Sweden Ends Here? Social Movement Scenes and the Right to the City
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SWEDEN ENDS HERE? SOCIAL MOVEMENT SCENES AND THE RIGHT TO THE CITY by Kimberly A. Creasap Bachelor of Arts, Bowling Green State University, 2001 Master of Liberal Studies, Eastern Michigan University, 2005 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2014 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH KENNETH P. DIETRICH SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Kimberly A. Creasap It was defended on June 12, 2014 and approved by Annulla Linders, Associate Professor, Sociology, University of Cincinnati John Markoff, Distinguished University Professor, Sociology Suzanne Staggenborg, Professor, Sociology Dissertation Advisor: Kathleen Blee, Distinguished Professor, Sociology ii Copyright © by Kimberly A. Creasap 2014 iii SWEDEN ENDS HERE? SOCIAL MOVEMENT SCENES AND THE RIGHT TO THE CITY Kimberly A. Creasap, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2014 This study examines social movement scenes—dynamic constellations of people and places— created by Swedish autonomous movements. Social movement scenes shape action, interpersonal dynamics among activists, and how activists see possibilities for social change. Autonomous movements reject representative democracy as a form of authority and, by extension, reject state institutions. This represents a radical departure from strict norms that characterize political and public life in Sweden in which political participation generally takes the form of party membership and/or activity with trade unions with strong ties to the state. Through ethnographic observation, in-depth interviews and analysis of artifacts such as newspapers, zines, flyers, and manifestos, I examine how and why Swedish autonomous social movements use “the Right to the City” as an organizing principle to create scenes as alternative forms of urban life in Stockholm, Göteborg, and Malmö. I find that gentrification and urban development shape the possibilities for social movement scenes in each city. At the same time, autonomous movements try to create scenes that will change the political, cultural and spatial landscapes of city neighborhoods. I conclude that staking territorial claims allows activists to shape the future of everyday life in urban neighborhoods. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................... XIII 1.0 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1 1.1 EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MOVEMENT SCENES ............................................ 5 1.2 ORGANIZATION OF THE DISSERTATION ................................................ 9 2.0 SCENESCAPES ......................................................................................................... 13 2.1 SCENES AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT..................................................... 14 2.2 SOCIAL MOVEMENT SCENES .................................................................... 17 2.2.1 Place-Based Politics ....................................................................................... 20 2.2.2 Rituals & Everyday Life ............................................................................... 24 2.3 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................. 27 3.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .............................................................................. 28 3.1 ENTRY INTO THE FIELD ............................................................................. 29 3.2 DATA COLLECTION ...................................................................................... 31 3.2.1 Interviews ....................................................................................................... 31 3.2.2 Observation .................................................................................................... 33 3.2.3 Newspapers and Activist Produced Media .................................................. 34 3.3 DATA ANALYSIS ............................................................................................. 36 3.4 ACCESS & RESEARCHER IDENTITY ........................................................ 37 v 3.4.1 Access .............................................................................................................. 37 3.4.2 Researcher Identity ....................................................................................... 39 4.0 THE EXTRAPARLIAMENTARY LEFT AND THE RIGHT TO THE CITY .. 42 4.1 SWEDISH POLITICAL CULTURE ............................................................... 42 4.1.1 Uniquely Swedish: Popular Movements and the Welfare State ................ 44 4.2 “DE AUTONOMA” (THE AUTONOMOUS) ................................................ 48 4.2.1 Terminology ................................................................................................... 48 4.2.2 A History of Anarchist and Autonomous Movements in Sweden ............. 51 4.2.3 The Göteborg Riots ....................................................................................... 56 4.2.4 Disillusionment with political institutions ................................................... 59 4.3 THE RIGHT TO THE CITY ........................................................................... 64 4.3.1 Henri Lefebvre and The Right to the City .................................................. 64 4.3.2 The History of Squatting in Sweden ............................................................ 68 4.3.3 A New Squatting Wave ................................................................................. 73 4.4 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................. 75 5.0 SWEDEN ENDS HERE? SOCIAL CENTERS AND PREFIGURATION .......... 77 5.1 THE SOCIAL CENTERS ................................................................................. 80 5.1.1 Göteborg: Kulturhuset Underjorden (2006 – 2011) ................................... 81 5.1.2 Stockholm: Cyklopen (2007-2008; 2011-Present) ....................................... 85 5.1.3 Malmö: Utkanten (2008 – 2011) ................................................................... 87 5.2 PEOPLE’S HOUSES & SOCIAL CENTERS: SELF-MANAGEMENT & FREEDOM FROM THE STATE ..................................................................................... 90 5.3 “IT DOESN’T FEEL LIKE SWEDEN”.......................................................... 93 vi 5.3.1 The Myth of Folkhemmet (The People’s Home) ......................................... 94 5.4 SOCIAL CENTERS AS PREFIGURATIVE PLACES ................................. 99 5.4.1 Experimentation: “Sweden is a Very Controlling Society.” ...................... 99 5.4.2 Circulation of Ideas: Graffiti, Activist Media, & Pirate Cinema ............ 102 5.4.3 “Do’s and don’ts”: production of norms and practices ........................... 107 5.4.4 Physical Places: “Cyklopen is Building Future Politics.” ........................ 110 5.5 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................ 121 6.0 “FIRST WE TAKE A BUILDING…THEN THE WHOLE CITY.” THE RIGHT TO THE CITY IN MALMÖ .................................................................................................... 123 6.1 MÖLLEVÅNGEN ........................................................................................... 127 6.2 THE AUTONOMOUS SCENE ...................................................................... 132 6.3 “MÖLLEVÅNGEN IS CHANGING” ........................................................... 137 6.3.1 Infrastructural and Demographic Changes .............................................. 139 6.3.2 Cultural and Aesthetic Changes ................................................................. 145 6.4 THE RIGHT TO THE CITY: CHANNELS OF DIFFUSION ................... 148 6.4.1 The Möllevång Festival (Möllevångsfestivalen) ......................................... 149 6.4.2 Stad Solidar (City Solidarity) ..................................................................... 156 6.5 OUTCOMES .................................................................................................... 167 6.5.1 Autonomous Politics & Culture ................................................................. 170 6.5.2 Kontrapunkt ................................................................................................ 173 6.5.3 The Möllevång Group (Möllevångsgruppen) ............................................. 177 6.6 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................ 179 vii 7.0 FRAGILE AND CONCENTRATED SCENES IN STOCKHOLM AND GÖTEBORG ............................................................................................................................. 181 7.1 URBAN TRANSFORMATIONS IN STOCKHOLM AND GÖTEBORG 185 7.1.1 Stockholm: Södermalm and the Southern Suburbs ................................. 186 7.1.2 Göteborg: From Haga to Gamlestaden ..................................................... 191 7.2 SOCIAL MOVEMENT SCENES .................................................................. 198 7.2.1 Stockholm ..................................................................................................... 198 7.2.2 Göteborg ....................................................................................................... 201 7.3 KAFÉ 44: A RADICAL INSTITUTION