Description
Book Synopsis After over a decade of the austerity measures that followed the 2008 financial crisis—entailing severe, unpopular policies that have galvanized opposition and frayed social ties—what lies next for European societies? Portugal offers an interesting case for exploring this question, as a nation that was among the hardest hit by austerity and is now seeking a fresh path forward. This collection brings together sociologists, social movement specialists, political scientists, and other scholars to look specifically at how Portuguese youth have navigated this politically and economically difficult period, negotiating uncertain social circumstances as they channel their discontent into protest and collective action.
Trade Review “By intersecting precariousness, social movements, youth, and digital media, this volume makes an outstanding contribution to the literature in this field. It is empirically detailed and theoretically sound in its ability to bring forward ideas and reveal the context of how precariousness shapes collective action. Also, by exploring a less known case, it fills a gap in the literature by positioning Portugal in the wider context of crisis movements. Therefore, the book is proficient in linking socioeconomic factors with collective action.” • Mobilization
“By focusing on young people, Protest, Youth, and Precariousness investigates the collective reaction to the economic and financial crisis and the consequent austerity measures most governments have put in place to mitigate or to address it. It questions a precarization of employment that has been accelerated by the crisis and austerity measures. Although the book focuses on one case study, Portugal, the issues it deals with have a much larger scope of relevance, as they affect all European countries and societies.” • Simone Baglioni, Glasgow Caledonian University
Table of Contents List of Figures and Tables
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
José Alberto Vasconcelos Simões and Renato Miguel Carmo
Part I: Youth Precariousness, Work and Collective Action
Chapter 1. Precarious Futures: From Non-Standard Jobs to an Uncertain Tomorrow
Renato Miguel Carmo and Ana Rita Matias
Chapter 2. Neither ‘New’ nor ‘Normal’: Tales of Precarity from a Life Course Follow-Up Study with Young Adults in Portugal (2009–2016)
Magda Nico
Chapter 3. Precariousness and Multiple-Engagement Activism in Portugal
Nuno de Almeida Alves and David Cairns
Chapter 4. Collective Action at a Crossroad: Trade Unions and Social Movements in the Age of Labour Precariousness and Austerity
Dora Fonseca
Chapter 5. The Precariat Strikes Back? Political Alternatives to Labour Degradation
José Soeiro
Part II: Protest, Media and Democracy
Chapter 6. Contentious Portugal: Reverberation of the 1974 Revolution in the Portuguese Anti-Austerity Cycle of Protest
Guya Accornero
Chapter 7. Forms of Action, Forms of Organisation and Survival Strategies in the Portuguese Anti-Austerity Protests
Britta Baumgarten
Chapter 8. Digital Media, Youth and the New Grammars of Activism in Portugal
José Alberto Vasconcelos Simões and Ricardo Campos
Chapter 9. Reinstitutionalising Democracy: The Role of the Portuguese Elections in Temporally Taming the Democratic Crisis
Jonas Van Vossole
Conclusion: Towards a Post-Austerity Turn?
Renato Miguel Carmo and José Alberto Vasconcelos Simões
Index
