La crisis social de la política y la movilización política de la crisis: el 15-M

Abstract

This article sets out to rethink the relation between mobilisation and democratisation processes in Spain since the inception of the 15M movement. More specifically, we propose to analyse: 1) the origin of the movement, sparked by the social consequences of the economic crisis and the erosion of the democratic system; 2) the 15M’s discourse and internal debate around the perceived deficiencies of politics and representative institutions; and 3) the triple process of democratisation driven by the 15M movement. With regard to this latter point, we will be examining: a) the materialisation of horizontal, deliberative and face-to-face democracy in both encampments and assemblies; b) the connective (re)mediation and the online network system put in place by the 15M; and c) the evolution from «parallel agora» to »political observatory» and, ultimately, to the re-legitimisation of (a renewed) political representation conceived as a Second Democratic Transition. Data come from the qualitative CIS study on Political Representations and 15M (2011), 20 in-depth interviews conducted by the project 15M.cc, and from manifestos and internal documents issued by new collectives and political parties born in the post-15M period.

Keywords

• 15M
• crisis
• democratization
• new politics
• Social movements
• Spain