My main research interests have been on political sociology and historical sociology where my studies have primarily focused on social movements and political violence.
This study explores how young activists in Italy responded to the first wave of the Covid-19 pand... more This study explores how young activists in Italy responded to the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic using sixteen longitudinal qualitative interviews conducted in 2018 and 2020. Our fieldwork suggests that the Covid-19 crisis did not resonate with any significant shift in the trajectory of participation. At the same time, three major empirical observations with regard to time reappropriation, care practices, and digital activism were made, all of which worked in different ways according to the interviewees’ trajectories of participation. This research extends beyond the Covid-19 crisis and contributes to the literature on political participation by providing a way of investigating how activists respond to critical events in different ways depending on their trajectories of participation.
This paper draws on a study of the life course of 40 young people (aged 18–35) in Bologna (Italy)... more This paper draws on a study of the life course of 40 young people (aged 18–35) in Bologna (Italy), who are active in eight different political organizations. It explores whether the political organization, given that the city's political context is the same for all participants, affects the variation of their pathways. It does so by answering the following question: which phases in the lives of young participants are interconnected with the political organizations they are engaged in? To evaluate the impact of the organizational context on young participants, we will take into consideration three dimensions: the degree of bureaucratization, forms of action, and political orientation. Situated at the intersection of youth and social movement studies, this paper aims to advance our understanding of the connections between primary and political socialization processes in shaping young participants’ mobilization and sustained participation within different political organizations. Our empirical findings show that, if the degree of bureaucratization was constantly salient in the two phases, on the other hand political orientation was more salient during participants' mobilization and the forms of action during participants' sustained participation. In the conclusion, the paper critically discusses the empirical findings of our analysis of the respondents’ narratives.
Heterogeneous collective actors often select the same form of action, but there
is no academic in... more Heterogeneous collective actors often select the same form of action, but there is no academic investigation into how and when this happens. This article does so focusing on direct social action, that is, a form of collective action that does not primarily focus upon claiming something from the state but instead focuses upon directly transforming some specific aspects of society. Building on conceptual categories developed by social movements’ scholars (context, organization, and identity) and relying on rich qualitative and quantitative data from collective actors in Italy in a time of crisis, this article identifies four paths toward direct social actions (DSA): the social path, the political-social path, the social-political path, and the political path. In doing so, our analysis shifts from the search for causal factors to the reconstruction of the dynamic, patterned sequences of events by which collective actors progress in adopting a certain form of action. The implications of these findings extend beyond studies of DSA in times of crisis in Italy, to an analysis of collective action in general. Capturing these multiple paths also has important implications for understanding how the same form of action is differently implemented and received when it is adopted by different actors.
Recent scientific studies have reached the near-unanimous conclusion that the media produce a ste... more Recent scientific studies have reached the near-unanimous conclusion that the media produce a stereotypical representation of young people. However, research in this area has not often scrutinized whether there are any significant differences in the coverage of the subject matter. Notably, this article examines whether the political leaning of newspapers has any impact on the levels of plurality in the news coverage of youth. On the basis of political claim analyses of six newspapers from three countries (Greece, Italy, and Spain), we find that the coverage of youth in the public debate is very similar if we compare center-right to center-left newspapers. This suggests that the social construction of the concept of youth dominates in the adult world, regardless of any political differences. Nonetheless, differences emerge when young people are given the opportunity to speak for themselves; center-left newspapers are more likely to recognize the agency of, and give a voice to, young people.
Drawing on electoral participation and social movement studies, we develop a typology of abstaine... more Drawing on electoral participation and social movement studies, we develop a typology of abstainers on the basis of their forms of non-electoral participation, and explore the determinants that drive belonging to each of these subgroups. Although there is a positive correlation between electoral turnout and non-electoral participation, through applying latent class analyses and regressions we find that there is a subset of abstainers who decide not to cast a vote but take part in non-electoral political activities. These 'alternative voicers' are critical of the institutional system and do not feel represented by it, but they are politically involved. Based on their patterns of non-electoral participation, we propose a more nuanced typology of alternative voicers (e-activists, super-activists, and consumerists) and explore their drivers relative to other abstainers. We use data from the original LIVEWHAT survey conducted in 2015 across nine European countries (N = 18,367).
