Gendered Responses to Global Crisis: Circular Migration and Return among Ecuadorian Families in Spain and Ecuador

This paper analyzes the impact of Spain’s economic crisis on social reproduction strategies of Ecuadorian migrant families in Madrid and Quito. The paper analyzes circular migration experiences and more permanent returns to Ecuador. I argue that these strategies and migrants' greater or lesser capabilities to move between different migration destinations show significant gender differences. On the one hand, men and women make a differential use of their migratory status to deploy transnational strategies and expand their mobility. On the other hand, migrants’ degree of mobility and flexibility with regard to the labor market and transnational social reproduction are derivative of a specific gendered order and sexual division of labor.

'Lo que diga la asamblea'. El ritual político como fetiche en tiempos de crisis

La actual crisis sistémica ha operado como una estructura de oportunidad sobre la que han cristalizado nuevos discursos, nuevas prácticas y nuevas estructuras políticas. La irrupción del 15M, de la Plataforma de Afectados por la Hipoteca (PAH) o de las llamadas “mareas” han permitido la visibilización de modos de hacer política que marcan una diferencia explícita con las prácticas asociadas al establishment político del llamado “régimen del 78”. Algunas de las prácticas popularizadas por estos movimientos han llegado a ser asumidas por amplias capas de la población. Entre ellas, destaca la asamblea como método legítimo de toma de decisiones. En esta comunicación planteamos un análisis de la asamblea como ritual político, deteniéndonos en la descripción de sus lógicas organizativas, principios de legimitación y características formales. A través de datos etnográficos recabados en la ciudad de Alcalá de Guadaíra (Sevilla) rastreamos la trama específica de discursos, prácticas y relaciones observables en el seno de las asambleas organizadas por el movimiento 15M. Finalmente, y a través de estos datos, reflexionamos sobre el sentido político del ritual en tiempos de crisis.

Looking for Determinants of Ontological Security in the Spain of the Crisis

The concept of ontological security has a remarkable echo in the current sociology to describe emotional status of men of late modernity. However, the concept created by Giddens in the eighties has been little used in empirical research covering various sources of risk or uncertainty. In this paper, a scale for ontological security is proposed. To do this, we start from the results of a research focused on the relationship between risk, uncertainty and vulnerability in the context of the economic crisis in Spain. These results were produced through nine focus groups and a telephone survey with standardized questionnaire applied to a national sample of 2,408 individuals over 18 years. This work is divided into three main sections. In the fi rst, a scale has been built from the results of the application of different items present in the questionnaire used. The second part explores the relationships of the scale obtained with the variables further approximate the emotional dimensions of individuals. The third part observes the variables that contribute to changes in the scale: These variables show the structural feature of the ontological security.

Contar la crisis: materiales narrativos en la semántica social de la crisis

Basado en la evidencia proporcionada por 9 grupos de discusión, este trabajo aborda la semántica social de la crisis en el marco de la hipótesis propuesta por Janet Roitman. En consecuencia propone retratar distintas estrategias narrativas que permiten dar cuenta de la experiencia de la crisis según cuatro ejes de contraposiciones: agencia/paciencia, moralización/poder, coyuntura/cronicidad, destrucción/creación. En su parte final, propone fijar los rasgos fundamentales de los sujetos que aparecen en seno de las tramas narrativas propuestas.

De la moral del sacrificio a la conciencia de la precariedad. Un análisis cualitativo de los discursos sobre la evolución de la crisis en España

La larga crisis económica que padece España está teniendo importantes consecuencias sociales. La más comentada por académicos, mass media y parte del arco político es la fractura social que se está abriendo en el país, ante el aumento de las desigualdades económicas que generan el enorme desempleo y las duras políticas de ajuste del gasto público. Sin embargo, más allá de cuestiones económicas la crisis está haciendo mella de forma muy profunda en el imaginario social del país en relación a las razones y consecuencias de la crisis, tanto a corto como a largo plazo. El objetivo de este artículo es el realizar una valoración de esas percepciones sociales de la ciudadanía en relación con la crisis, centrándonos en un aspecto como es el de la relación de la población española con el consumo de bienes y servicios públicos, en un escenario de hegemonía de la austeridad como única receta anti-crisis. Para ello, realizaremos un análisis de los discursos recogidos en una investigación cualitativa realizada en el año 2014 mediante grupos de discusión. Los resultados muestran un pesimismo enorme de la población en relación al futuro del Estado del Bienestar y de la propia clase media española, junto a una frustración que puede anunciar futuros ciclos de movilización social.

