The present monograph issue focuses on the 2011–2012 global wave of protests that began in Tunisia in 2011. This introductory article notes that two streams of mobilization can be distinguished in terms of the specific grievances they express, and the socioeconomic and political contexts in which they have emerged. The article argues, however, that despite these differences both threads find their antecedents in the increasing and widespread social and economic levels of inequality, which requires social movements theories to ‘bring political economy back’ in the analysis of mobilization. It is further argued that the various occupy movements that have emerged since 2011 constitute diverse manifestations of a new international cycle of contention. With its innovative and distinctive traits in terms of diffusion, coordination, action repertoires, frames, and types of activism, this new cycle seeks to both transform the economic system to provide greater equality, opportunities, and personal fulfillment and, simultaneously, to democratize power in more participatory ways.

In the editors’ introduction they noted how the various mobilizations starting in 2011 raised important questions for social movement scholars. The various articles in this issue have explored the emergence, dynamics, and significance of the social mobilizations, contestations, and confrontations that started with the Arab Spring mobilizations and continue to this day. This concluding article is focused on three main aspects that emerge from the editors’ dialogue with the different contributions. The first is the context, beginning with a political-economic account of neoliberalism, the various crises of legitimacy that it has fostered over the last three decades, and the role of new media (ICTs) in engendering these mobilizations, their coordination, and globalization. The second aspect focuses on some of the characteristics of this cycle of contention, mostly the actors and their networks, identities and the new practices of occupying public space. The third and last part represents an attempt to evaluate the general trajectory of these mobilizations over the last two years.

This article seeks to analyze the mobilizations that are currently taking place in Spain as a result of the multidimensional crisis unleashed in 2008. The authors study the ‘15M movement,’ or that of the Spanish indignados, by focusing on three analytical axes: the cognitive, emotional, and relational processes feeding the construction of a social movement identity. First, the article refers to the diagnostic, prognostic, and motivational framing tasks performed by 15M participants to define the problematic situation and attribute blame, articulate a solution to the problem and devise strategies to achieve that end, and motivate participants to sustain their engagement and remedy the situation. Second, the article concentrates on the emotions that were ‘mobilized’ by social movement organizations linked to the 15M (e.g. outrage or indignation), and those emotions that emerged spontaneously during the ‘encounters’ that took place in the public space: joy, efficacy, and empowerment. Finally, the article addresses the relational aspects entailed in the process of identity construction, that is, the activation and de-activation of both ‘real’ and ‘imaginary’ ties between 15M members and previous and/or current political and social collectives within the ‘progressive field.’ In following this triple objective, the article describes the process of identity-synchronization that has allowed people with no previous political participation and with different and oftentimes opposing politico-ideological trajectories to feel part of the movement. The data come from 17 in-depth interviews and eight focus groups with key activists, ethnographic observations in camps and assemblies in both Bilbao and Madrid during the summer of 2011, and visual materials displayed in web pages and Facebook accounts associated to the 15M.

La idea que me gustaría desarrollar es que cualquier intento de explicación de lo que sucede hoy en el País Vasco con el proceso de recuperación de la lengua sólo puede ser entendido si lo relacionamos con el proceso de construcción de la identidad colectiva vasca. En la cristalización de esta vinculación creciente entre lengua e identidad, el movimiento etnolingüístico ha desempeñado un papel central. Trataré de desarrollar mi argumento en cinco apartados. Primero, expondré las diferentes aportaciones teóricas sobre el proceso de construcción de la identidad colectiva y los enfoques dominantes en el análisis de la movilización social. Segundo, repasaré los antecedentes históricos más recientes sobre la identidad colectiva vasca y los contextos en los que se van transformando sus contenidos. Tercero, presentaré las consecuencias para la lengua y la identidad colectiva vasca del movimiento de recuperación lingüística de los años sesenta y setenta. Cuarto, analizaré la influencia de los cambios políticos de los ochenta y la progresiva institucionalización de la identidad colectiva vasca sobre el movimiento y la situación lingüística. Quinto, estudiaré las transformaciones que han tenido lugar en el movimiento de recuperación lingüística en los últimos años como resultado de los cambios experimentados en la sociedad vasca.

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