Contesting Austerity
Social Movements and the Left in Portugal and Spain (2008-2015)
Abstract
Despite the historical and political similarities between Portugal and Spain, the contentious responses to austerity diverged in terms of number, rhythm and players. This book compares the contentious responses to austerity in Portugal and Spain during the Eurozone crisis and the Great Recession between 2008 and 2015. While in Spain a sustained wave of mobilisation lasted for three years, involving various players and leading to a transformation of the party system, in Portugal social movements were only able to mobilise in specific instances, trade unions dominated protest and, by the end of the cycle, institutional change was limited. Contesting Austerity shows that the different trajectories and outcomes in these two countries are connected to the nature and configurations of the players in the mobilisation process. While in Spain actors’ relative autonomy from one another led to deeper political transformation, in Portugal the dominance of the institutional actors limited the extent of that change.
Keywords
Anti-Austerity Protests, Portugal, Spain, Great Recession, Social MovementsDOI
10.5117/9789463722841ISBN
9789463722841, 9789048552498Publisher
Amsterdam University PressPublisher website
https://www.aup.nl/Publication date and place
Amsterdam, 2022Series
Protest and Social Movements, 24Classification
European history
Political economy
Social classes