Social movements and left-wing parties in europe after 2008: The cases of Greece and Spain

Economic crisis of 2007 – 2008 in US and subsequent European debt crisis led to important changes in both US and Europe. Anti-austerity movements in different European countries struggled against their governments. Criticism of existing democratic mechanisms and economic status quo went hand in hand. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between social movements and certain political parties; namely SYRIZA and PODEMOS in Greece and Spain respectively. First, the twin crisis of Europe; the representation crisis and the economic crisis is briefly described. Secondly, various social movements in these countries, with a special emphasis on square occupation movements, are examined. Thirdly, the historical development of SYRIZA and PODEMOS is analyzed. Finally, the relationship between these parties and social movements are studied with a comparative approach along with their political programmes and organization models. Keywords: SYRIZA, PODEMOS, Crisis of Representation, Economic Crisis, Social Movements, Occupy