Global, conventional and warring movements and the suppression of contention. Themes in contentious politics research
| Autor | Sidney Tarrow |
| Cargo | Maxwell M. Upson Professor of Government and Professor of Sociology at Cornell University (Ithaca, NY) |
| Páginas | 25-50 |
Dossiê
Global, conventional and
warring movements and the
suppression of contention.
Themes in contentious politics research
Sidney Tarrow*
Abstract
Contentious events often come in waves, but they are seldom homoge-
neous. A ser ies of contentious event s over the past two years were the
result of the global financial crisis that began in the United States in 2008
and ultimately diffused around the world. B ut it was in Greece and the
European Union that the crisis hit hardest. There, conventional protest,
violence, and political contention combined. The Greek/Euro crisis has
three lessons to teach us abou t the current themes in social movement
research. The first lesson has to do with the nature of the capitalist crisis
that triggered these events. The second lesson is that there a re limits
to globalization and internationalization. The third lesson is that while
the financial c risis sparked a great deal of contention, it was d ifferently
affected by the political opportunity structure of each country. This article
investigates three meanings of the term “social moveme nt society” that
became popular in the North in the 1990s: global move ments; contained
movements; and warring movements. It closes with some speculations about
the relationship between the movement s of recent years and protes t
policing and the increasing danger of suppression of all m ovements as
the result of the fear of terrorism.
Keywords: Social movement society, protest policing, repression, global
movements, warring movements, fiscal crisis.
Contentious events often come in waves, but they are seldom
homogeneous. Consider this sequence of events in Western
Europe in the month of May, 2010:
* Maxwell M. Upson Professor of Government and Professor of Sociology at
Cornell University (Ithaca, NY). E-mail: sgt2@cornell.edu.
doi:10.5007/2175-7984.2011v10n18p25
26 p. 25 – 49
Volume 10 – Nº 18 – abril de 2011
In Athens, three people were killed as protesters set fire to a •
bank during a general strike over planned austerity measures
in response to the financial crisis.
In Madrid and Paris the major union federations called a strike •
of public sector workers over their respective governments’
tough new austerity program to meet the same crisis.
In Germany Chancellor Merkel was heckled in the Bundestag •
for her support of the Greek Bailout plan (CRS 2009; 2010).
Every one of these contentious events was the direct or indirect
result of the global financial crisis that began in the United States in
2008 and ultimately diffused around the world. In the United States
itself, there was a populist reaction to the crisis: the so-called “Tea
Party” challenged members of Congress at town meetings, dressed
up as revolutionary soldiers and supported conservative candidates in
the Congressional elections of 2009 and 2010. Even in little Iceland,
midway between Europe and America, outbursts of public protest
had forced the Prime Minister and his cabinet to resign.
But it was in the European Union that the crisis hit hardest
(CRS 2009:8). As pressure mounted on the near-bankrupt Greek
government and on the Euro, EU leaders became alarmed. For if
Greece defaulted, not only would it affect the French and German
bankers who held the largest part of its debt; the entire monetary
structure of the Eurozone might crumble. (CRS 2010: 11-12). In
response, France and Germany, in cooperation with the IMF, began
to consider offering financial guarantees to staunch the contagion
that was threatening to bring down the Euro (p.9-12).
But at this point, the unity of the EU began to crumble. As
violent protests targeted both the Greek government and the EU and
strikes broke out in France and Spain, opposition to the bailout forced
Chancellor Merkel to delay offering Germany’s support till the cost
of the bailout mushroomed . In the event, her party lost the regional
election and she emerged from the crisis politically weakened.
The Greek/Euro crisis has four lessons to teach us about the
current themes in social movement research. The first lesson has to
do with the nature of the capitalist crisis that triggered these events.
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