Splitting Urban Waters: The Politicisation of Water in Barcelona between Populism and Anti-Populism |
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Authors: | Lucia Alexandra Popartan Camil Ungureanu Irina Velicu Maria José Amores Manuel Poch |
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Institution: | 1. Laboratory of Chemical and Environmental Engineering (LEQUIA), Institute of the Environment, University of Girona, Girona, Spain;2. Department of Political and Social Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain;3. Centre for Social Studies, Universidade de Coimbra, Lisbon, Portugal;4. Cetaqua—Centro Tecnológico del Agua, Barcelona, Spain |
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Abstract: | The current literature on remunicipalisation is focused either on theoretical concepts (e.g. right to the city, commons, return of the political) or on the “insurgent” actors involved in this process, overlooking the counter-politicisation of the economic agents and the resulting struggles for power and legitimation. This paper examines, by means of an interpretative qualitative methodology and by critically engaging with Ernesto Laclau’s approach to populism, the complexities of the ongoing dialectic of populist and anti-populist antagonism between socio-political actors and private companies, with a focus on the discourse on remunicipalisation of water in Barcelona. |
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Keywords: | water politicisation remunicipalisation populism Barcelona en Comú Agbar |
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