La situación de los museos españoles ante la crisis. El patrimonio implicado

La crisis como coyuntura y tránsito a una nueva situación, y el cambio social que parece conllevar, lejos de ser un fenómeno exclusivamente actual, viene acompañando a los museos españoles desde décadas atrás, debido a indecisiones, faltas de planificación, cambios políticos y de estrategias de funcionamiento. Pero será a partir de la Transición democrática, y la década de 1980, en que comenzará a fraguarse la llamada “burbuja” de los museos, que estalla bajo el “efecto Guggenheim” a finales del siglo XX, seguida de la merma de presupuestos oficiales para el sostenimiento del sistema museístico que trae como consecuencia la tan mencionada “crisis” económica desde aproximadamente 2008. El artículo examina esta situación y advierte de que el momento delicado que viven los museos en la actualidad es ocasión para replantearse su futuro y adaptarse a una nueva realidad cambiante. El Museo Etnológico de Navarra “Julio Caro Baroja” constituye un caso de adaptación a tales circunstancias.

El oráculo griego en la época de la producibilidad escrita: la crisis de la autoridad mántica en "Aves" (960-996) de Aristófanes

Este artículo se propone analizar la escena del cresmólogo intruso en Aves, revalorizando la comedia aristofánica como fuente de conocimiento histórico. Este análisis se centra en la práctica oracular como una técnica de producción escrita vinculada a la autoridad religiosa. De esta manera, se exploran dos campos de estudios, como la comedia antigua y la adivinación griega, cuyo vínculo no ha sido explorado en profundidad. Para dar cuenta del momento crítico de la institución oracular durante la Guerra del Peloponeso, se reconstruyen perspectivas sobre dicho fenómeno en otras fuentes como Tucídides o Demóstenes. Esto no solo ofrece una mirada «cómica» sobre la adivinación, sino que también permite comprender la práctica oracular como técnica y, en consecuencia, qué elementos de su funcionamiento podían ser manipulados.

Crisis y creación. Las ambivalentes relaciones germano-españolas en la producción cinematográfica de la primera mitad del siglo veinte

Las épocas de crisis político-social propician en especial medida la creación y el afianzamiento de determinados auto y heteroestereotipos. Esta afirmación resulta concluyente cuando se analiza cómo las distintas fases políticas de España a lo largo de la historia han condicionado de manera definitiva su imagen en el extranjero, en especial en Alemania. Las imágenes y estereotipos románticos creados a partir de la Guerra de la Independencia (1808-1814) sirvieron durante la primera mitad del siglo veinte de instrumento de manipulación propagandística que debía contribuir a ensalzar la ejemplaridad del aliado español. Este artificio político, que buscaba la simpatía ideológica con el sistema de valores nacionalsocialista, se valió de manera particular de las producciones cinematográficas hispano-alemanas para lograr su objetivo.

Post-Crisis Belarus: Marxism and the Lender of Last Resort

Existing literature has examined the predictions and proscriptions of Karl Marx in response to the 2008 global financial crisis. However, the suggestions put forth by the Marxist-leaning literature never took hold and state-level banking and finance policies have remained largely unchanged. While many criticisms of Marxism exist, this paper examines Belarus, a ‘neo-communist’ or ‘market-socialist’ state, to provide a new perspective on the continuation of capitalism in the United States and Europe. In the case of Belarus, the International Monetary Fund and the Eurasian Economic Community's Anti-Crisis Fund provided both the critical liquidity needed to temporarily quell the effects of the financial crisis. Their demands meant that Belarus agreed to speed its move away from the Soviet-era finance and banking policies and more towards its western capitalist neighbors. Its failure to implement these policies further hurt its recovery. Examining Belarus' path to and out of its financial crisis makes apparent that the role of the international lender of last resort (LOLR). The LOLR acts as a key element in protecting states embroiled in the financial crisis from facing the possibility of making the difficult policy changes put forth by the Marxist literature. By ignoring its promises under the loan conditions from its LOLRs, Belarus moved further from the recovery promised by the Marxist suggestions.

The economic crisis as a game changer? Exploring the role of social construction in sustainability transitions

Continuing economic turbulence has fuelled debates about social and political reform as much as it has stimulated actions and initiatives aimed at a more fundamental transition of dominant economic systems. This paper takes a transition perspective to explore, from a Western European viewpoint, how the economic crisis is actually viewed through a variety of interpretations and responded to through a range of practices. We argue that framing societal phenomena such as the economic crisis as "symptoms of transition" through alternative narratives and actions can give rise to the potential for (seemingly) short-term pressures to become game changers. Game changers are then defined as the combination of: specific events, the subsequent or parallel framing of events in systemic terms by engaged societal actors, and (eventually) the emergence of (diverse) alternative narratives and practices (in response to the systemic framing of events). Game changers, when understood in these terms, help to orient, legitimize, guide, and accelerate deep changes in society. We conclude that such dynamics in which game changers gain momentum might also come to play a critical role in transitions. Therefore, we argue for developing a better understanding of and methodologies to further study the coevolutionary dynamics associated with game changers, as well as exploring the implications for governance.

Paradigmas sobre las crisis económicas : lo político y la política

Sobre la base de la crítica a los límites de la teoría neoclásica del equilibrio general para explicar las crisis económicas del capitalismo y el papel que esta teoría atribuye en su gestión a lo político y a la política, se examinan las explicaciones que aportan las teorías de Keynes, Friedman y Marx desde un punto de vista comparado y crítico y se relacionan con el contexto económico y político del que surgen y con las políticas que promueven, así como la influencia en las sociedades capitalistas y la disputa teórica que proyectan.

