Social movements and revolution

Mémoire présenté par :
Erwan MOREAU
en vue de l'obtention du diplôme de :
MASTER 2 RECHERCHE
Domaine : Sciences humaines et sociales
Mention : Ethnologie-Sociologie
Spécialité : SOCIOLOGIE
Préparé sous la direction de M. Jean Bruno RENARD, professeur de Sociologie
Juin 2014
Mention obtenue : très bien


Abstract (French) :

Le synonyme le plus proche du terme "monstre" est l'expression « contre-nature » (Aristote, Saint Augustin, Canguilhem, Lascault, Cuny Le Callet, Valton, etc.). Sentence paradoxale s'il en est quand on sait qu'au niveau biologique, il est entendu que rien de ce que produit la Nature ne peut voir le jour indépendamment du respect de ses lois et qu'il est le propre de l'imagination de pouvoir y créer des exceptions.

Mais parallèlement à la Nature, objet de la biologie et de la physique, se trouve une autre « nature » : la « connaissance ordinaire » (Aristote employait pour sa part le terme de « cours ordinaire », « ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολύ » en parlant du statut contre-nature du monstre), cette « chose que l'organisme construit dans le but de créer un ordre dans le flux de l'expérience »

Ainsi, tout monstre peut être traduit comme étant ce qui apparaît contraire à une  « connaissance ordinaire », à une réalité sensible, dans son acception la plus large, c'est-à-dire orientée vers l'esthétique (le plus couramment rattaché à une vision anthropocentrée) et/ou vers l'éthique (intolérance idéologique).

Aussi par le partage des affects que met en œuvre une communauté d'esprits (religieuse, laïque, révolutionnaire, impérialiste, etc.), des éléments « contre-nature » peuvent apparaître à un niveau macrosociologique. Éléments émergeant de l'esprit gnostique et de son succédané l'esprit dogmatique, chacun ayant pour spécificité de mettre en exergue le dualisme entre bien et mal, connaissance et ignorance les entraînant ainsi vers l'ère de la déliquescence, de la décadence, en somme vers les temps eschatologiques et leurs abominations monstrueuses.


Abstract (English) :

The best synonym for the word ‘monster’ is the expression ‘unnatural’’ (Aristote, Saint Augustin, Canguilhem, Lascault, Cuny Le Callet, Valton, etc.). That is a paradoxical sentence - if any - when we know that biologically speaking nothing produced by Nature can exist regardless of the respect of its laws. It is among the characteristics of imagination to create exceptions.

But parallel to the Nature as objet of biology and physic is another kind of ‘nature’: the ‘ordinary knowledge’. (Artistote named it the ‘ordinary course’ (ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολύ) to mention the unnatural aspect of monster), this ‘thing that is produced by the organism to create an order within the experience’s flow’.

Then any monster can be understood as what appears in contrary to an ‘ordinary knowledge’, a ‘sensitive reality’ in every sense, that is to say aesthetics- (mostly associated to an anthropocentred vision) and/or ethicspositioned (ideological intolerance).

And the sharing of affections made by a minds’ community (religious, lay, revolutionary or imperialist, etc.) can reveal some ‘unnatural’ elements at the level of macrosociology. Elements that are emerging from the Gnostic spirit and its substitute: the dogmatic spirit. Each specifically brings out the dualism between good and evil, knowledge and ignorance that leads towards the decay, decline age - in other words towards eschatological times and their monstrous abominations.

"This chapter shows that counter to the common representation of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America–Peoples’ Trade Agreement (ALBA–TCP) as simply a bloc of nation-states, the initiative in fact constitutes a counter-hegemonic globalization project that operates through inter- and transnational processes across a range of (spatial) scales, from the local to the global. I draw on John Agnew’s notion of the ‘territorial trap’ and theories of regionalism and globalization to analyse the transnational and pluri-scalar construction of the ALBA–TCP in Nicaragua (2004–2007) and El Salvador (2004–2010), to argue that the mobilization and empowerment gains associated with these processes are an
important element in the construction of what is referred to as the ‘organized society’. As a politics of place, space and scale, the ALBA–TCP governance regime is sketched out, in which an emergent transnationally organized society integrates via the ALBA–TCP Council of Social Movements in the quest for progressive regional and global transformation.

Modern Yemen has witnessed previous revolutions and coups, but the revolution of 2011 had the unique aspect of being a youth led mass movement [at least at the beginning] with participation from people of various backgrounds, transcending the elite circle of politics. A common question arises: what role do the “youth” who ignited the mass protest movement play today in the transitional process? While youth played a significant role in the revolution, they were sidelined in the political negotiations that led to the signing of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) transition plan and there are indicators today that show their potential marginalization in the upcoming national dialogue process. A key indicator for change in the political structure of the country is the level of political inclusion that transcends the traditional small inner circle.  Hence, this paper attempts to review the level of “youth” inclusion, by first defining the “independent youth”, and focusing on their past, current and potential role in the transitional process.

