Italian Society for Political Science
XXIV Congresso SISP
www.sisp.it
Call for papers, new deadline July 1, 2010
Panel: "Social movements and popular politics in transitional processes"
Convenors: Guya Accornero (guya.accornero@???) and Pedro Ramos Pinto (pedro.ramospinto@???)
Italian Society for Political Science
XXIV Congresso SISP
Section: "Partecipazione e movimenti sociali", Chairs: Donatella Della Porta (Istituto Universitario Europeo) and Gianni Piazza (Università di Catania)
Venice, September 16th – 18th 2010
Since the intense debates of the 1990s on the relationship between social movements and democratization, theory and research into both concepts has developed in new directions. In social movement theory, the emergence of relational models of contentious politics carried the promise of integrating study of ordinary and extraordinary forms of political exchange, leaving behind simplistic models of transitions ‘from above’ or ‘from below’ (McAdam et al. 2001). In democratization studies, stage and sequence models have been replaced by a an emphasis on contingency and uncertainty. In this sense the idea of ‘transition’ has been replaced by that of a ‘political crisis’ caused by a loss of legitimacy of a regime (Dobry 2009).
Independently of whether they have been caused by popular insurgence or by other actors, such political crises are evidently moments of opportunity for the emergence of social movements, and for their potential to play a significant role in the resolution of such crises. However, it cannot be assumed that such mobilisation will necessarily be conducive to a democratic solution. Social movements are means of political contention that can be mobilised for a variety of ends. Even when movements are explicitly pro‐ democratic, their interaction with other political actors may lead to non‐democratic outcomes (Tilly 2003).
This panel invites both theoretical pieces and case‐studies that explore the multiple roles of social movements during such political crisis. While the overarching theme is the relationship between social movements and democratisation, we are also interested in cases where such forms of popular political participation fail to ensure democratic outcomes, or actively labour against them. We are particularly interested in how social movements are responsible for mechanisms once the collapse of an authoritarian regime ushers in a political crisis with the potential to end in democratisation:
• How do social movements engage in the attribution of threat and opportunity during political crises?
• How do social movements contribute to the legitimation of new democratic powers, systems and institutions?
• And, conversely, under what circumstances do social movements contribute to the delegitimation of democratic solutions to political crises?
As such, we welcome papers examining both the direct and indirect effects of social movements on transitional processes and, on the other hand, the effect of transitional processes on social movements. Both theoretical and empirical contributions are welcome. Paper proposals should be no longer than 5.000 characters and submitted by July 1st 2010.
Please send proposals to both convenors, who will also be glad to answer any questions you may have about the session.
