A Political Psychology Approach to Militancy and Prefigurative Activism: The Case of Brazil

This book analyzes the tension between two forms of collective action in Brazil: the militant (militante) and the prefigurative activist (ativista). It explores the relationship between protestors' activities and conceptions of political participation with their subjectivity and agency. The protest cycle triggered by the June 2013 events in Brazil gave strength and popularity to repertoires and strategies of collective action uncommon and innovative, defying political parties' conventions and highlighting the limitations of militant unionist tradition. The author combines theoretical tools and traditions from South and North America to build an interdisciplinary approach to Political Psychology and answer the question of what psycho-political differences lie behind the disparate forms of political action adopted by militants and prefigurative activists in Brazil.

Format: Hardback
Length: 148 pages
Publication date: 07 March 2023
Publisher: Springer International Publishing AG

This book delves into a series of protests that took place in Brazil from 2013 to 2016, presenting them as exemplary cases of global trends in contentious politics. It aims to analyze the tension between two forms of collective action: the militant (militante) and the prefigurative activist (ativista). Drawing from sociology, political science, and psychology, the book explores the relationship between protestors' activities and conceptions of political participation with their subjectivity and agency. The protest cycle triggered by the June 2013 events in Brazil gave strength and popularity to repertoires and strategies of collective action that were uncommon and innovative. These praxes challenged political parties' conventions, highlighted the limitations of militant unionist tradition, and brought prefigurative activism to the Brazilian left-wing agenda.

In this book, Andre Luis Leite de Figueirêdo Sales employs an interdisciplinary approach to Political Psychology to answer the question: what psycho-political differences lie behind the disparate forms of political action adopted by militants (militants) and ativistas (prefigurative activists) in Brazil? The chapters are inspired by books of short stories and discuss various aspects of the distinction between militancy and prefigurative activism. The author addresses issues such as the connection between the ongoing changes in Brazilian protest culture and the rising popularity of autonomist movements across the globe, the differences in rooting protest strategies in principles like resistance or refusal, the impact of the culture informing militants and prefigurative activists on their political goals and horizons, and the conduct of militant and prefigurative activists.

By examining these topics, the book sheds light on the complex dynamics and factors that shape political action in Brazil and beyond, contributing to our understanding of contentious politics and the role of collective action in shaping social change.

Weight: 442g
Dimension: 235 x 155 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783031250330
Edition number: 1st ed. 2023