From Protest to Party: Horizontality and Verticality on the Slovenian Left

Abstract

This article analyses the politics of horizontality -a key characteristic of recent forms for protest and activist citizenship -through the case of the 2012-13 protests in Slovenia. The Slovenian case is illustrative because we can trace the emergence of the Initiative for Democratic Socialism and, subsequently, the United Left from protest through movement to party. Since we believe that horizontality and verticality are present in both movements and parties, we argue against a simple opposition between movements and parties. In particular, we focus on the reasons for the move from horizontalist ways of political organising to vertical structures.

Overcoming the “blame game” in strategic climate communication: from decoupling accusations toward an arena-spanning agenda

“…The drivers of means–ends decoupling in the protest arena find reflection in scholarship on constructive forms of protest movements, which emerge when these movements extend, differentiate and formalize their original profile and organizational structure, for example, toward an NGO or political party (Toplišek and Thomassen, 2017). However, these new streamlined practices betray foundational principles because increased cooperation readiness also implies adaptation to the logics of compromising.…”

Coalition Politics in Central Eastern Europe

“…The most prominent party in this coalition, the Initiative for Democratic Socialism (IDS), was formally established in 2014. The mass protests during 2012 and 2013 against the Janša II cabinet and other political elites accelerated the process of its formation (Toplišek andThomassen 2017: 1394). The economic policies advocated by the EU during the 2008 crisis and the opposition to these policies also gave a push to the IDS' formation (Fink-Hafner 2020a).…”

“…The economic policies advocated by the EU during the 2008 crisis and the opposition to these policies also gave a push to the IDS' formation (Fink-Hafner 2020a). IDS sees capitalism as a political economic system that must be challenged while democratic socialism must be established (Toplišek and Thomassen 2017). At the 2018 early elections (the third in a row), another newcomer, LMŠ, again with an appeal based on the need for 'new politics', attracted 12.7% of the votes.…”

Entre le local, le national et le global. Appréhender les mouvements sociaux en Europe du Sud-Est

“…Pour Kirn, cette « irruption démocratique massive » de ceux qui sont « invisibles » et qui reprennent contrôle de la politique ne peut être totalement expliquée par des facteurs extérieurs, tels que les conditions économiques, mais renvoie à l'« intériorité » de la politique 23 . Une transformation similaire des répertoires est détectée par Alen Toplišek et Lasse Thomassen dans leur analyse de la transformation du mouvement de la gauche slovène en parti politique 24 .…”