TY - JOUR
T1 - Convergence as Organization
T2 - Blockupy against the ECB
AU - Harrison, Yannick Nehemiah Antonio
AU - Risager, Bjarke Skærlund
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - Purpose – On 18 March 2015, the transnational anti-austerity Blockupy coalition protested the inauguration of the new European Central Bank premises in Frankfurt. The purpose of this paper is to analyse this mass protest event by highlighting the organizational differences, possibilities, and conflicts that was involved.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on participant observation of the Blockupy event and interviews with a group of Danish activists who also participated.Findings – The paper constructs sociospatial narrative that unfolds through three different scales of organization: the Blockupy coalition, the participating formal and informal organizations, and the activist subject. This narrative explicates the mode of organization as a “convergence space” (cf. Routledge, 2003), with different “roots” and “routes” of organization (cf. Davies, 2012).Originality/value – Thus, through an analysis of the modes of organization constituting this mass protest event, this paper restates the relevance of the concept of organization, which have recently been ignored or understated in favour of master-narratives of networks or the dichotomy of horizontalismand verticality. It concludes by posing a set of questions for further discussion among both activists and sociologists.
AB - Purpose – On 18 March 2015, the transnational anti-austerity Blockupy coalition protested the inauguration of the new European Central Bank premises in Frankfurt. The purpose of this paper is to analyse this mass protest event by highlighting the organizational differences, possibilities, and conflicts that was involved.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on participant observation of the Blockupy event and interviews with a group of Danish activists who also participated.Findings – The paper constructs sociospatial narrative that unfolds through three different scales of organization: the Blockupy coalition, the participating formal and informal organizations, and the activist subject. This narrative explicates the mode of organization as a “convergence space” (cf. Routledge, 2003), with different “roots” and “routes” of organization (cf. Davies, 2012).Originality/value – Thus, through an analysis of the modes of organization constituting this mass protest event, this paper restates the relevance of the concept of organization, which have recently been ignored or understated in favour of master-narratives of networks or the dichotomy of horizontalismand verticality. It concludes by posing a set of questions for further discussion among both activists and sociologists.
U2 - 10.1108/IJSSP-12-2015-0132
DO - 10.1108/IJSSP-12-2015-0132
M3 - Journal article
VL - 36
SP - 722
EP - 725
JO - International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
JF - International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
SN - 0144-333X
IS - 11/12
ER -