Tuesday, June 25, 2013
A1.18C (Oudemanhuispoort)
All over Europe governments are taking austerity measures. In response, citizens of all walks of life mobilize in opposition. Are these demonstrators acting out of self-interest only or promoting general principles as well? Are they only fighting the proximal austerity measures or also an opponent government as a more distant goal? These are the questions that interest us in this paper. In order to answer these questions we compare demonstrations regarding austerity measures with demonstrations regarding broader socio-cultural issues. During the years 2009-2012 we surveyed participants in 19 anti-austerity demonstrations and in 19 demonstrations regarding broader socio-cultural issues in seven European countries (Belgium, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Sweden, and the U.K.). In a countryXdemonstrationXparticipant multilevel design we aim to compare participants in the two types of demonstrations and the seven countries. Demonstrations will be mapped in a two-dimensional space defined by the functioning of the economy (poor-well) and the type of government (left-right). Depending on a demonstration’s location in this two-dimensional space at the moment of the protest event, we expect the demonstrators to be more or less in opposition to the government and defending interests rather than principles. We will compare participants in the demonstrations on issue-related matters such as grievances, motivation and emotions and broader political attitudes such as left-right ideology and the evaluation of politics (trust in institutions, political cynicism, satisfaction with the functioning of democracy). Demonstrations regarding modal socio-cultural issue serve as standard of comparison. We will compare how participants in the two types of demonstrations (austerity and socio-cultural) in a environment defined by the aforementioned economic and political dimensions differ in terms of the goals they aim for and political attitudes they have.
