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Identifier 000430220
Title Solidarity groups, actions and claims during the economic crisis in Greece
Alternative Title Ομάδες αλληλεγγύης, δράσεις και διεκδικήσεις κατά την οικονομική κρίση στην Ελλάδα
Author Λουκάκης, Άγγελος
Thesis advisor Κούση Μαρία
Reviewer Giugni Marco
Καλογεράκη Στεφανία
Diani Mario
Forno Francesca
Σερντεδάκης Νίκος
Σωτηρόπουλος Δημήτριος
Abstract Solidarity mobilisation in Greece during the economic crisis has been widely discussed in academic debates for almost a decade. Solidarity mobilisation organizations engage inmutual help and/or the provision of goods and services, free of charge or at low cost, related to urgent basic or cultural needs to those affected by the economic crisis. The diversity of the organisations and groups (such as neighbourhood assemblies, protest groups, barter clubs, cooperatives, NGOs, collaborations between municipalities and civil society actors as well as church and charities) that took part in solidarity activism as well as the diversity of activities organised in Greece has during the economic crisis has led scholars to adopt many different theories to study this complex phenomenon. However, we know little about the full range of actors that took part in the solidarity mobilisations during this period. Moreover, our knowledge about their evolution and their trajectories from the start of the crisis and afterwards is also limited. This thesis aims to address both gaps in the research through an exhaustive and rigorous survey of solidarity initiatives in Greece from 2009 to 2016.Studies on solidarity initiatives in Greece usually focus either on a specific kind of action or on a certain geographical area—with the tendency not to include in their analysis the interactions between solidarity actors as well as their interaction with the broader political, social and economic environment. For their part, collective action scholars have developed theoretical frameworks to study the way that solidarity mobilisations were organised as well as how they were involved. Hence, this study’s aims are twofold. First, it aims to bridge two bodies of the literature—that of collective action and social movements and that of solidarity provision in hard economic times in an attempt to investigate how solidarity mobilisations were organised. Moreover, the dissertation aims to move a step further by providing a typology of the collective actors that took part in solidarity mobilisations in Greece during the economic crisis, based on theories about collective action and solidarity provision. The second objective of the dissertation is to investigate the evolution of solidarity mobilisations. Empirically, the study first systematically investigates the actors that took part in the solidarity mobilisations in Greece during the period of the economic crisis (2009-2015), seeking to understand their organisational, cultural and political profiles. To analyse these features, the dissertation draws on collective action theories such as grievances and deprivation theory, resource mobilisation theory, political opportunities structure and cultural framing theory. Following the identification of the main characteristics of solidarity actors, the study draws on the solidarity literature and classifies solidarity groups and organisations according to a typology—where actors are categorized according to whether they are highly politicized (or not) and have a strong orientation toward social movements, or are rather driven by a charity approach. Following this, the dissertation draws again from the collective action literature and the well-known concept of the cycle of contention to examine the evolution of solidarity mobilisations. By using this concept, the study investigates whether and to what extent solidarity mobilisations followed an orbit similar to a cycle. Indeed, it was found that there was an initial moment when “solidarity episodes” started to appear; after which there was a phase of diffusion, in which solidarity mobilisations spread among the country and different societal sectors; finally there was a period of demobilisation which signalled the end of solidarity mobilisations. Moreover, the study also investigates the innovations and transformations usually produced during a cycle. These changes can be spotted in the co-existence of organised and new actors, in the rapid diffusion of solidarity episodes, in the innovative repertoires of actions, the shift of frames that the solidarity actors use, as well as in the interaction between activists and authorities. The dissertation argues for the existence of a Greek Cycle of Solidarity. Lastly, the thesis attempts to investigate in detail the end of the cycle and the demobilisation phase. Using resource mobilisation theory, the study identifies which types of resources contribute more in the sustainability and viability of solidarity actors. The dissertation concludes by making three core claims. First, that it is of great value to adopt a synthetic approach between collective action and solidarity theories, in order to have a comprehensive perspective on the diverse field of solidarity mobilisations in Greece during the economic crisis. Second, that, in order to give an accurate image of the mobilisations and their development through time, researchers should examine the full set of interactions between solidarity actors and the political, social and economic environment into which they developed. Hence, it is valuable to study solidarity mobilisations using the concept of the cycle. Third scholars of collective action should expand their focus beyond protest and contention during a cycle in order to include other forms of collective action that usually take place at the same time but receive less attention. Hence, this thesis suggests moving beyond the Cycle of Contention to the Cycle of Collective Action.
Language English
Subject Civil society
Collective action
Crisis
Greece
Social movements
Solidarity
Αλληλεγγύη
Κοινωνία πολιτών
Κοινωνικά κινήματα
Κρίση
Συλλογική δράση
Issue date 2020-05-27
Collection   School/Department--School of Social Sciences--Department of Sociology--Doctoral theses
  Type of Work--Doctoral theses
Permanent Link https://elocus.lib.uoc.gr//dlib/9/3/c/metadata-dlib-1593409395-370118-12507.tkl Bookmark and Share
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