Grievances and Public Protests: Political Mobilisation in Spain in the Age of Austerity (Palgrave Studies in European Political Sociology)

This book sheds light on the role that grievances play for mobilisation dynamics in a context of material deprivation. Why do people protest? To what extent do grievances account for the varying size of protest events over time? Covering different levels of analysis, the author argues that effects of socioeconomic aspects (both objective-material deprivation and subjective-attitudinal grievances) are mediated by political attitudes, especially political dissatisfaction. He develops a framework to account for the dynamics, trajectory and timing of the cycle of contention that unfolded in Spain in the shadow of the Great Recession, contributing not only to the field of social movement studies but to our broader understanding of European politics, political sociology, political economy and economic sociology. -- Provided by publisher Foreword......Page 6 Preface......Page 8 Praise for Grievances and Public Protests......Page 11 Contents......Page 13 Abbreviations......Page 15 List of Figures......Page 17 List of Tables......Page 19 Introduction......Page 20 Theoretical Framework (I): Grievances......Page 22 Theoretical Framework (II): Cleavages, Grievances and the Political Process Approach—An Integrated Framework......Page 28 Empirical Design......Page 38 This Volume......Page 40 References......Page 44 Introduction......Page 57 The Recession Hits Spain: The Chronicle of a Foretold Drama......Page 59 Mobilisation in Spain Since the Transition......Page 68 Contending with Austerity: An Overview......Page 72 References......Page 76 Introduction......Page 83 Data and Methods......Page 86 The Cycle of Anti-Austerity Protest in Spain......Page 88 Protest Persistence and No-radicalisation......Page 95 Downward Scale Shift and Alliance Building......Page 99 Conclusion......Page 104 Appendix......Page 106 References......Page 114 Introduction......Page 121 Grievances and the Size of Protests......Page 122 Protest Event Analysis......Page 126 The Dependent Variable......Page 130 Predictors......Page 132 Controls......Page 135 Results and Discussion......Page 139 Conclusion......Page 147 Appendix......Page 150 References......Page 167 Introduction......Page 174 Grievances for Mobilisation Under the Recession......Page 175 Objective-Material Grievances......Page 176 Subjective-Ideational Grievances......Page 178 Feedback Effects?......Page 182 Data......Page 184 The Dependent Variable......Page 185 Predictors......Page 187 Controls......Page 189 Results and Discussion......Page 190 Conclusion......Page 200 Appendix......Page 201 References......Page 203 Chapter 6 Voicing Outrage Unevenly: Democratic Dissatisfaction and Frequency of Participation in the 15M Campaign......Page 211 The Determinants of Participation in the 15M Campaign......Page 213 Different Frequencies of Participation......Page 215 Democratic Dissatisfaction and Differential Participation......Page 217 Data......Page 220 Methods......Page 221 The Dependent Variable......Page 222 Explanatory Variable and Controls......Page 223 Variable-Centred Strategies......Page 226 Case-Centred Strategies......Page 229 Conclusion......Page 232 Appendix......Page 234 References......Page 237 Chapter 7 Moving from the Squares to the Ballot Box: Podemos and the Institutionalisation of the Cycle of Anti-austerity Protest......Page 242 Literature Review and Theoretical Framework......Page 244 The Spanish Cycle of Protest: From Extra-Conventional Mobilisation to the Electoral Strategy......Page 250 Appropriation of Political Opportunities......Page 251 Symbolic Construction of Leadership......Page 255 Cognitive Liberation......Page 257 Conclusion......Page 261 Appendix......Page 262 References......Page 263 Chapter 8 Conclusion: Movements of Crisis and Democratic Deepening......Page 271 Grievances for Mobilisation......Page 273 Cycles of Collective Action......Page 280 Protesting in (Post-?)Austerity Times......Page 284 Beyond Protesting: Political Participation and the Deepening of Democracy......Page 289 References......Page 294 Index......Page 301 'This is an impressive book that makes both theoretical and empirical contributions. Based on a variety of micro- and macro-level data and sophisticated statistical analyses, it provides a quite original message: in the depth of the Spanish economic crisis, it was not economic grievances that motivated Spaniards of different walks of life to participate massively in protests. Instead, it was political grievances that were motivating them and that eventually led them to support new challenger parties.' - Hanspeter Kriesi, European University Institute, Italy 'The important new book provides readers with a fascinating contribution to our general theoretical analysis of social movement mobilizations and our specific understanding of the Spanish case. Making use of his wide-ranging multi-method research and the rigorous examination of various types of data, Portos engages insightfully with existing theorizations and improves on them in various ways. The result is a major in-depth contribution that will be required reading both for those who follow social movement studies and those who care about contemporary Spain and southern Europe.' - Robert Fishman, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain This book sheds light on the role that grievances play for mobilization dynamics in a context of material deprivation. Why do people protest? Do grievances account for the varying size of protest events over time? Covering different levels of analysis, the author argues that effects of socioeconomic aspects on protest are mediated by political attitudes, especially political dissatisfaction. The book develops a framework to account for the trajectory of the cycle of contention that unfolded in Spain under the Great Recession, contributing to the field of social movement studies and our broader understanding of European politics, political sociology, political economy and economic sociology. Martín Portos is Research Fellow at the Scuola Normale Superiore, Italy. He won the Juan Linz Best Dissertation Award in Political Science and the ISA's Worldwide Competition for Junior Sociologists. His research focuses on political participation, social movements, inequalities, and nationalism.-- Provided by publisher