The outcomes of social movements and those movements' dynamics

The project will focus on the analysis of the influence and outcomes of social movements on the politics of selected Andean countries (Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador). The project focuses on a comparative analysis of mutual relations between social movements and national government elites and on its role in the process of implementation of policies defending or rejecting its interests. Thus this project is focused not on the origin and formation of social movements but on the issue of how social movements strive for political influence especially (but not only) on the national level. This question poses a real challenge in various Andean countries where many governments are closely linked (institutionally or verbally) with the relevant actors of civil society, especially with social movements. This research also takes into account the fact that the activities of social movements do not have to lead only to the desired outcomes but can also produce unintended consequences with a reversal influence on movements themselves and their chances to exert political influence or gain political goals.

The outcomes of social movements and those movements' dynamics

Delimitation and conceptualization of the project and current state of research The project will focus on the analysis of the political outcomes and unintended consequences of social movements of selected Andean countries (Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador). The principal research goal of the project is a comparative analysis of outcomes and dynamics of social movements in the context of their mutual relations with national government elites and their role in the process of implementation of policies defending or rejecting social movements’ interests with the special focus on their role in the process. Thus this project is focused not on the origin and formation of social movements themselves but on the issue of how social movements strive for political influence. The focus on movement-government interactions gathers special importance in the Andean context because of the arrival of new “leftist-populist” presidents who highlight (institutionally or verbally) their close relationship to social movements or even declare their government to be one of the social movements. The challenge lies especially in the identification of reciprocal (and sometimes unintended) effects of the movements’ outcomes. In this respect, it is necessary to take into account the fact that the efforts and activities of social movements do not have to lead only to the desired outcomes but can also produce unintended consequences with reversal influence on movements themselves and their future chances to exert political influence, or to reach political goals. This arises from the assumption that the possibility of movements to mobilize as the main instrument to exert power depends to a large extent on its organizational dynamics and access to resources (McCarthy and Zald 1973, 1977; Edward and McCarthy 2004). With the aim of capturing these possible unintended consequences for movement dynamics and opportunities to achieve the desired goals, this project explores the potential existence of the causal relationship between the different types of social movement outcomes. The research is based on an empirical exploration of the case studies of particular social movement activities in defense of its interests in three Andean states; however, the outcome of the project, which is a book, is grounded in a comparative perspective. This comparative perspective should provide us with a possible explanation of on one hand the different levels of internal activities, outcomes, and dynamics, and on the other hand interactions with governments and the success of social movements in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru. The research tries to fill the gap in the literature on social movement outcomes that up to now has rather ignored the fact that the outcomes of a movement can exceed its desired goals and consequentially that these unintended consequences can impact the movement itself (Amenta et al. 2010; Giugni 1998). The exceptions in this respect are the texts of Doowon Suh (2014), and Annully Linders (2004) and literature focused on the effects of the institutionalization of social movements. Another challenge of the current literature is to analyze the causal mechanisms through which the outcomes can exert their influence over movement dynamics and their future influence. (Suh 2010; 2014). Finally, existing approaches to the study of social movement outcomes such as political opportunity structure (Meyer 2004; Meyer and Minkoff 2004) or multi-organizational field concepts are imprisoned in a structuralist trend that reduces actors except for the movement into the external context, ignoring that also these actors face the strategic dilemmas and make strategic choices with potential impact on movement activities (Jaspers 2002; Dowbor 2011: 5). That is why we adopt an interactive approach focusing on the process of mutual interactions between the movements and government. The first part of the research has the aim of exploring the main concepts used in the investigation such as social movements and the typology of their outcomes with a special emphasis on the possible determinants of its reciprocal causal influence and the specifics of the Andean region focusing on historical, political, social and ethnic preconditions for current social and political development. Since the motive of many scholars for studies into social movements is their supposed potential to change societies and bring significant political, social, or cultural changes, it is highly desirable to explore the form that these changes can assume as well as its possible (negative or positive) side-effects. The second part of the research is related to particular country case studies that will be developed in academic articles to prepare a proper groundwork for a solid and reliable comparative analysis. This part of the investigation will deal with the analysis of Bolivian, Peruvian, and Ecuadorian social movements´ development and political influence after gaining some of their desired goals. A surge of social movements in Latin America is usually related to a deficiency in the democratization process and incomplete expectations. That is why very often it carries out the following roles: occupies a free space, represents an engine of change, and substitutes typical political actors in the process of democratization. (Garretón 2006: 46) This is an important point of this research: to compare the roles of social movements in Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador and their real (positive or negative) impact on the quality of respective democracies. The last part of the research concentrates on a comparative analysis of three Andean countries and defining conclusions. This approach brings the advantage of an in-depth understanding of cases and simultaneously enables the production of more generalizable knowledge about causal relationships. The principal goal of the project is a comparative analysis of the potential unintended consequences of social movements’ activities and outcomes on movements’ dynamics and political influence within three selected Andean countries. Special emphasis will be placed on mutual relations (interactions) of social movements with national government elites and their political role in the post-transformation period. The first part of the research has the aim of exploring the main concepts used in the investigation such as political outcomes, unintended consequences, and social movements with an emphasis on Andean regional specifics (historical, political, and social preconditions). The second part of the research will deal with particular case studies (Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador) and the analysis of the unintended consequences of the activities of social movements on its dynamics and future political influence in the context of mutual interactions with governmental elites. This part offers a more in-depth analysis of particular countries with an emphasis on social movements’ activities and government responses.

