Triggering the Paradox of Repression A reflection on the outcomes of transformative events and framing strategies in Catalonia

Abstract

This thesis aims to provide a better understanding of the relationship between repression and social movements’ dynamics by looking at a particular case study, the Catalan independence movement. Using Sewell´s conceptualization of events as transformative occurrences and considering social movements as strategic actors and framing agents, this thesis attempts to bring together structure and agency in the understanding of the backfire of repression. The thesis argues that, on the one hand, the day of the independence referendum in Catalonia (1-O) became a transformative event by generating moral shock and inclination to further political action among participants of the movement. At the same time this event opened up new political spaces which participants channeled that motivation to take a more active role in the movement after the 1-O. On the other hand, it is argued that social movement activists and participants strategically framed the 1-O and subsequent repressive events to their advantage in two ways: first, by making associations between current episodes of repression and the times of Franco dictatorship and second, by framing repressive events as yet another symptom of the inherent injustice of the Spanish state. These findings illustrate how both events and social movement activists and participants can “trigger” the backfire of repression.