'Bubbling Up' of Subterranean Politics in Europe

The ‘Bubbling Up’ of Subterranean Politics in Europe Mary Kaldor and Sabine Selchow with Sean Deel and Tamsin Murray-Leach Civil Society and Human Security Research Unit London School of Economics and Political Science June 2012 Open access. Some rights reserved. The authors would like to encourage the circulation of our work as widely as possible while retaining the copyright. We therefore have an open access policy which enables anyone to access our content online without charge. Anyone can download, save or distribute this work in any format, including translation, without written permission, subject to the following main condi- tions: • The author(s) are credited • This summary and the address www.subterraneanpolitics.eu are displayed • The text is not altered and is used in full • The work is not resold • A copy of the work or link to its use online is sent to the Human Security and Civil Society Research Unit at the London School of Economics and Political Science You are welcome to ask for permission to use this work for purposes other than those covered by the licence, including for citation. The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) or the Department of International Development. Neither the authors nor LSE accepts any liability for loss or damage incurred as a result of the use of or reliance on the content of this publication. Contents Acknowledgements List of contextual research reports List of Illustrations Executive Summary 1 Introduction 2 Researching Subterranean Politics 3 Findings 4 Implications Appendix A: European Initiatives Appendix B: ‘Mapping Occupy: Representations of Civil Society’ Appendix C: Research Teams References Acknowledgements This research would not have been possible without the generous support of the Open Society Foun- dations. In particular, we would like to thank Rayna Gavrilova, Heather Grabbe and Ellen Riotte for their help and enthusiasm throughout. This report presents the initial findings of the ‘Subterranean Politics’ research project, based on seven contextual case studies carried out by researchers from partner institutions across Europe; for a full listing please see the page on Contextual Research Reports. We would especially like to thank all those who gave their time to take part in the focus groups and interviews carried out by the field teams. It is also important to stress – partially on their behest – that their comments and our extrapo- lations do not necessarily reflect the views of all those involved in the loosely affiliated groups and movements that we see as characteristic of ‘Subterranean Politics’. Indeed, the importance of avoiding the imposition of an overriding ideology on fellow activists is a core belief of many of those inter- viewed. Although the majority of those we spoke to consented to the use of their names, we have pre- served anonymity for consistency in this initial report. The individual case studies will be published as part of an edited volume on subterranean politics to be published by Palgrave in 2013. We would also like to thank Dominika Spyratou and Pippa Bore in the Civil Society and Human Security Unit of the LSE for their tireless assistance. All errors and omissions remain our own. Mary Kaldor Sabine Selchow Sean Deel Tamsin Murray-Leach Contextual Research Reports This report was based on the following studies: Trans-European Study 1 European progressive activists: Obstacles on the road towards an “Alter-Europe” Geoffrey Pleyers (University of Louvain) Bartolomeo Conti (CADIS, Paris) Trans-European Study 2 European alternatives: Trajectories of mobilisation and policy projects for responding to Europe’s crisis Mario Pianta (University of Urbino) Paolo Gerbaudo (American University in Cairo) Germany Study The ‘Swarm Intelligence’: Mapping Subterranean Politics in Germany Helmut K. Anheier (Hertie School of Governance) Anne Nassauer (Berlin Graduate School of Social Science) Hungary Study Hungary at the Vanguard of Europe’s Rearguard? Emerging Subterranean Politics and Civil Dissent Professor Jody Jensen (ISES) Erin Saltman (UCL) Hajnalka Szarvas (Corvinus University) Italy Study 2011: A year of protest on social justice in Italy Professor Donatella della Porta (European University Institute) Dr Lorenzo Mosca (European University Institute) Dr Louisa Parks (European University Institute) Spain Study The 15-M Movement: a bet for radical democracy Jordi Bonet i Martí (Centro de Estudios y Documentación Internacionales de Barcelona, CIDOB) London Study Politics, Process and the Absence of Europe: Subterranean Politics in London Sean Deel (LSE) Tamsin Murray-Leach (LSE) Maro Pantazidou List of Illustrations Figure 1: ‘Occupy’-related protests in Europe Figure 2: Positive opinion of the 15M movement by political party support Figure 3: The Church of England and Occupy: timeline of the church’s response to the Occupy LSX protest camp Figure 4: Berlin and Saarland state elections (difference from previous elections) Figure B.1: Occupy LSX and the Use of Public Space Figure B.2: Organigrama 2.0: Mapping Occupy Spain Figure B.3: A Sketch of Syntagma Square Table 1: Trust in Political Parties, national government and the Internet: % of the population Table A.1: Selected European Initiatives Executive Summary This is one of those rare moments in history when subterranean politics ‘bubbles up’ to the surface. What we mean by subterranean politics is politics that is not usually visible in mainstream political debates. The current demonstrations, protests and occupations, or new social initiatives of various kinds are probably less joined up, more heterogeneous and not even bigger than similar phenomena that our research on Global Civil Society has tracked over the last decade. But what is special about subterranean politics in 2011 and 2012 is their ‘resonance’, the way that they strike a chord in mainstream public opinion. The Subterranean Politics in Europe project pursued a dual strategy. First, we set out to map initiatives for reforming or transforming the European Union. Secondly, we investigated a variety of social mobilizations and collective activities across Europe that we call ‘subterranean politics’, in order to find out what they are about and how they relate to ideas about Europe. Since there was very little overlap between the two prongs of the strategy, our findings about European initiatives are included in Appendix A, while the main body of the report focuses on subterranean politics. In order to research subterranean politics, we undertook seven contextual case studies – four national studies (Germany, Hungary, Italy and Spain), one global city (London), and two trans-European studies (one focused on trans-European grassroots initiatives and one focused on trans-European initiatives and anti-austerity movements). Our main findings are: It is all about politics The most important finding that emerges from our project is that what is shared across different types of protests, actions, campaigns and initiatives is extensive frustration with formal politics. Terms associated with subterranean political actions such as ‘angry’, ‘indignant’ or ‘disappointed’ are an expression of this frustration. By and large, protests are not about austerity per se but rather about the failures of democracy as currently practiced. It is about democracy, but not democracy as usual What we see in all the public displays of subterranean politics are projects of collective re-imagining of democracy, of its practices and, importantly, of its relation to everyday life. Our interviewees stressed the subjective experience of participating in politics and pioneering new experiments of democracy. This applies both to the assemblies and new techniques of consensus building in public squares and campaigning for the recent referendum in Italy, which was seen as an example of direct democracy. 2.0 Culture The role of the Internet is critical at the level of mobilisation, much of which was coordinated over social networks. But above all the experience of living with the Internet has had a profound impact on the culture of politics. Many activists are preoccupied with Internet freedom, particularly issues of anti-piracy. The term ‘swarm intelligence’, which is used to describe collective actions based on horizontality, replaceability and leaderlessness, is characteristic both of online activism and of the occupation of squares. Concern with process, accountability and transparency for many subterranean actors is more important than a programme of specific demands. Europe is invisible Europe does not play a relevant role in the debates and protests that we have studied. In the few instances in which it is ‘visible’, it tends to be regarded as part of the problem as much as part of the solution. While many of our interviewees regard themselves as European in terms of life experience, and many are concerned with and aware of global issues, Europe as a political community or a public space only seems to exist for a small ‘expert’ minority. The implications of these findings are twofold. First, it is important to bring together ‘expert activists’, who have put forward European initiatives, with subterranean actors in order to discuss the political, rather than the financial, crisis of Europe and, in so doing, to make Europe more visible by ‘problematising’ it. Through a critical and active debate on politics, Europe may regain its potential

Load more