A Europe of struggles: Blockupy as a political moment

ABSTRACT

The European Central Bank has been the main target of a protest campaign that developed through mass protests in Frankfurt, converging under the label of Blockupy. In this article, Blockupy is analysed as a political moment in (at least) two meanings of the term. First, it reflects a specific time and space in the evolution of the Great Recession (and of the Great Regression). Second, it emerges from the attempt to trigger a turning point, bringing radical protests and frames ‘at the heart’ of neoliberal Europe. Based upon information from documents and in-depth interviews, the article is structured around the three main concepts of resource mobilisation, protest performances and action framing with particular attention to continuities and innovation vis-à-vis the European Social Forum (ESF). Building upon literature on Europeanization of social movements, it suggests a path of solidarization.

KEYWORDS:

• Social movements
• europeanization
• Blockupy
• protest
• European Central Bank

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 After a majority of voters had rejected the bailout conditions proposed by the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund, and the ECB, the Greek government was nevertheless forced by those institutions to implement harsh austerity measures in order to receive economic support.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Scuola Normale Superiore [no grant number].