Cracking Under Pressure

Solidarity and Identity Solidarity “Drawing effectively on activists’ voices and combining a sophisticated and Identity Solidarity theory of narrative with a shrewd analysis of movement politics, the book is Lynn Owens both an important contribution to movement scholarship and a terrific read.” Francesca Polletta, University of California, Irvine “Cracking Under Pressure makes a key contribution to our understanding of the decline of social movements – and, notably, the role of narrative in Solidarity and Identity Solidarity a movement’s understanding of its own decline – and provides a lively and innovative account of an important social movement.” Edwin Amenta, New York University Pressure Cracking Under What goes up must come down, and social movements are no excep- tion to this rule. Most academic studies have focused almost exclu- sively on the emergence of movements, paying less attention to their decline. But decline is an important, and active, period for any mo- bilization, as all activists know. Cracking Under Pressure: Narrating the Decline of the Amsterdam Squatters’ Movement broadens and enriches social movement theory through a close investigation of the fate of the squatters’ movement in Amsterdam. Responding to the housing short- age of the 1960s, the movement emerged in the late 1970s, peaked in the early 1980s, and then fell into a period of prolonged decline. Lynn Owens explores how movements decline, focusing on the subjective ex perience and culture of decline. Activists use narratives of decline to give meaning to events and to manage the emotions of participants as they negotiate the complex relationships between culture and politics in the movement. Activist stories define and defend the movement while it struggles with the contradictions of decline. Lynn Owens is Assistant Professor of Sociology, Middlebury College. Owens Cracking Under Pressure ISBN 978 90 8964 059 8 Narrating the Decline of the Amsterdam Squatters’ Movement www.aup.nl A U P A U P aup_owens_def.indd 1 19-12-2008 16:09:29 Cracking Under Pressure SOLIDARITY AND IDENTITY Recent social, cultural and economic developments in Western society are at the basis of increasing cultural and ethnic diversity. People’s social and cultural identitities are becoming more varied. What are the consequences of these developments for social bonds and solidarity? Finding answers to this question is the aim of the series Solidarity and Identity. editors of the series Prof. dr. J. Burgers, Faculty of Social Sciences, Erasmus University Rot- terdam Prof. J.C. Rath, Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies, University of Amsterdam previously published Minghuan Li, We Need Two Worlds: Chinese Immigrant Associations in a Western Society, 1999 (isbn 978 90 5356 402 8) Aafke E. Komter, Jack Burgers en Godfried Engbersen, Het cement van de samenleving: een verkennende studie naar solidariteit en cohesie, 2000/ 20042 (isbn 978 90 5356 437 0) Clementine van Eck, Purified by Blood: Honour Killings amongst Turks in the Netherlands, 2002 (isbn 978 90 5356 491 2) Joanne van der Leun, Looking for Loopholes: Processes of Incorporation of Illegal Immigrants in the Netherlands, 2003 (isbn 978 90 5356 600 8) Marc Hooghe, Sociaal kapitaal in Vlaanderen: verenigingen en democratische politieke cultuur, 2003 (isbn 978 90 5356 643 5) Aafke E. Komter, Solidariteit en de gift: sociale banden en sociale uitsluiting, 2003 (isbn 978 90 5356 645 9) Marco van der Land, Vluchtige verbondenheid: stedelijke bindingen van de Rotterdamse nieuwe middenklasse, 2004 (isbn 978 90 5356 678 7) Frank J. Buijs, Froukje Demant en Atef Hamdy, Strijders van eigen bodem: radicale en democratische moslims in Nederland, 2006 (isbn 978 90 5356 916 0) Irma Thoen: Strategic Affection? Gift Exchange in Seventeenth-Century Holland, 2007 (isbn 978 90 5356 811 8) Talja Blokland: Oog voor elkaar: veiligheidsbeleving en sociale controle in de grote stad, 2008 (isbn 978 90 8964 043 7) Cracking Under Pressure Narrating the Decline of the Amsterdam Squatters’ Movement Lynn Owens Cover illustration: Inversion of the international symbol of the squatters’ movement Cover design: Neon, design and communications | Sabine Mannel Layout: japes, Amsterdam isbn 978 90 8964 059 8 e-isbn 978 90 4850 644 6 nur 741 © Lynn Owens / Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam 2009 All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the written permission of both the copyright owner and the author of the book. Table of Contents Acknowledgements 7 Introduction 11 Documenting Decline 20 Defining Decline 24 Why the Amsterdam Squatters’ Movement? 34 Chapter Overview 36 1 Radicalization: The Birth of the Squatters’ Movement 43 Squatting: Individual Act or Basis of a Movement? 