Emergent political spaces in the post-socialist city: Solidarity Square, Szczecin

ABSTRACT

On 3 October 2016, Black Protest demonstrations against a total abortion ban were held in more than 140 Polish cities. This article discusses how the Black Protest in Szczecin's Solidarity Square has created a new space of protest, which has been transformed from an official commemorative site into a vibrant political space. The author has argued that the emergence of this new political space was made possible by the local symbolic, social, and spatial protest resources. The organizational resources and meanings that were assigned to the protest venue took precedence over the technical aspects of the protest site, such as its accessibility or central location. In view of the abovementioned features, Solidarity Square has gained a new, non-spatial meaning, which evokes emotions, generates discussions, and transforms patterns of local protest behaviour.

KEYWORDS:

• Black Protest
• political space
• Poland

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Maciej Kowalewski, professor at the Institute of Sociology, University of Szczecin, received his PhD in sociology in 2008 (University of Wrocław). His research and teaching work are primarily in the domains of urban sociology, but current research focuses on protest politics and urban imaginary.

ORCID

Maciej Kowalewski http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2650-3792

Notes

1. The National Museum in Szczecin was awarded the joint first prize in the 9th European Prize for Urban Public Space with the recovery of thermal allotments in Caldes de Montbui, Spain.

2. One of the breakthroughs in Poland's struggle against the communist regime was the 1970 wave of workers’ protests, which were staged predominantly in the northern coastal cities. The strikes and mass demonstrations triggered by food price increases involved a total of tens of thousands of people and were brutally put down by the militia and the army. Fourteen public utility buildings (including the Communist Party's local headquarters in Szczecin) were either set on fire or partially destroyed. At least 40 people were killed, and more than a thousand wounded (Ekiert & Kubik, 2001; Kubow, 2013; Modzelewski, 1982; Ost, 2010).

3. On 24 October 1975, Icelandic women went on strike to protest against their inferior economic position and discrimination in the labor market. On that day, 90% of the women did not go to their paid jobs and did not do any housework (GNAD, 2016).