Abstract
The Slovenian chapter by Mojca Pajnik perceives social movements, not just as individual actions of protest but also as an opportunity to create new ways of thinking and being in the world. It discusses feminist movements’ “acts of citizenship”, that is, alternatives to patriarchy, neoliberalism, and racism by way of analyzing articulations and operations of movements in the context of post-socialist Slovenia. Based on focus group discussions with various protagonists of feminist movements and on participant observation at events, the chapter discusses the pertinent issues for these movements, their ideas, as well as concrete actions and strategies of resistance. By way of contrasting and connecting contemporary and “older” civil society feminist actors, the chapter offers insights into their perceptions of democracy, meanings of anti-racial struggle, and tactics of civil disobedience as well as their operational strategies, that is, how they are connected and what tactics they use in struggle.
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Notes
- 1.
The uprising started in the northeastern town Maribor in autumn 2012 and soon spread to cities throughout Slovenia. Thousands of protestors expressed dissatisfaction with local and national authorities, the corrupt political and economic elites who were responsible for the poor conditions in the country. In local communities and on the streets, a diversity of groups and initiatives responded to the forced austerity measures and malfunctioning of the contemporary political system. These were the largest protests in Slovenia since its independence in 1991.
- 2.
The Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation, originally named the Anti-Imperialist Front, was the main anti-fascist Slovene civil resistance and political organization and was active during WW 2. Its military arm was the Slovene Partisans.
- 3.
The reflection on the conference is based on observations by Živa Humer, who attended the conference (see Pajnik et al. 2014).
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Pajnik, M. (2019). Feminist Movements’ Acts of Citizenship: Experiences from Post-Socialist Slovenia. In: Siim, B., Krasteva, A., Saarinen, A. (eds) Citizens’ Activism and Solidarity Movements. Palgrave Studies in European Political Sociology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76183-1_10
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