“We've Been Occupying for 10 Years”. Repertoire (dis)Continuity and Activists' Memories from the Global Justice Movement to Anti-Austerity Mobilisations in Italy and Germany

The mobilisations of the last two years have displayed an array of repertoires that struck many as new.  Where do these new repertoires come from? Drawing on activists’ memories of the Global Justice Movement (GJM), this paper explores three questions. How new do activists in Italy and Germany consider the repertoires of anti-austerity mobilisations to be? What are the reasons for changes and continuities in repertoires? How do narratives of past contention evolve and impact contemporary repertoires?

In analysing present-day protests a focus on activists’ memories is highly insightful. The way in which previous mobilisations are remembered shapes present cycles of mobilisation – including repertoires. Though large protests often surprise observers, they hardly start from scratch. Mostly, they are rooted in previous mobilisations with respect to their diagnostic framing, organisation, and repertoires. Memories of previous mobilisations influence which actions are considered helpful or successful and which are not. Hence, they preselect possible strategies of organisation and mobilisation. Accordingly, looking at memories, not only allows insights into activist perspectives on changes, but also into reasons for repertoire shift and diffusion.

Drawing on in-depth interviews the paper compares activists’ memories across two countries with different constellations of mobilisation – Italy and Germany – as well as across time. The paper compares how activists remember the GJM before major anti-austerity mobilisations took place within the respective country and after. This double comparison of memories shows how recollections and evaluations of past repertoires vary across time and countries and how this affects present repertoires.