Political violence by non-state actors, whether in the form of clandestine groups, riots, violent... more Political violence by non-state actors, whether in the form of clandestine groups, riots, violent insurgencies, or civil wars, often emerges in the context of social movements, can shift back to non-violent methods of contentious collective action, and in many cases does not mark a new and separate phase of contention but proceeds in parallel with street protests, marches, boycotts, and strikes. At the same time, different forms of political violence are interlinked and are part of a continuum of repertoires of actions-rather than representing discrete and mutually exclusive types-and often occur successively or simultaneously during processes of conflict escalation (when violence increases in scale, type, and scope) or de-escalation (when violence overall decreases).
Alternative action organizations (AAOs) are collective bodies engaged in carrying out alternative... more Alternative action organizations (AAOs) are collective bodies engaged in carrying out alternatives to dominant socioeconomic and cultural practices through actions that aim to provide people with alternative ways of enduring day-today difficulties and challenges in hard economic times. They are often interpreted as merely " philanthropic " actors, although it is not rare to see them go beyond the provision of direct services to people in need and end up pursuing political goals through political means. This article focuses on the process of politicization, that is, the transition of issues from the private to the public sphere and thus the use of public forms of contention (e.g., protest) proposing public solutions at the collective level instead of private solutions at the individual level. We argue for the role of the crisis in the politicization of AAOs. In particular, we show that the appropriation of the context as a context of economic crisis in the discourse of AAOs has a visible effect on their politicization, in terms of both repertoire of actions and goals. Furthermore, we show that social solidarity organizations, those that are not inherently politicized, are the main protagonists of this crisis-triggered transition. The article draws on statistical analysis of the data collected through the coding of AAOs' websites in Greece, Italy, and Spain.
This paper argues that micro-mobilization into armed activism is strongly
motivated by the enactm... more This paper argues that micro-mobilization into armed activism is strongly motivated by the enactment of an identity that people already have prior to their mobilization as a way to strongly assert and emphasize individual agency in the face of major changes in the political context. Empirically, it advocates that those who joined the Provisional IRA between 1969 and 1972 did so in order to respond to a need for action by a northern nationalist community that stemmed from a perceived, alleged or actual, sense of second-class citizenship. We suggest that the importance of identity rather than ideology can also help us to explain why IRA members and former members overwhelmingly accepted the compromise peace settlement of the 1990s despite the fact that core ideological goals had not been realized. We conclude by suggesting avenues for future research outside the Irish context.
This article investigates the causation of transformative events by taking competition between ri... more This article investigates the causation of transformative events by taking competition between rival strands of the same social movements as a window onto the role played by agency in this process. It presents a paired comparison of two very different transformative events in twentieth-century Ireland — the Easter Rising of 1916 and the Long March from Belfast to Derry in 1969 — and the strategic interactions preceding them. The comparison shows how agency and structure can interface around transformative events: high levels of agency were instrumental in making the events; but while the events brought powerful structural forces to the boil, those forces might well have remained dormant had it not been for that initial agency. We also see that the balance between structure and agency is dynamic, sometimes shifting from one moment to another rather than remaining constant.
Drawing both on social movement studies and labour studies, this article investigates the kind of... more Drawing both on social movement studies and labour studies, this article investigates the kind of people who join trade union-staged marches during the current crisis, looking at the presence of (politicized) grievances, collective identity and the embeddedness of mobilization. Data were taken from surveys conducted during 13 marches organized by the main trade unions in five European countries. They show that participants in union-staged demonstrations in countries in which a corporatist model dominates and trade unions have a tradition of business unionism (Belgium and the Netherlands) are characterized by higher political trust, more moderate positions on the left– right continuum and stronger organizational ties. On the other hand, in countries in which unions are less institutionally recognized and with a tradition of oppositional unionism (Italy and Spain), participants in union-staged demonstrations are more mistrustful of politics, located more to the left and rely more upon informal social networks to mobilize. The United Kingdom falls between these two poles.
