50 Years of Social Movements
Speakers: Gabriel Bayarri Toscano (CLACS), Richard G Smith (CLACS), Sam Halvorsen (QMUL), Nicolás Angelcos (Universidad de Chile), Lilija Alijeva (ULIP), Micaela Fernanda Moreira (CLACS)
How did social movements influence political systems to shape today's policy and legislative landscape in the Americas and Europe?
The climate crisis, covid pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war have intensified the multiple challenges democracies face. These range from economic and health inequalities to campaigns based on ‘fake news’ driven by populist politicians and fragile international supply chains driving inflation. Unconventional actions and actors vie with traditional politics and protests to disturb the status quo. The move to less accountable systems of government means understanding how pressure groups succeed is ever more relevant.
Interpreting the role of right- and left-wing social movements in any political system is neither easy nor straightforward. Their relationships with democratic institutions vary in direction, form, dynamism and potency. Critical factors include the era, democratic context, political landscape and external influences. Their contribution to democracy includes the extension of social, civil and political rights, innovative institutions and constitutions, and the ending of autocratic regimes.
This cross-disciplinary seminar, which will be chaired by Micaela Moreira, Visiting Fellow at CLACS, will explore a range of such relationships drawn from the Americas and Europe in the last half-century to explore their nature and identify the synergies and discords that define(d) their successes and failures in politics.
Event date: 18 May 2023