45 From Squatting to Squatters 54 From Squatter to Squatters’ Movement 63 Radicalization 68 Queen for a Day 81 Mistake or First Sign of Decline? 83 Conclusion 84 2 Luck Runs Out 89 Hardening Narratives, Hardening Tactics 91 Fear Itself 92 Unchecked Radicalization and the Loss of Boundaries 97 The Lucky Luijk 100 Retaking the Luijk 103 Holding on to the Luijk 111 No More Luck, No More Luijk 115 Who’s the Boss? 116 You Can’t Live in a Symbol 121 Gender Divides 123 The Luijk as a Sign of Decline 126 Conclusion 129 3 Holiday Inn, Wijers Out 133 Wijers Lives 136 Life in the Wijers 139 Holiday Away from Home 144 Strategy 152 Wijers Out, Holiday Inn 159 5 Squatting or Shopkeeping? 160 Wijers Decline, Why Decline? 164 Conclusion 166 4 Death in the Movement, Death of the Movement 171 Fortress of Solitude 174 Kok Fights: Death in the Movement 177 Death and the Movement 180 The Movement is Dead! Long Live Movement! 184 Restoring the Movement 187 From OZG to PVK 196 Collapsing Old Buildings 206 Vision of the New Movement 208 Crazy Thursday 210 Feeling Decline 214 Conclusion 216 5 The End: Now, Near, or Never? 219 Are We Dead Yet? 221 The Decline of a Political Movement 225 The Ascendance of a Cultural Movement 228 Silo Down 230 Tourist Traps 237 Squatters: from Tourists to Tourist Attraction 239 Breeding Grounds of Contentment or Contempt? 242 The Decline of Decline 247 Conclusion 248 Conclusion 253 The Decline of Narratives and Narratives of Decline 255 Strategic Crossroads and Identity Crises 257 When Culture and Politics Collide and Collude 259 Emotions, Public and Private 261 Decline as Double Edged 263 Defining Moments, Defining Movements 267 Decline: The Offer 270 List of photos 275 References 277 Index 287 6 Acknowledgements This book presents a story about decline. As central as decline is to the narrative of the book, the narrative of writing the book actually embodies a very different trajectory. Things do not always get worse. In this case, all the substantial improvements comes from help and assistance offered by others along the way. Whatever staying power this book might have directly follows from their contributions. I, of course, accept the customary blame for all er- rors and poor thinking contained within. Without everyone’s help, there would have certainly been more. First, I want to thank Eric Duivenvoorden. Without him this book simply would not exist. Part of this is due to his tireless efforts to study and collect the movement. Eric’s vision led him to spend over a decade of hard work assembling the archive, which I, as well as countless others, used to explore the squatters’ movement. Eric collaborated in making the documentary that helped frame my initial questions, as well as serving as the framing device for the introduction of this book. Finally, Eric wrote the definitive history of squatting in the Netherlands, a work that allowed me to deepen my understanding of the movement and to focus my investigation. Thus, my intellectual debt to him is immeasurable – I could not know what I know without his efforts. And yet these are not my primary reasons for needing to acknowledge his contributions to this project. Instead, I must thank him for his generosity as a person and friend. When I first contacted him for informa- tion on the squatting archive, he invited me to Amsterdam to sort through the extras that were not being transferred to the Interna- tional Institute of Social History (IISH). Upon arrival, Eric was out of town, but he sent a friend to meet my wife and me and take us back to his apartment, where a bed, a bottle of wine, a bouquet of flowers, and a map to the city awaited us. He offered up his home to us, total strangers, just to help. Since that first visit, I have been back to Amsterdam multiple times, and Eric has always welcomed me into his home and life. Not even the time when I accidentally set his carpet on fire could test his patience and kindness. He, 7 along with Margreet and Sam, never made me feel like I was in- conveniencing them, even when I know I was. Thank you, Eric. I only hope the time comes when I can at least start to return the favors. Of course, I need to thank my professional supporters. Charlie Kurzman first suggested studying the movement’s decline, help- ing me turn what seemed like a liability – a movement long past its glory days – into an advantage. Along the way, he gave me all the rope I needed to hang myself, while still encouraging my thinking in productive directions to help me ultimately escape the noose. James Jasper answered a request from an unknown gradu- ate student, unwittingly signing up for a long-term process of pro- viding advice and help.

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