We live in times of extra-ordinary mass mobilizations. The unprecedented scale and global spread of these mass upheavals call for a closer examination of the political, social, and economic crises of the 21st century behind them. Similarly, attention should be given to the dynamics of these mass movements, their causes, and their outcomes and implications. This international workshop aims to advance our empirical and theoretical knowledge about this particular form of contentious politics by fostering a global conversation and comparative approaches. The event gathers a small group of experts, coming from or with expertise in Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.

Programme

Thursday – 29th of May – Palazzo Strozzi (fifth floor).

14:30 – 16:00 Roundtable (Sala Altana, open to the public):
Remote connection through Teams

Jeff Goodwin – New York University
Is the Age of Social Revolution Now Over?

Donatella della Porta – Scuola Normale Superiore
A new age of social upheavals? Conjunctures and agency in intense times

16:30 – 18:00 Session 1 – Sala Filippo Strozzi

Farah Ramzy – Université de Strasbourg
Situating university students in mass social mobilization and de-mobilization: the case of Egypt post-2011 and post-2013 (online Teams)
(discussant: Sarah ElMasry – Scuola Normale Superiore)

Rima Majed – American University of Beirut
From Barricades to Bank Raids: The Dialectics of Disruption and Stability in the Lebanon Uprising of 2019
(discussant: Federica Stagni – Scuola Normale Superiore)

Friday 30th May – Palazzo Strozzi (fifth floor). 

09:00 – 10:30 Session 2 – Sala Simone del Pollaiolo

George Lawson – Australian National University
Revolutions in the Contemporary World
(discussant: Benjamin Abrams – University College London)

Samson Yuen, Hong Kong Baptist University
Peer Collaboration: How Networked Mobilizations Evolve into Sustained Movements
(discussant: Alejandro Ciordia – Scuola Normale Superiore)

10:30 – 11:00 Coffee break

11:00 – 12:30 Session 3 – Sala Simone del Pollaiolo

Cesar Guzman-Concha, Sarah ElMasry, Scuola Normale Superiore
Bridging Revolutions and Social Movements: Mass Social Unrest and its Global Dynamics (2010-2023)
(discussant: George Lawson – Australian National University)

Benjamin Abrams – University College London
Organizing for Spontaneity: How activists may foster the foundations of mass upheavals
(discussant: Jeff Goodwin – New York University)

12:30 – 14:00 Lunch break

14:00 – 15:30 Session 4 – Sala Simone del Pollaiolo

Mert Arslanalp – Boğaziçi University
Beyond Regime Differences: Convergence and Divergence in State Responses to Nationwide Mass Protests in Spain and Turkey
(discussant: Batuhan Eren – Scuola Normale Superiore)

Magali della Sudda – Science Po Bordeaux
“It’s Going Wild”: Insights from the Yellow Vests Protest on Current Mass Social Unrest
(discussant: Giuseppe Cugnata – Scuola Normale Superiore)

15:45 – 17:15 Session 5 – Sala Simone del Pollaiolo

Mohammed Ali Kadivar – Boston College
The Contingency of Structures: Triggers and the Social Geography of Revolutionary Episodes in Iran 2018-2022 (online Teams)
(discussant: Kevin Koehler – Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna)

Omar Coronel – Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
Why did the 2022–23 Peruvian estallido fail?
(discussant: Emilio Rodriguez-Triocci – European University Institute)

17: 20 – 18:00 Conversation on publication plans (45’)

18:15 – Aperitivo

This event is funded by the European Union – Next Generation EU. PNRR MUR M4 C2 Inv. 1.2 Project “Revolts and Mass Mobilizations and their Long-Term Impacts – REVOLT”.