Innovativeness of the project

Despite the clear necessity to investigate the role and real impacts of social movements and their relations with governing elites, there has been no research project or a concrete publication concentrated on Andean countries dedicated to the topic of the potential unintended effects of social movement activities on its dynamics and political influence as well as its impact on the democratic quality of regimes. The undeniable innovation of the project resides in discussing the issue of possible negative consequences of the movement’s activities both on themselves and on the political context in which they operate. A lot of works have been written about the political outcomes of movements as well as the determinants of these outcomes. The most influential explanations of the movement outcomes are based on two approaches. The first one, the resource mobilization theory focuses on the attributes inherent to movements (strategies; human, cultural, financial resources; leadership; tactics, etc.) (Edwards and Mc Carthy 2004; Gamson 1990; Giugni 2008). On the contrary, the political process approach with its concept of political opportunity structure acknowledges the importance of the specific context (defined both in terms of time and space). On this ground, the factors external to a movement are analyzed (for example the type of regime or presence/absence of an alliance system, etc.) (Williams 2004; Meyer and Minkoff 2004; McAdam 1996; Kriesi 2004; Tarrow 1994). However, recent debate has pointed out the weaknesses of both approaches, which consequently led to efforts to make a synthesis of both of them. These efforts have resulted in direct, mediated, or joint effects models (see Giugni and Passy; Kolb 2000; Amenta et al. 1992; Amenta et al. 2010). However, relatively little work has been done in the field of the potential causal influence of the outcomes of the movements themselves, meaning the causal relationship among them (Cf. Kane 2010; Giugni 2008; Suh 2014). This issue is of special importance in the Andean context where (in the case of Bolivia and Ecuador) the new constitutions and political order have been introduced to a large extent as a successful result of the activities of local movements. In this sense, it is legitimate to ask whether this success has had side effects on the movements’ subsequent trajectories. And if it has, what form does it assume, and how does it influence the movement’s life course? These are exactly the questions that are at the center of attention of this research.

The capacity of the applicant and co-researcher

The applicant of the project, Mgr. et Mgr. Pavlína Springerová, Ph.D., is the dean of the Philosophical faculty, University of Hradec Králové and works as an assistant professor at the Department of Political Science. The Department of Political Science has a dense network of institutional and personal relations and bilateral agreements with many Latin American universities and centers, especially in the Andean region such as Universidad Mayor de San Simón, Cochabamba in Bolivia; Universidad Mayor, Real y Pontificia de San Francisco Xavier de Chuquisaca, Sucre in Bolivia, Pontifica Universidad Católica del Perú in Lima; Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, FLACSO, Ecuador altogether covering academic and research cooperation and student exchanges. On numerous occasions, the department has hosted as presenters really outstanding experts on Latin America, like Scott Mainwaring or Simón Pachano. P. Springerová has carried out research into Latin American issues in recent years, she has realized various research and study stays in Latin American countries. She was co-researcher and head of the Latin American working group in the GAČR project dealing with political parties in the developing world. P. Springerová specializes in Andean countries and their politics and political systems (see bibliography). She has published (or co-published) four books, two of them (published in English) dealing with Latin American politics, especially the Andean region. Her texts and research outcomes have been published in the journals of the Scopus database (Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies), Erih Plus database (Mundo Eslavo), peer-reviewed Czech journals (Politologický časopis, Politologická revue, Journal of Ibero-American studies, Rexter) and in conferences including IPSA (International Political Science Association) and ALACIP (La Asociación Latinoamericana de Ciencia Política) conferences. In the last few years, the applicant has carried out various research and study stays in Latin American countries, especially in the Andean region such as: 2015 (July–August) research stay in Bolivia; 2014 (July–August) research stay in Bolivia; 2013 (June–August) research stay in Bolivia and Perú; 2013 (February) academic stay, as an invited professor in an intensive course in political science in UNAN-León, Nicaragua and 2012 (June) research stay in Ecuador. Another member of the research team is a Ph.D. student of Political Science-Latin American Studies at the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Hradec Králové, Barbora Vališková. She specializes in social movements studies, mainly the indigenous movements in Andean countries and political protest. B. Vališková has participated in various international conferences such as Congreso de ALACIP, Peru, 2015 (contribution with P. Springerová); VI. Congress of ČSPV, Praha 2015 (contribution with J. Bílek) and 8°Congreso de CEISAL, Salamanca 2016 (forthcoming). She has published various articles in the Scopus journal as a co-author with P. Springerová, in ERIH Plus journal and other peer-reviewed journals: • Springerová, Pavlína and Vališková, Barbora. 2016. "Territoriality in the Development Policy of Evo Morales' Government and its Impacts on the Rights of Indigenous People: The Case of TIPNIS."Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Vol. 41, Issue 2. • Bílek, Jaroslav and Vališková, Barbora 2016. „The Causes of the Electoral (In)stability of Incumbents in Hybride Regimes in Latin America 1990-2014.” Politické vědy. (in print) • Vališková Barbora. 2011. „The Costa Rican Party System in the Context of the 2010 Parliamentary and Presidential Elections.“ Journal of Ibero-American Studies 3, č. 1, 109-141. • Špičanová, Lenka and Vališková, Barbora. 2011. “Energetická politika.” Prosazování národních zájmů České republiky v EU. Vlastimil Fiala a kol. Olomouc: Periplum, 339 – 434. B. Vališková has carried out two courses of field research on indigenous movements in Bolivia (August–December 2014 and July–October 2015) and two long-term stays at the Center of Investigation of the San Simón University. She also participated in the ALACIP Congress in Lima in 2015.

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Project supervisor

Mgr. et Mgr. Pavlína Springerová Ph.D.