The indignants' demonstrations in Greece: a social-psychological analysis (original) (raw)

In the summer of 2011, the citizens of Greece gathered at Syntagma square (and other central squares all over the country) to protest against a package of austerity measures which meant to tackle the ongoing financial crisis. This mobilization had special characteristics. The protesters stayed at the square for about 40 days. Various actions took place during those days, such as concerts, direct democracy meetings and clashes with the riot police. The similarities to the protests of Arab spring and Spanish indignados are clear. Those special features could be attributed, among other factors, to the psychosocial characteristics of the participants both as individuals and as group members. One participant observation and two quantitative studies reveal those characteristics. Investigating the social identity of the participants in these gatherings, we can distinguish two main groupings of the demonstrators, namely the indignant citizens and the ideologistsactivists. These two protest identities, reflect fundamental psycho-social differences as well as differences in attitudes towards social action. The characteristics of participants in social protests in the times of financial crisis, as derived from the obtained results, are discussed.