From Tahrir to Puerta del Sol to Wall Street: The Transnational Diffusion of Social Movements in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

This article examines social movement diffusion through a comparison between two processes: diffusion from the Arab Spring to the Spanish indignados, and from the latter to Occupy Wall Street. The comparison shows that the content and the channel of diffusion differ from one process to the other. The Spanish indignados received a sense of collective effi cacy from the Arab Spring essentially through indirect means. In the second process, the mediation of third parties facilitated the diffusion of more practical knowledge related to new forms of inclusivity and the occupation of public space. The comparison of these two processes suggests that ideational elements are easily transmitted through indirect channels, whereas behavioural innovations require interpersonal contact to be properly transmitted