Surfing disappointment: the uneasy inclusion of social movement activists in local participatory institutions. A case-study in Madrid (2015-2019).

The engagement of social movement activists in participatory institutions has been a central question in recent empirical works on democratic innovation. Some researchers point to positive benefits for activism such as transparency towards non-organized citizens and increased information, while other works highlight negative outcomes such as co-optation or moderation of aims (Baiocchi et al., 2011; Lima, 2019; 2020). In this paper, we explore one effect that has received less attention: the problem of disappointment, due to a maladjustment between activists’ social justice aims and the limited powers of local participatory institutions. To examine this puzzle, we explore a case study of local forums in Madrid (Spain) 2015-2019. Members of social movement organizations decided to engage in these new deliberative forums and, soon after, faced feelings of overload and disappointment. This case is useful to understand why local innovations tend to produce this effect, and how it could be addressed, considering the activists’ conceptions.