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Everyday Resistance, Alternative Practices, and Repertoire Renewal in Crisis Regimes: The Case of Greece

Contentious Politics
Social Movements
Protests
P117
Loukia Kotronaki
Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences
Joost de Moor
Stockholm University
Protest Dynamics, Repertoire Change and Party Politics in Times of Crisis: The Case of Greece, 2009-2016

Friday 17:40 - 19:20 (08/09/2017)

Building: BL07 P.A. Munchs hus Floor: 1 Room: PAM SEM11

Abstract

It is no secret that the so-called Great Recession and the ways it has been dealt with by neoliberal states and social-movement allies with influence (such as, primarily, parties of the Left) has caused considerable strain on typical forms of claim-making. In that respect, the case of Greece is indicative of a much broader trend. After an initial explosion of militant protest, leading to the collapse of the old party system and the coming to power of an avowedly left-wing party, SYRIZA, the movement was predictably stunned to see that this party too was unable to withstand capitulation to neoliberal policy-making. Traditional protest thus subsided, and was replaced by what has been dubbed ‘resilient’ forms of collective action: solidarity initiatives and structures geared towards the provision of services in the background of a rapidly dwindling welfare state. This state of affairs was further accentuated with the outbreak of the refugee crisis and continually rising unemployment for the Greek population. Starting off from this key observation, this panel seeks to shed light on (and interpellate) the view that solidarity action is something completely new. To start with, it became manifest long before traditional protest had reached a peak ‒complementing rather than replacing it‒ and was part of a broader repertoire renewal evident on a variety of instances ‒such as, notably, in the widespread use of new social media during the protest upsurge and a two-month long version of the ‘Occupy’ protest form. Aspiring to a theoretically balanced assessment of novel elements in collective action repertoires in times of crisis (what is really new, how does it relate to more traditional protest forms, and how is one to appraise it?), the panel seeks papers that address the pragmatics of contemporary solidarity initiatives in the context of a repertoire renewal that was evident since the onset of the crisis. This includes analysis of initiatives seeking the ‘re-politicisation of everyday life’, the use of electronic media and the political prerequisites of the Greek version of ‘Occupy’ as well as their relation to political parties and the state.
Title Details
Exploring the Changes in Social Movements Repertoire in Times of Crisis: The Case of Social Solidarity Clinics and Pharmacies View Paper Details
Collective Action and the Re-politicization of Everyday Life in Times of Austerity: Challenging the Neoliberal Politics of the Greek Crisis View Paper Details
The Politics of Social Change: Resilience and Contention in Times of Crises (Greece, 2009-2016) View Paper Details