In March 2013, a six-month National Dialogue Conference (NDC) began. It has brought together 565 diverse participants, among them representatives of Yemen's independent youth, who were essential in starting the 2011 uprising. The Conference is tasked with putting forward decisions on major topics related to Yemen's future. In July, a majority of participants adopted the decisions and recommendations of six of the nine working groups. Youth and other independent participants were crucial in pushing for recommendations promoting equal citizenship for men and women in the decisions adopted. Yet, their impact on decision making remains limited. In addition, amidst continued insecurity and economic crisis, the working groups on the structure of the state and long-lasting conflicts in the north and south have not reached agreement. While failure of the NDC is thus not unlikely, the participation of independent youth has already triggered positive changes in the country's political culture. Europeans should support this trend and provide technical assistance and skills-building to independent youth groups

"This  course  surveys  a range  of  theories  seeking  to  make  sense  of  the  dynamics of social  movement  mobilization  in both  the  developed  and  developing  world,  focusing  on  dissidents  (variously  defined)  pressing  demands  on sovereign  states and international  organizations through  a  variety  of  methods,  both  violent  and  non -­ violent,  generally  subsumed  under  the  heading  of  “contentious  politics.”  After  covering  the  general  literature  on  the  relationship  between  globalization  and  dissent,  the  course focuses on  a series  of  transnational  trends/movements  related  to  the  global  fight  for  (and  against)  democracy"

In the western port city of Patras, the locals use the word erēmēni (erimin) in abundanceii. And yet should you ask, most of them ––yours truly included–– would struggle to explain the word’s actual meaning. Erimin is just erimin, would be the most often encountered response; shrouded shoulders and an admission of something of a self-defeat: there isn’t, really, a meaning to it. This is precisely where the wonderful thing lies about the word. The locals’ inability to attribute erimin a meaning might very well stem from the fact the word is used to connote an event so strange that we can no longer fully comprehend, or conceive it––an event, in other words, that lies outside our existent system of logic.

Abstract in English:

Research on the rise of nationalism and extremism in Poland has tended to focus on either macro or micro level explanations, considering it either as aggressive reactions to frustrations resulting from a rapid end to a period of economic stabilization and of increased expectations or from status inconsistency. However, the extreme right in Poland has never been analyzed as a social movement. Thus, this project pursues an analysis of the Polish extreme right as a social movement with a focus on the meso-organizational and action levels. The analysis stresses political opportunities rather than social threats, discursive opportunities rather than grievances, and repertoires of protest rather than simply violence. Drawing on social movement theory, the project proposes a way to conceptualize the specific political space for the Polish extreme right mobilization as a combination of discursive opportunities and political opportunities. The two dimensions determine the extent and forms of extreme right actions and claims making in two ways. First, they provide different sets of discursive opportunities, which can be either strong (when extreme right actors and claims are highly visible, resonant, and legitimate) or weak (when extreme right actors and claims have a lower degree of visibility, resonance, and legitimacy). Second, they can provide either an open or closed political opportunity structure. Among the political opportunities, the configuration of power between allies and opponents (and the shifts in this configuration), the legal situation in Poland, the repressions of the use of fascist and racist symbols and nationalist practices as well as the process of Europeanization are considered particularly relevant. Looking at a broad spectrum of actors in the extreme right milieu, the project analyzes their forms of action, their targets, and their issues of mobilization with the aim of understanding the differential use of violent versus non-violent forms of action. In addition, the project analyzes the presence of the extreme right in the public domain, including its action repertoires and its contribution to claim making on such issues as national identity, defense of sovereignty, and fight against its enemies. The project builds on protest-event analysis based on newspaper reports of right-wing protests between 1989 and 2013. This allows for analyzing changes over time, which suggests that in the Polish case three distinct phases of extreme right mobilization can be identified: marginalization, institutionalization and radicalization.

Abstract in Polish:

Celem projektu jest ukazanie dynamiki protesty ruchu skrajnej prawicy w Polsce w latach  1989-2012. Na podstawie analizy wydarzeń protestacyjnych z udziałem ugrupowań radykalnej prawicy przedstawimy pełen obraz dynamiki ruchu w wymiarze struktury mobilizacji, repertuaru protestów oraz ram działania. Główna hipoteza brzmi: w latach 1989-2012 ruch skrajnej prawicy instytucjonalizuje się, legalizuje swoje działania oraz  zaczyna działać w sferze instytucjonalnej polityki. Liczba aktów przemocy inicjowanych przez ruch zmieniała się wraz s przechodzeniem z fazy marginalizacji do fazy instytucjonalizacji.

W projekcie używamy stosowanej w socjologii ruchów społecznych metody analizy epizodów protestacyjnych (protest event analysis). Zakłada ona, że ruch  konstytuowany jest przez działania zbiorowe, których dynamikę można rekonstruować dzięki badaniom diachronicznym, przede wszystkim analizom wzmianek prasowych. Jednostką analizy PEA jest wydarzenie protestacyjne. Przy pomocy PEA badamy prasę ogólnopolską („Gazeta Wyborcza”, „Rzeczpospolita”),  archiwa PAP oraz Brunatną Księgę, tworząc elektroniczną bazę wszystkich wydarzeń protestacyjnych inicjowanych przez ruch skrajnej prawicy w latach 1989-2012.