Social Movements Seen as Radical Political Actors: The Case of the Polish Tenants’ Movement

Abstract

This article casts new light on the processes of collective claims and identity formation in social movements, with the help of the radical political framework of Laclau and Mouffe (Hegemony and socialist strategy: towards a radical democratic politics, Verso, London, 2001). Polish tenants, classified as ''losers'' of transition and marginalized in the mainstream discourse, nevertheless act collectively, mobilizing alliances with other democratic struggles and thus challenge the hegemony of neoliberal dogmas in the country. The very fact of mobilization of a socially and economically deprived group demanding the right to the city is provocative in the studied context. The empirical foundations of our study are 20 in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted with Polish tenants' activists cross-referenced with media material produced by and about the movement, and previous studies on the topic. The contribution of this article is twofold: it combines social movement theory with radical political framework and fills the empirical gap in the body of literature on social movements in post-socialist Europe.Résumé Le présent article donne une nouvelle dimension aux processus de plaintes collectives et de création identitaire dans les mouvements sociaux grâce à l'aide du cadre politique radical d'Ernesto Laclau et de Chantal Mouffe (2001). Les locataires polonais, que l'on considère comme les «grands perdants» de la transition, sont marginalisés dans le discours populaire, mais ils agissent néanmoins en collectivité, créant des alliances avec d'autres groupes de lutte démocratique et mettant ainsi en question l'hégémonie des dogmes néolibéraux du pays. Dans le contexte à l'étude, Resumen El presente artículo arroja nueva luz sobre los procesos de demandas colectivas y la formación de identidad en los movimientos sociales, con la ayuda del marco político radical de Ernesto Laclau y Chantal Mouffe (2001). Los inquilinos polacos, clasificados como ''perdedores'' de la transición y marginados en el discurso convencional, no obstante actúan de manera colectiva, movilizando alianzas con otras luchas democráticas y desafían de este modo la hegemonía de los dogmas neoliberales en el país. El propio hecho de la movilización de un grupo desfavorecido social y económicamente que exige el derecho a la ciudad es provocador en el contexto estudiado. Los cimientos empíricos de nuestro estudio son 20 entrevistas semiestructuradas en profundidad realizadas con activistas de inquilinos polacos cruzadas con material de medios de comunicación producido por y sobre el movimiento, y estudios previos sobre el tema. La contribución del presente artículo es doble: combina la teoría del movimiento social con el marco político radical y llena el vacío empírico en la bibliografía sobre movimientos sociales en la Europa post-socialista.

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