Contentious Millennials and generational dimensions in contemporary social movements in Greece

Abstract

ABSTRACT Although there has been much talk about the new generation and its key role in the post-2010 anti-austerity and anti-authoritarian movements across the world, only recently has the generational component of social movements been constituted as a research topic, and despite a few notable exceptions, the issue of intergenerational relationships within social movements is but rarely addressed. In this article, I attempt to demonstrate the role of the Millennial Generation in recent developments within the social movement field in Greece, where research into these areas is still particularly scarce, while testing the hypothesis of generational discontinuity. In this context, I examine Millennials’ perceptions and practices in comparison with the older generations of the Greek progressive movement community. The analysis focuses on the intergenerational differences with respect to a) biographical availability and type of political engagement, b) organizational practices and coalitional patterns, c) forms of action and digital communication, and d) claims, frames, and discourse. Original data come from 58 interviews and 44 questionnaires. My sample includes members of SMOs, trade unions, leftist parties, local collectivities, prefigurative projects, and unaffiliated activists, representing the entire spectrum of progressive movements and covering a wide range of ideological and political tendencies. The Millennial Generation has substantially changed the social movement landscape in Greece, but data suggest intergenerational differences should not be overemphasized, while pointing to a simultaneous change for all generations on some topics and an intergenerational agreement with regard to others.