Contentious Episodes in the Age of Austerity: Studying the Dynamics of Government–Challenger Interactions (Cambridge Studies in Contentious Politics)

Based on extensive data and analysis of sixty contentious episodes in twelve European countries, this book proposes a novel approach that takes a middle ground between narrative approaches and conventional protest event analysis. Looking particularly at responses to austerity policies in the aftermath of the Great Recession (2008–2015), the authors develop a rigorous conceptual framework that focuses on the interactions between three types of participants in contentious politics: governments, challengers, and third parties. This approach allows political scientists to map not only the variety of actors and actor coalitions that drove the interactions in the different episodes, but also the interplay of repression/concessions/support and of mobilization/cooperation/mediation on the part of the actors involved in the contention. The methodology used will enable researchers to answer old (and new) research questions related to political conflict in a way that is simultaneously attentive to conceptual depth and statistical rigor. Los autores analizan las respuestas a las políticas de austeridad tras la Gran Recesión (2008-2015) y desarrollan un marco conceptual riguroso que se centra en las interacciones entre tres tipos de participantes en la política contenciosa: los gobiernos, los movimientos de protesta y las terceras partes. Este enfoque permite a los politólogos mapear no sólo la variedad de actores y coaliciones de actores que impulsaron las interacciones en los diferentes episodios, sino también la interacción de represión/concesiones/apoyo y de movilización/cooperación/mediación por parte de los actores involucrados. La metodología utilizada permitirá a los investigadores responder a viejas (y nuevas) preguntas de investigación relacionadas con el conflicto político de una manera que atiende simultáneamente a la profundidad conceptual y al rigor estadístico A detailed study of 60 contentious episodes in European politics where governments' austerity policies and institutional reforms were opposed during and after the Great Recession (2008-2015). The book provides methods and tools for the systematic analysis of the interactions between governments, their challengers, and third-party actors.