Panel 6: Citizens' political responses to economic crises: Grievances or opportunities
Maria Grasso
The economic crisis has brought massive reactions contending anti-austerity policy in Spain and it has also raised public concern on the responsiveness of the political system and its closeness to corporate interests. Responses involve materialistic claims such as opposing welfare cuts and house evictions, but also grievances on political representation or popular sovereignty. Citizens have used multiple repertoires with different levels of innovation and contentiousness. This paper draws on Twitter data regarding house evictions and three demonstrations of the Indignados in Spain between 2011and2013. It questions to what extent attitudes toward innovative repertoires such as occupying public squares, surrounding the Congress, escraches or blocking evictions have conditioned public legitimation of grievances and the acceptance of actors. Social media provides an opportunity to further our understanding on the dynamics of citizen attitudes towards multiple dimensions of claims and repertoires.
