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From Slovenia to Turkey, social movements and protests have shaken the political systems of Southeast Europe. Confronting issues such as austerity, the provision and privatisation of welfare, public utilities and public space, corruption, bureaucratic inefficiency, environmental concerns and authoritarian tendencies, these revolts have also served as conduits for broader social and political discontent. While they have contributed to the defeat of unpopular policies and practices and the fall of governments, perhaps their most significant impact has been in creating dynamic political and social actors and contributing to the realignment of the political space.
This volume sheds new light on the wave of protests and emerging social movements. Placing individual protests in a wider context, it highlights connections between different social movements and discusses parallels with similar movements from recent history. The contributors include both well-established scholars and up-and-coming researchers who engage with both activist and academic perspectives to identify the similar and varying dynamics of both the protests and the governments' responses to them.
Building upon studies of social movements, the book will be of interest to scholars examining political dissent, protests and mechanisms of mobilisation in the region.
List of contents
Introduction - Social Movements and Protests in Southeastern Europe. A New Tragedy of the Commons? 1 Divided they Stand: The Dilemma of Non-Formal Political Activism in a Divided Society 2 Maribor's Social Uprising in the European Crisis: from Anti-Politics of People to Politicisation of periphery's surplus population? 3 Of 'Stronger State' and Counter-Democracy. The Street Protests in Bulgaria from 2012 and 2013 in the Accounts of Participants 4 The Space of Social Mobilizations in Greece 5 At the Crossroads of Cultural and Ideological Exchange - Behind the Visual Communications of 2012/2013 Slovene Protests 6 Social Media and 'Balkans' Spring 7 Not Seeing the Forest for the Trees. From Single-Issue Protest to Resonant Mass-Movements in Greece, Turkey and Bosnia-Herzegovina 8 Mapping Protest Politics: The Roots and Patterns of Elite-Challenging Actions in Post-Communist Southeastern Europe 9 The International Context Of Mass Political Unrest in The Balkans - Conceptual Issues and Perspectives
About the author
Florian Bieber is a Professor of Southeast European History and Politics at the University of Graz, Austria and director of the Centre for Southeast European Studies at the University of Graz and coordinator of the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG). He was previously Lecturer in East European Politics at the University of Kent, UK. He received his M.A. in Political Science and History and his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Vienna, as well as an M.A. in Southeast European Studies from Central European University (Budapest).
Dario Brentin is a University Assistant at the Centre for Southeast European Studies at the University of Graz. He is also currently completing his PhD thesis at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at University College London working on the topic of sport and national identity in post-Yugoslav Croatia. He obtained his Mag. Phil. in Political Science and Eastern European History at the University of Vienna. He has taught at University of Vienna and has since been a Visiting Lecturer at University of Copenhagen and University of Brighton.
Summary
This volume sheds new light on the wave of protests and emerging social movements of Southeast Europe. Placing individual protests in a wider context it highlights connections between different social movements and discusses parallels with similar movements from recent history.
Report
"Social Movements in the Balkans. Rebellion and Protest from Maribor to Taksim serves as a test case for existing theories and- perhaps most importantly-and as an encouragement to conceptualize a global phenomenon that Gal Kirn, in his chapter about 'Maribor's Social Uprising in the European Crisis', terms 'democratic irruptions'and 'explosions'"
Christel Zunneberg (Oxford), Suedosteuropa. Journal of Politics and Society 67/1 (2019).
