Questioning European Democracy? Versions of Representation in the 15M Movement and Podemos

In the wake of the social movement mobilization after the 2008 financial crisis in Spain, many would like to argue that this has given rise to a new wave of left-wing political representation, such as the party Podemos. Left-wing populism is often seen as the natural continuation of protest movements and hailed as reinvigorating democracy by creating new forms of representation for the previously unrepresented.

This article argues that the political subjectivity espoused by Podemos hails from a long European tradition built on rationality, masculinity, and nationalism. In opposition, the political subjectivities practiced by the many branches of the 15M provide a more novel critique of the European democratic system. The article questions the claims to democratic innovation by Podemos, and argues that without a closer engagement with how current party practices reinforce different forms of exclusion, the democratic promise of left-wing populism may be weaker than previously thought.