`A Reporter's Paper': The National Thrift News, Journalistic Autonomy and the Savings and Loan Crisis

Business journalism comes under persistent criticism for serving its historic readership of brokers and business people while lacking sufficient autonomy and failing to sufficiently question or challenge powerful corporate and economic interests. This is a dominant theme in media criticism of the savings and loan crisis⁠ and 2008 financial crisis.⁠ Against this backdrop, this dissertation asks: Is this critique valid, and if so, how can business journalism improve? To engage these questions, this dissertation examines the question of autonomy in business journalism in an unlikely place: the trade press. The central case study is coverage of the savings and loan crisis by the National Thrift News, a small financial services newspaper that won a George Polk award for its reporting in 1988. How could a small trade newspaper succeed in some instances when larger news organizations failed to connect the dots? The National Thrift News created a newsroom environment that celebrated reporter autonomy and independence. In some cases, it used its insider knowledge and consistent beat reporting to serve both its core readers and the broader society by uncovering savings and loan corruption. This study will highlight a long-running debate among theorists of journalistic professionalism by arguing that the commercial and advertising model in journalism does not inevitably compromise journalistic independence⁠ but rather can help pave a way forward for a more independent press. It therefore challenges the political economy critique of journalism, which holds that external forces such as capitalism harm press independence. This case suggests journalistic independence and individual agency remain powerful forces in newsrooms. Lastly, the dissertation argues that in an era of media downsizing, the trade press can perform an even more useful watchdog role over industry if the mainstream news media acknowledges and pursues some of the innovative trade reporting.

Crisis de la masculinidad hegemónica: (re)escrituras finiseculares de la batalla de los sexos en Estados Unidos

The present dissertation explores the concept of masculinity as power, paying special attention to the production and resistance of the rigid narratives of masculinity. Such configuration has prescribed the role of men in society—both at an individual and collective level—placing man at the centre of the patriarchal system and thus conferring upon men superiority over women. Such ideological construction is based on an essentialist view of the world, where biology determines destiny. As Men’s Studies have been advocating since their emergence, the victims of such an inegalitarian system are mainly women, but there are others, such as marginalized groups of men and hegemonic men themselves. Our focus is centered on the so-called crisis of masculinity that North American men went through in the last two decades of the twentieth century, the consequences of which have not yet been completely overcome. While from an essentialist point of view such a crisis is questionable, the political, economic and sociological reality of the Reagan’s Age made visible the downsides and pitfalls of toxic masculinity. In order to face the problems derived from the damaging nature of a construction that constrains men, three broad responses to the problem were taken: pro-feminist, anti-feminist and spiritual. Except for pro-feminists, the main reaction of these groupings consisted of victimizing themselves and of defending their essentialist supremacy—lulled by the fantasy world fostered by the “politics of symbolism” (Dallek, 1999 [1984]) of Reagan’s escapist policies. Opposing this reassuring image of the United States, the Blank Generation addressed the crisis of masculinity from a nihilist perspective. Through the analysis of American Psycho, this dissertation will illustrate the darkest side of the hegemonic model of masculinity...

Crises and Crisis Generations: International Conflict and Military Participation in Politics

Why do states facing high levels of international threat sometimes have militaries that are heavily involved in politics and at other times relatively apolitical, professional militaries? I argue that the answer to this puzzle lies in a state's history of 'acute' international crises rather than its 'chronic' threat environment. Major international crises lead to professionalization and de-politicization of militaries in both the short- and long-term. International crises underscore the need for the military to defend the state and highlight military deficiencies in this regard. Accordingly, major international crises lead to military professionalization and withdrawal from politics in order to increase military effectiveness. This effect persists years, and decades, later due to generational shifts in the officer corps. As the "Crisis Generation" of officers become generals, they bring with them a preference for professionalization and de-politicization. They guide the military towards abstention from politics. I test this theory using a new global dataset on military officers in national governing bodies from 1964-2008 and find strong support for the theory. Major international crises lead to two waves of military withdrawal from government, years apart. Further statistical analysis finds that this effect is most strongly felt in the non-security areas of governing, while in some cases, international crises may lead to militaries increasing their involvement in security policy-making. Further, international crises that end poorly for a state — i.e., defeats or stalemates — are found to drive more rapid waves of military withdrawal from government. The statistical analysis is supported by a case illustration of civil-military relations in the People's Republic of China, which demonstrates that the crisis of the Korean War (1950-53) led to two waves of military professionalization and de-politicization, decades apart. The first occurred immediately after the war. The second wave, occurring in the 1980s, involved wholesale military withdrawal from governing bodies, which was made possible by the ascent of the "Crisis Generation" of officers in the military, who had served as junior officers in the Korean War, decades prior.