Double Democratization and the Politics of Property in Municipalist Barcelona

Authors

  • Markus Kip Institute of Sociology, University of Jena and Collaborative Research Center “Structural Change of Property” (SFB TRR 294 – University of Jena and University of Erfurt) https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9084-6840
  • Silke van Dyk Institute of Sociology, University of Jena; and Collaborative Research Center “Structural Change of Property” (SFB TRR 294 – University of Jena and University of Erfurt) https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2933-7067

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54195/jps.17837

Keywords:

municipalism, new municipalism, property, urban politics, commons, remunicipalization, municipalization, public procurement, public-commons-partnerships, public-civic-partnerships

Abstract

This contribution proposes a conceptual lens on analyzing the political engagements with property by the new municipalist government of Barcelona (2015-2023) as a two-pronged approach to democratization: On the one side, the municipalists intended to strengthen public authority vis-à-vis property; on the other side, the objective was to build democratic capacities among civic, cooperative and administrative actors and promote grassroots-based collective decision-making around local resources. Three examples show the differentiated application of this double democratization, as well as the political and legal obstacles faced: the attempted municipalization of water management, the regulation of private property through public procurement and the cession of publicly owned sites for civic self-management. The critical contribution of the article is to reflect on these cases and show how multiscalar relations of property pushed themselves in front of the “politics of proximity”, thus compromising the foundation that the municipalists sought to build on.

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Author Biographies

  • Markus Kip, Institute of Sociology, University of Jena and Collaborative Research Center “Structural Change of Property” (SFB TRR 294 – University of Jena and University of Erfurt)

    post-doc researcher

  • Silke van Dyk, Institute of Sociology, University of Jena; and Collaborative Research Center “Structural Change of Property” (SFB TRR 294 – University of Jena and University of Erfurt)

    Professor of Political Sociology

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Published

2024-08-02

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 1 (2024)

Section

Research

How to Cite

Kip, M., & van Dyk, S. (2024). Double Democratization and the Politics of Property in Municipalist Barcelona. Journal of Political Sociology, 2(1), 48-79. https://doi.org/10.54195/jps.17837