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A master's thesis from Aalborg University
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Uruguay's Turn to the Left: the role of social organizations and organic intelectuals

Author

Term

4. term

Publication year

2020

Submitted on

Pages

44

Abstract

Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan sociale organisationer og intellektuelle bidrog til at udbrede Broad Fronts vision og principper i Uruguay, og hvordan dette medvirkede til koalitionens sejr ved præsidentvalget, en vigtig milepæl i landets historie. Studiet kombinerer to teorier: Antonio Gramscis teori om kulturelt hegemoni (hvordan visse ideer bliver opfattet som almindelig, selvindlysende viden) og Ernesto Laclaus og Chantal Mouffes diskursteori (hvordan politiske betydninger og identiteter skabes gennem sprog og offentlige fortællinger). Jeg indsamlede baggrundsviden om Uruguay og Latinamerika samt kvalitative data om uruguayanske sociale organisationer og intellektuelle, der i perioden 1990-2009 var aktive i civilsamfundet og delte Broad Fronts værdier. For de sociale organisationer analyserede jeg deres verdensbillede i forhold til tidens dominerende opfattelser og de handlinger, de gennemførte på den baggrund. For de organiske intellektuelle (i Gramscis forstand: tænkere forankret i sociale grupper) undersøgte jeg deres tilknytning til Broad Front og identificerede deres mest indflydelsesrige arbejder i perioden, som bidrog til at udbrede dette verdensbillede. Resultaterne viser, at de analyserede sociale grupper og organiske intellektuelle i høj grad delte Broad Fronts perspektiv og som centrale aktører i civilsamfundet spillede en væsentlig rolle i at formulere og sprede det. Dermed var de med til at etablere en almindeligt accepteret opfattelse i overensstemmelse hermed i det uruguayanske samfund. Samlet set havde de sociale organisationer den største indflydelse, på grund af omfanget og slagkraften af deres handlinger.

This thesis examines how social organizations and intellectuals helped spread the Broad Front's vision and principles in Uruguay, contributing to the coalition's presidential election victory, a milestone in the country's history. The study combines two frameworks: Antonio Gramsci's theory of cultural hegemony (how certain ideas come to be seen as common sense) and Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe's discourse theory (how political meanings and identities are constructed through language and public narratives). I compiled contextual information on Uruguay and Latin America and collected qualitative data on Uruguayan social organizations and intellectuals who were active in civil society between 1990 and 2009 and shared the Broad Front's values. For social organizations, I analyze their worldview in relation to the dominant outlook of the time and the collective actions they undertook guided by that worldview. For organic intellectuals (in Gramsci's sense: thinkers rooted in social groups), I examine their ties or formal adherence to the Broad Front and identify their most influential works in the period that helped disseminate this worldview. The findings show that these social groups and organic intellectuals largely shared the Broad Front's perspective and, as key civil society actors, played an important role in articulating and spreading it, helping establish it as common sense in Uruguayan society. Overall, social organizations exerted the greater influence, due to the number and impact of their actions.

[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]