Tool-box, tradition, and capital: Political uses of translation in contemporary Spanish politics

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article presents a critical overview of the central, yet frequently ambiguous role played by translation within the political cycle that began in Spain following the indignados or 15M movement of 2011. It argues that the crisis caused by the emergence of the 15M movement and its sustained critique of the previous political consensus (the so-called “Culture of the Transition”) has left certain cultural and intellectual gaps within the public sphere, which are being partially filled through translation. By analyzing and contextualizing a series of translations and related paratextual materials, the article examines the potentially contradictory ways in which translation has contributed to debates on the definition and origins of the movement, the dissemination and exploration of innovative ideas within it, and the creation of new political figures.