Social Nucleation of Counterhegemonic Spaces

In social movement scholarship, a varied array of concepts is used to describe different counterhegemonic social spaces (squats, urban gardens, civil/neighbourhood organizations, etc.), such as 'autonomous spaces', 'spaces of hope', 'free (social) spaces', 'temporary nodes of resistance to capitalism' (TNRCs), 'contested spaces' or 'social centres'. To link this variety of physical counter-spaces in a conceptual framework, a socioecosystemic approach based on the process of ecological nucleation is suggested. Social nucleation refers to the process of the creation, maintenance, and evolution of spaces—physical or not—that modify their surrounding socioenvironmental conditions, facilitating the recovery of or fostering the functions of socioecosystems based on the existence of interactions. Social nucleation facilitates the emergence and development of a multiplicity of places (social nuclei) created by people with the objective of gathering and developing different activities. As an umbrella concept, it can add a holistic point of view to the discussion of the most common terms used in this field, uniting related concepts, focusing on their common socioecological functions for classification and analysis within social movement dynamics, and highlighting their significance for developing counterhegemonic alternatives, identities, and networks. Finally, the social nucleation process and socioecological functions help reveal the importance of activist networks for creating and maintaining these places.

Maite Iglesias-Buxeda