Abstract
As demonstrated by recent social movement research as well as by the contributions in this volume, economic contention is coming to the fore of scholarly attention as a result of popular reactions to the current recession and the related austerity policies introduced in many countries across the globe. In this chapter, we broaden this crisis-focused perspective and look at a longer time period in four countries that were affected by the crises of economic transformation and austerity packages well before the current wave.
The goal of this chapter is to analyze protest on issues of economy, welfare, and social policies (economic protest) in four very similar national environments: the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland, the so-called Visegrad Group (V4).