti-globalisation movements to the Bolivarian experiences 141 End of 2008 to end of 2013: La Tuerka and the 15-M 144 January 2014 to June 2016: the populist assault of the skies 149 July 2016 to July 2017: back to the Left 155 References 157 8. Twenty-first-century British anti-capitalism 159 Introduction 159 Anarchist Britain: a new wave of anti-capitalism 160 The socialist challenge 168 Conclusion 171 References 172 PART III: The state and leftist parliamentary politics 174 9. Prejudice on the doorstep: Labour activists talk immigration 176 Introduction 176 Making the white folk angry: racism, migration and Brexit 177 Race, migration and discourse 178 Methods 180 Analysis 181 Discussion and conclusion 189 References 191 10. Reviving popular sovereigntism: the French radical left and the nation-state 194 Introduction 194 From the French Revolution to Mitterrand’s turn to economic ‘rigour’: the French left and the national question 195 Nuit debout and La France insoumise: redefining and reviving popular sovereignty 198 The fiction of sovereignty in a world order without alternatives? 203 Conclusion 206 References 207 11. The European radical left: transformation and political change 210 Introduction 210 The post-communist radical left 211 Establishing political identity 214 The political structure 217 Conclusions 222 Notes 223 References 223 Index 225 Présentation de l'éditeur : "Within many societies across the world, new social and political movements have sprung up that either challenge formal parliamentary structures of democracy and participation, or work within them and, in the process, fundamentally alter the ideological content of democratic potentials. At the same time, some parliamentary political parties have attracted a new type of 'populist' political rhetoric and support base. This collection, along with its accompanying volume 2, examines the emergence of, and the connections between, these new types of left-wing democracy and participation. Through an array of examples from different countries, it explains why left-wing activism arises in new and innovative spaces in society and how this joins up with conventional left-wing politics, including parliamentary politics. It demonstrates how these new forms of politics can resonate with the real life experiences of ordinary people and thereby win support for left-wing agendas." This book explores the resurgence of left-wing activism in parties, social movements and subcultures in the post-austerity era. It contains a broad range of geographical and empirical case studies which are interpreted through a plurality of theoretical perspectives.