Emotions of protest in times of crisis: representation, dislocation and remedy in the Greek ‘squares movement’

Abstract

This paper focuses on the 2011 ‘squares movement’ in Greece to enquire into the importance of (popular) sovereignty for mobilized individuals in relation to representation and crisis. We draw on tools of political theory and discourse analysis, adopt a ‘bottom up’ ethnographic perspective, and incorporate insights from social movement studies and the sociology of emotions. The aim is to reconstruct the key narratives and frames used by individuals to make sense of their motivations and aspirations, but also to trace the movement’s legacy. Our data is drawn from archival research in media outlets and semi-structured interviews with individuals that participated in or observed the ‘squares movement’. Our findings highlight the importance of the moment of dislocation and its destabilizing effect on individuals, while stressing the positive/productive aspect of crisis. Using emotions as a thread that runs through the mobilization and links it to subsequent ones, we highlight the explanatory value of our analysis for understanding the radical realignment of the political system and the rise of anti-establishment parties, and show how a cycle of tensions at the heart of representation that opened up in 2010 seems to have now closed.