Politics of the encounter: Cognition, emotions, and networks in the Spanish 15M

Abstract

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.

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“…Although this is a negative formulation of collective identity, for it tells us what the protesters are not rather than who (or what) they are, the shared understanding was that the «we» referred to ordinary citizens/people -as we saw in the exclusion of political parties and trade unions from the original list of invited participants in the marches. The long weeks of assemblary and group work undertaken in the squares allowed protesters to reinforce the idea of a movement of citizens, of unique persons who represented no one but themselves (Perugorría and Tejerina, 2013).…”

“…Meanwhile the working groups busied themselves with thematic issues such as the environment, the economy, and politics. There were also assemblies for campers as well as general assemblies that brought together campers and non-campers (Perugorría andTejerina, 2013: 428, Postill, 2014b).…”

Repression of the Spanish Protest Movement – Mechanisms and Consequences

“…In 2011, dissatisfaction with the economic and political status quo led to an outburst of the protest movement, called 15M (Antentas and Vivas 2011;Hughes 2011;Perugorría and Tejerina 2013;Taibo 2011). After large city square occupations, the movement decentralized into various forms of civil society activism like regional protest-groups, popular assemblies, self-help groups, soup kitchens, legislative initiatives, and social centers.…”

Jóvenes en movimiento en el mundo globalizado

“…Diferentes cientíicos y activistas se han ocupado de las continuidades y discontinuidades con otros grupos y movimientos (Perugorría y Tejerina, 2012), sus antecedentes y desafíos (Alberich, 2012), su composición (Kalvo et al, 2011, y Kalvo, 2013, los procesos de aprendizaje colectivo (Romanos, 2013), el papel del discurso, las emociones y las redes en la movilización (Perugorría y Tejerina, 2013), su funcionamiento interno (Corsín y Estalella, 2011;Nez, 2012;Estalella y Corsín, 2013), la importancia de las tecnologías de la información , la articulación de redes internas y el uso de tecnologías de la información y comunicación (Castells, 2013), su inluencia política (Jiménez, 2011), su capacidad democratizadora (Rivas, 2011y Romanos, 2011, las asambleas como escuelas de democracia (Rivero, 2012) o su capacidad para sincronizar diversas identidades . Además, ha sido objeto de una amplia difusión internacional y comparación con otras olas de movilización como la Primavera Árabe, los movimientos tipo Occupy Wall Street (Langman, 2013) o las movilizaciones anti-austeridad (Benski, et al, 2013;Perugorria, Shalev y Tejerina, 2014).…”