Contentious Politics In Emergency Critical Junctures. Progressive Social Movements during the Pandemic

Social movements have often played an important role in emergencies, mobilizing in defence of those rights that they perceive as being at risk or more urgently needed than ever. In general, progressive social movements develop in moments of intense change, mobilizing with the aim of turning them to their advantage. A variable mix of challenges and opportunities relates to a critical juncture. The specific balance of challenges and opportunities faced by progressive social movements during the Covid-19 crisis is a central question addressed in this Element. Based on existing research on the first phases of the Covid-19 pandemic, this Element addresses the ways in which the health emergency had an impact on the repertoire of action, organizational networks and collective framing of progressive social movements that adapted to the pandemic conditions and the related crises, but also tried to transform them.