Repression in Disguise: Effects of Covert Repression on the Erosion of Social Movements in Post-Indignados Madrid
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1285/i20356609v19n2p438-457Keywords:
Infra-politics, Police Infiltration, Protest Repression, Social Movements, SpainAbstract
The growing securitization and criminalization of social movements in Europe raise concerns about the erosion of public freedoms. Yet scholarship often emphasizes overt repression, neglecting the effects of more covert strategies. This article examines post-Indignados Spain to analyze two such mechanisms taking an infra-political lens: administrative repression through fines and intensified police infiltration. Focusing on Madrid’s housing movement, climate activism, and squatted social centers, it investigates how these practices shape repertoires and organizational capacity. Drawing on interviews with activists, legislative analysis, and secondary data on protest rights, the study finds that both mechanisms foster demobilization, weaken civil disobedience, and undermine organizational structures. Administrative repression generates ambiguity and atomization, while infiltration breeds distrust, eroding horizontal and participatory organizing. Nevertheless, movements create new forms of solidarity and organizational capacity to counteract these effects. By advancing research on these underexplored strategies, the article illuminates the relationship between repression and movement dynamics, contributing to debates on securitization, public freedoms, and the resilience of collective action in contemporary Europe.
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