Mobilizing for Democracy: Comparing 1989 and 2011

摘要

The events of the Arab Spring and the colour revolutions in the former Soviet republics have added to growing interest in the role of collective social protest in facilitating regime change. In this book, Donatella della Porta compares the processes of regime change that unfolded in eastern Europe in 1989 with the more recent events of the Arab Spring in 2011. By bridging the fields of social movement studies and democratisation, the research sets out the aim of 'understanding what I define as democratisation from below, looking at protest waves that accompanied democratic reforms' (14). The connection between social movement studies and democratisation that underpins the work is clearly defined with the stated purpose in bringing the two together, to emphasise the nature of 'structure and agency within these transformative moments' (1). This leads to the development of a concept of 'eventful democratisation' as a framework for the analysis. Drawing on research into mechanisms within the field of social movement studies, cognitive, emotional and relational processes are singled out as being important in enabling and reinforcing action against non-democratic incumbents. These mechanisms clearly emphasise the role of individuals and groups in challenging the status quo, suggesting an ability to gauge the possibility of success, while also recognising the importance of less tangible drivers in sustaining potentially a high-risk opposition.