“Evidence Struggles: Legality, Legitimacy, and Social Mobilizations in the Catalan Political Conflict”, Hamburg Institute for Social Research, June 26, Hamburg.
Narotzky, S. June 26th 2019, Distinguished Lecture, “Evidence Struggles: Legality, Legitimacy, and Social Mobilizations in the Catalan Political Conflict”, Hamburg Institute for Social Research, Hamburg.
Different kinds of evidence are put forward to make an argument and justify political action by agents situated in diverse social, cultural, and power positions. The Catalan political conflict is a case in point. The central Spanish government’s arguments are mostly of a juridical nature and rest on the anti-constitutionality of the Catalan government and other civil society organizations’ actions. Instead, most arguments of Catalan supporters of independence are based on historical interpretations of grievances referring to national institutions and identity. While supporters of independence have mobilized hundreds of thousands of Catalans in massive demonstrations and have used media in a very efficient manner, the Spanish state has mostly relied on legal arguments and the judicial branch, epitomized by a televised macro-trial to the alleged secessionist leaders. This talk argues that an important aspect of the political confrontation is being played as an evidence struggle where the various social actors produce different kinds of evidence to justify their actions in the political arena and mobilize support.
Prof. Dr. Susana Narotzky, Professorin für Sozialanthropologie an der Universitat de Barcelona
Moderation: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Knöbl, Soziologe; Direktor des Hamburger Instituts für Sozialforschung
https://www.his-online.de/nc/veranstaltungen/veranstaltung-einzelansicht/news/evidence-struggles-legality-legitimacy-and-social-mobilizations-in-the-catalan-political-conflict/