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Solidarity and collective forms of social reproduction: the social and political legacy of Syntagma Square, Athens

Solidarity and collective forms of social reproduction: the social and political legacy of Syntagma Square, Athens
Solidarity and collective forms of social reproduction: the social and political legacy of Syntagma Square, Athens
The latest encampments in public spaces, such as Occupy Wall Street, Taksim Square and Syntagma Square, have highlighted the significance of public space in shaping social, economic and political struggles around the world. In this paper, drawing on a qualitative study of Syntagma Square in Athens, Greece, we confirm that spontaneous, self-organised movements, such as the Aganaktismenoi (Indignant) movement, could function as intermediaries between protest and resistance, leading to the institution of urban practices of commoning. We argue that the innovative attributes of such movements inspire and trigger the introduction of new decision-making mechanisms, social relationships and political subjectivities and the institution of solidarity and collective forms of social reproduction. We conclude that these initiatives constitute a radicalization of political struggles and have a positive effect both in terms of increased civic participation and the emergence of new collective identities and political subjectivities.
Squares, social movements, social reproduction, solidarity
1464-9365
Pettas, Dimitris
5d7b1fe3-778a-44c1-a674-85e98a6c208f
Daskalaki, Maria
6c5ac39d-95f5-4dc1-98cc-ad2f80b3f0fa
Pettas, Dimitris
5d7b1fe3-778a-44c1-a674-85e98a6c208f
Daskalaki, Maria
6c5ac39d-95f5-4dc1-98cc-ad2f80b3f0fa

Pettas, Dimitris and Daskalaki, Maria (2021) Solidarity and collective forms of social reproduction: the social and political legacy of Syntagma Square, Athens. Social & Cultural Geography. (doi:10.1080/14649365.2021.1901973).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The latest encampments in public spaces, such as Occupy Wall Street, Taksim Square and Syntagma Square, have highlighted the significance of public space in shaping social, economic and political struggles around the world. In this paper, drawing on a qualitative study of Syntagma Square in Athens, Greece, we confirm that spontaneous, self-organised movements, such as the Aganaktismenoi (Indignant) movement, could function as intermediaries between protest and resistance, leading to the institution of urban practices of commoning. We argue that the innovative attributes of such movements inspire and trigger the introduction of new decision-making mechanisms, social relationships and political subjectivities and the institution of solidarity and collective forms of social reproduction. We conclude that these initiatives constitute a radicalization of political struggles and have a positive effect both in terms of increased civic participation and the emergence of new collective identities and political subjectivities.

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Accepted/In Press date: 22 December 2020
e-pub ahead of print date: 19 March 2021
Published date: 27 March 2021
Additional Information: Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
Keywords: Squares, social movements, social reproduction, solidarity

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 448426
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/448426
ISSN: 1464-9365
PURE UUID: 9ac1c563-54d3-45e2-9ba0-fdd57385c283
ORCID for Maria Daskalaki: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-7860-1955

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Date deposited: 22 Apr 2021 16:30
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 06:29

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Contributors

Author: Dimitris Pettas
Author: Maria Daskalaki ORCID iD

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