Shifting Repertoires of Action in Times of Crisis: A Comparison of Paths towards Direct Social Action across Europe

The economic crisis and the related public policies have been dramatically influencing both the daily life of European citizens and the public debate throughout the continent in the last few years. Several episodes of political contention have been shaped or, at least, influenced, by the social and economic context. In this context, research on collective action has increasingly focused on forms of participation that escape the traditional state-addressing repertoires of action and focus on a self-changing society. Boycotts, solidarity action, political consumerism, alternative finance (e.g. crowdfunding, food banks), collective purchasing groups, occupations, self-‐management, free legal advice and medical services, to mention just a few. There seems to be an increase in the types of collective action that we define as Direct Social Actions: actions that do not primarily focus upon claiming something or other from the state or other power holders but that instead focus upon directly transforming some specific aspects of society by means of the very action itself. Building on conceptual categories developed by social movements’ scholars (context, organization and identity), this article identifies four paths toward toward direct social actions: the social path, the political-social path, the socio-political path and the political path. Relying on action organization analysis data (analysis of the websites of organisations involved in direct social action) from collective actors in six European countries (Germany, Greece, France, Italy, Spain and UK) in time of crisis, this article compares similarities and differences in paths toward direct social actions across Europe. The implications of these findings extend beyond studies of direct social actions in times of crisis, to an analysis of collective action in general. Capturing these multiple paths also has important implications for understanding how the same form of action is differently implemented and received when it is adopted by different actors.