Óscar García Agustín – författare

Here, Oscar Garcia Augustin and Paolo Cossarini analyse the recent history of the Spanish body-politic, with special reference to the populism and polarization that have taken over politics in the country since the enormous turbulence of the 2008 global financial crisis. The financial and economic crisis gave birth first to anti-austerity movements and a subsequent left-wing populist party, and then to a series of socio-political ruptures that have reconfigured politics permanently in Europe's fifth largest economy. Topics covered include an assessment of the Catalan march towards independence, the reconfiguration of Spain’s party system, the rise of far-right groups, increased feminist and equality activism, municipalism, and a growing environmentalist movement. The authors, both experts on populism as well as Spain's political system, reflect on these aspects of the current Spanish situation in order to provide a comprehensive socio-political overview of 21st century Spain.

This book explores the conflict between the Catalan project to become independent and the Spanish state’s opposition to any attempt of secessionism. The volume addresses some of the key political and academic issues of contemporary European societies: nationalism, separatism and sovereignty. The banned referendum in Catalonia in October 2017 unveiled the existence of multiple crises, from territorial to economic and political. Indeed, the Catalan issue is about the crisis of sovereignty: who holds legitimacy to make decisions, and who is in power legally and politically? The book is structured according to three themes: sovereignty and its people, where the realignment to independence, populism and the definition of the demos are discussed; collective identities and actions, to account for the shaping of ‘us’, the importance of collective memory and the cross-alliances forged during the referendum; and internationalization, focusing on Europeanisation, international media and comparative constitutional perspectives.

This edited volume explores the context in which the Spanish party Podemos operates as both an agent and product of political cycles. It provides an account of the party’s genealogy, ideological environment and relation to other political initiatives in Latin America and Western Europe. The contributors address the multiples dynamics generated by Podemos as a new party developed out of the economic crisis, the structural crisis concerning social democracy and the incarnation of the welfare state project, and, more generally, out of the Left. It will appeal to upper-level students and scholars interested in Spanish politics, history, culture and sociology.