Contesting Austerity compares the contentious responses to austerity in Portugal and Spain between 2008 and 2015. The book explores how social movements and the left in these countries reacted to the austerity measures imposed by the European Union and the national governments.
Recommended for: Scholars and students of social movement studies, sociology, political science, and European studies who are interested in understanding the responses to austerity measures in Southern Europe.
You will:
• Gain insights into the distinct political cultures of Spain and Portugal and how they shaped reactions to the crisis
• Understand how movements and parties interacted in Spain and Portugal during the ‘age of austerity’
• Learn about the trajectories and outcomes of contentious responses to austerity in Portugal and Spain
• Discover how the financial crisis and ensuing crisis of legitimacy opened spaces for contentious actors
• Explore the configurations of players in the mobilization process and their impact on the outcomes
Detailed Overview
Contesting Austerity is a landmark work that investigates the social movements and the left in Portugal and Spain between 2008 and 2015. The book provides a comprehensive analysis of the contentious responses to austerity in these countries, exploring how social movements, trade unions, and political parties reacted to the austerity measures imposed by the European Union and the national governments.
The author, Tiago Carvalho, uses a multi-player perspective to examine the cycles of protest, political opportunity structures, and eventful protests in Portugal and Spain. He shows how the distinct political cultures of these countries shaped reactions to the crisis, leading to different trajectories and outcomes.
The book is divided into five chapters, each focusing on a specific aspect of the contentious responses to austerity. Chapter 1 introduces the players-based approach, while Chapter 2 provides an overview of the preludes to the anti-austerity mobilizations in Portugal and Spain. Chapter 3 examines the turning points in the anti-austerity cycle of protest, while Chapter 4 analyzes the enduring austerity and the reconfiguration of the left after the anti-austerity mobilizations. The final chapter concludes the book by highlighting the implications of the findings for our understanding of social movements and the left in Southern Europe.
The book is based on extensive research, including interviews, protest event analysis, and a thorough review of the literature on social movement studies, sociology, and political science. It contributes to the understanding of how the financial crisis and ensuing crisis of legitimacy opened spaces for contentious actors, and how the configurations of players in the mobilization process impact the outcomes.
Overall, Contesting Austerity is a must-read for scholars and students of social movement studies, sociology, political science, and European studies who are interested in understanding the responses to austerity measures in Southern Europe.
Citation and Licensing
Tiago Carvalho. AUP. (2022). Contesting Authority. https://www.aup.nl/en/book/9789048552498/contesting-austerity
This ebook is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). The full licence terms are available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Download
