Divergent narratives on democracy in the Portuguese social conflict: a dialect materialist approach

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The democratic rhetoric of the austerity measures

The main purpose of this paper is to make an analysis of the policy-legitimizing discourses of the political-economic executive in Portugal considering the social and economic crisis thecountry is going through, and how this democratic legitimation is linked to democratictheory. The first parts of this article, is going to sketch the context of today’s rhetoric and aframework to analyse the discourse. The second is an empirical study in which we will try toshow the application of this framework, discussing 4 cases; the TINA discourse, an interview with a high representative of the Troika, the media discussions about the “grandoladas” and the discussion about the case of the budgetary reproval by the constitutional court

Long waves of political contestation

This paper develops a wave theory of political contestation, and places the current economic and political turmoil in a historical perspective. Based on legitimacy, it serves as an alternative to the waves of democratization of Samuel Huntington (1991). The theoretical framework is based on two main theories: the theory of long waves in political economics and the theory about state-legitimacy and fiscal crisis. In the first section, this paper gives a short overview of the different economic dynamics which over time have been incorporated in long wave theories, predominantly based on the works of Kondratieff (1979) and Schumpeter (1939), and puts the current economic situation in this perspective. The second part analyzes the general interdependency between long waves and politics, and the original criticisms of the endogenous model by Trotsky (1923). The third section considers long waves theories in politics, in particular Samuel Huntington's theory, and discusses the main criticisms of his theory. The fourth section analyzes the influence of the long wave upswing and downturn on state-legitimacy, and is based on the work of O'Connor (2001) and Habermas (1975). The fifth section combines the long wave's concept with legitimacy and protest against a long wave theory of political contestation and gives the first elements of some empirical evidence, comparing the political contestation in the thirties and today. The sixth section draws conclusions and takes a look on the need for further research

A crise de legitimidade da governança climática global: combinação de uma perspetiva marxista e polanyiana

This article frames recent problems of the RIO+20 summit, the failure of the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference (COP15) and the problems of the carbon markets within a broader legitimacy crisis of global governance, consequence of the crisis of the global capitalist socio‑ecology. Two mechanisms give rise to the loss of legitimacy: unequal development and mercantilization, or the reconfiguration of the power balance and the destruction of social ties. As a consequence, both winners and losers contest the legitimacy of the institutions and mechanisms that govern global capitalism. In this article, we distinguish between the Marx‑type of contestation, referring to emerging classes/states, and the Polanyi‑type of contestation, referring to the victims of global mercantilization. In the case of climate governance, these winners and losers are represented by BRICS in climate negotiations and by the global environmental justice movement.Este artigo enquadra os atuais problemas da Rio+20, o falhanço da Cimeira de Copenhaga (COP15) e, mais recentemente, dos mercados de carvão numa ampla crise de legitimidade da governança global, consequência da crise global da socioecologia capitalista. Dois mecanismos dão origem a esta perda de legitimidade, o desenvolvimento desigual e a mercantilização; ou seja a reconfiguração das relações de força entre atores e a destruição dos laços sociais. Como resultado, tanto vencedores como perdedores contestam a legitimidade das instituições que governam a reprodução do capitalismo global. Neste artigo distinguimos respetivamente a contestação tipo‑Marx de novas/os classes/Estados emergentes e tipo‑Polanyi das vítimas da mercantilização global. Na esfera da governança climática, estes vencedores e perdedores são representados pelos BRICS nas negociações climáticas e pelo movimento global de justiça ambiental