Grievances and Public Protests Political Mobilisation in Spain in the Age of Austerity

He develops a framework to account for the dynamics, trajectory and timing of the cycle of contention that unfolded in Spain in the shadow of the Great Recession, contributing not only to the field of social movement studies but to our broader understanding of European politics, political sociology, political economy and economic sociology.

‘This is an impressive book that makes both theoretical and empirical contributions. Based on a variety of micro- and macro-level data and sophisticated statistical analyses, it provides a quite original message: in the depth of the Spanish economic crisis, it was not economic grievances that motivated Spaniards of different walks of life to participate massively in protests. Instead, it was political grievances that were motivating them and that eventually led them to support new challenger parties.’

– Hanspeter Kriesi, European University Institute, Italy

‘The important new book provides readers with a fascinating contribution to our general theoretical analysis of social movement mobilizations and our specific understanding of the Spanish case. Making use of his wide-ranging multi-method research and the rigorous examination of various types of data, Portos engages insightfully with existing theorizations and improves on them in various ways. The result isa major in-depth contribution that will be required reading both for those who follow social movement studies and those who care about contemporary Spain and southern Europe.’

– Robert Fishman, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain

This book sheds light on the role that grievances play for mobilization dynamics in a context of material deprivation. Why do people protest? Do grievances account for the varying size of protest events over time? Covering different levels of analysis, the author argues that effects of socioeconomic aspects on protest are mediated by political attitudes, especially political dissatisfaction. The book develops a framework to account for the trajectory of the cycle of contention that unfolded in Spain under the Great Recession, contributing to the field of social movement studies and our broader understanding of European politics, political sociology, political economy and economic sociology.

Martín Portos is Research Fellow at the Scuola Normale Superiore, Italy. He won the Juan Linz Best Dissertation Award in Political Science and the ISA’s Worldwide Competition for Junior Sociologists. His research focuses on political participation, social movements, inequalities, and nationalism.