“Lo llaman democracia y no lo es”

Eine demokratietheoretische Annäherung an die Bewegung des 15. Mai

Abstract

Since May 15th,
2011, major transformations have been taking place in the Spanish public sphere, especially
because of the celebration of political debate with major affluence on public squares. The
Spanish ‘15-M movement’ presents three key characteristics: First, it demands a renovation of
modern democracy; second, it opposes to the implemented programmes of structural adjustment,
public budget consolidation and, in broader terms, neoliberal policy application and
third, it develops formerly unknown or only among left-wing activists known forms of collective
decision making and re-appropriation of public space. The following article will discuss
the first two aspects. After a chronologic description of collective action applied by the 15-M
movement, the text will develop analytical insights into questions regarding concepts such as
democracy, citizenship and political identities.