This article systematizes a research perspective that assesses how different types of social move... more This article systematizes a research perspective that assesses how different types of social movement outcomes mutually influence one another over time. This should offer a different perspective on the consequences of social movements by shifting the focus from single outcomes to processes of social change generated by the interaction between different types of effects. The variety of ways in which movement outcomes potentially influence each other in the short-term, or over an extended period of time, will be broken down into six hypothetical processes. Empirically, through a process tracing approach, in this article I investigate how the British state responses at the policy level toward the disruptive mobilization of the Catholic community in Northern Ireland and to the armed campaign of the PIRA have shaped the post-movement life of PIRA volunteers.
This chapter shows how, in the case of the Northern Ireland conflict (1968-1998, also known as th... more This chapter shows how, in the case of the Northern Ireland conflict (1968-1998, also known as the 'troubles'), the British counter-terrorist policies and reintegration programs have produced the external factors and forces that have in part shaped the post-armed activism lives of the Provisional IRA (henceforth PIRA) volunteers. The majority of activists did not followed British reintegration programmes in the way they were designed to function, that is, by integrating disengaged Republicans into state structures and/or transform them into obedient, passive, citizens of the British state. Rather the large majority of former PIRA activists formed their post-armed activism lives with their own agency and previous skills learned while in the armed group and in prison, and became involved in community activism.
We do so through a political claim analysis conducted on the most important newspapers of each co... more We do so through a political claim analysis conducted on the most important newspapers of each country between 2005 and 2014. We show that the economic crisis, as a shared experience able to produce consequences on political processes, does matter, but not as one monolithic factor that generates homogeneous outcomes. Different countries are characterized by specific features, which need to be taken into account to understand the relationship between economic crisis and political change. We identify four different " crises " (the global financial crisis, the public debt and austerity crisis, the industrial productive crisis, and the political legitimacy crisis) and propose interpretations on the relationship between their relative visibility, structural factors, and political change.
Over the last decade there has been an increased focus on social movement outcomes.1 This increas... more Over the last decade there has been an increased focus on social movement outcomes.1 This increased attention has led to calls for the improvement of our theoretical and conceptual arguments, the more effective implementation of methodological tools, and more ...
Uploads
Papers by lorenzo bosi
is no academic investigation into how and when this happens. This article does
so focusing on direct social action, that is, a form of collective action that does
not primarily focus upon claiming something from the state but instead focuses upon
directly transforming some specific aspects of society. Building on conceptual categories
developed by social movements’ scholars (context, organization, and identity)
and relying on rich qualitative and quantitative data from collective actors in Italy in a
time of crisis, this article identifies four paths toward direct social actions (DSA): the
social path, the political-social path, the social-political path, and the political path. In
doing so, our analysis shifts from the search for causal factors to the reconstruction
of the dynamic, patterned sequences of events by which collective actors progress
in adopting a certain form of action. The implications of these findings extend beyond
studies of DSA in times of crisis in Italy, to an analysis of collective action in general.
Capturing these multiple paths also has important implications for understanding how
the same form of action is differently implemented and received when it is adopted by
different actors.
motivated by the enactment of an identity that people already have prior
to their mobilization as a way to strongly assert and emphasize individual
agency in the face of major changes in the political context. Empirically,
it advocates that those who joined the Provisional IRA between 1969 and
1972 did so in order to respond to a need for action by a northern nationalist
community that stemmed from a perceived, alleged or actual, sense of
second-class citizenship. We suggest that the importance of identity rather
than ideology can also help us to explain why IRA members and former
members overwhelmingly accepted the compromise peace settlement of
the 1990s despite the fact that core ideological goals had not been realized.
We conclude by suggesting avenues for future research outside the Irish
context.
strands of the same social movements as a window onto the role played by agency in this process. It
presents a paired comparison of two very different transformative events in twentieth-century Ireland —
the Easter Rising of 1916 and the Long March from Belfast to Derry in 1969 — and the strategic
interactions preceding them. The comparison shows how agency and structure can interface around
transformative events: high levels of agency were instrumental in making the events; but while the events
brought powerful structural forces to the boil, those forces might well have remained dormant had it not
been for that initial agency. We also see that the balance between structure and agency is dynamic,
sometimes shifting from one moment to another rather than remaining constant.