The Rise of Populism in Spain – An Analysis of Hegemonic Struggles and Shifts in Power Relations

In this paper I develop an explanatory approach to the specific social conditions and power-political contingency margins of alternative variants of populism in Spain, focusing on how the strategies and hegemonic positions of different political actors have developed in Spain since the crisis-related reorganization processes. For the empirical basis of this paper, I draw on my ongoing Ph.D. research. To approach these issues, I’m conducting a qualitative media and document analysis and expert interviews. Initial findings indicate that the Spanish state apparatus ensemble, due to its historical development, has always had a tendency towards authoritarian elements. However, the developments toward neoliberalism, authoritarian competitive statism and fragmented hegemony have intensified and solidified enormously during the crisis processes in Spain. The euro crisis and the protest movements around 15-M seem to have acted as a destitute moment in which the previous social and hegemonic order was called into question. The Spanish government reacted to this political uprising with more repression. This situation enabled new actors to enter the political arena and made new forms of politics (populism) necessary to achieve hegemony. Furthermore, first findings indicate that power actors are split between and within themselves. As a result of the crisis processes that have been ongoing in recent years, a division and attempts of reorganization are taking place.