The social demobilization of the urban margins: an analysis of the Chilean case
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Abstract
Studies explaining the demobilization of urban social movements as the result of neoliberal policies deliver a generalizing image of the issue. In other words, they do not adequately address how demobilization occurs in specific areas or groups. Also, they do not explain why some groups mobilize in spite of being exposed to the same policies. This article focuses on the politics of the Chilean urban poor to provide a different explanation of their demobilization. Based on fieldwork conducted in underprivileged neighborhoods of Santiago, Chile, as well as other empirical studies, the paper creates a novel analytical framework for the demobilization of communities in the urban margins. The framework includes three components: precluded political opportunities, spatial marginalization, and socializing governance. It also distinguishes necessary and sufficient factors, thus producing a theoretical model that admits exceptional cases that do not succumb to social demobilization.
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