The NGOization of Social Movements in Neoliberal Times

“Through an in-depth comparison of feminist movements in Belgium and Romania, this book contributes to fill a gap in social movement studies as well as in gender studies by analysing the complex processes of professionalization, institutionalization and bureaucratization of contentious politics as well as the potential risks of depoliticization, demobilization and co-optation they bring about.” —Donatella della Porta, Scuola Normale Superior, Florence, Italy "Alexandra Ana unveils the neoliberal governance mechanisms driving contemporary feminist activist practices and subjectivities. Original and convincing, her critical analysis overcomes normative, worn-out categories that often pervade both academic literature and activist debates to shed light on states and markets dynamics shaping women’s mobilizations." —Ioana Cîrstocea, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Paris, France Drawing on theories in politics, sociology, gender and feminist studies, and social movement studies, this book compares and contrasts NGOized feminist organizations and informal street feminist groups in Belgium and Romania in order to understand the transformation of modern and contemporary feminist movements. Chapters trace the development of this NGOization process and its entanglements with neoliberal modes of governance and techniques and proposes an historically and empirically grounded analytical model to the NGOization of feminist movements as a multidimensional process. By analyzing the NGOization process through a cross-national comparison based on very different cases, the book disentangles the links between institutionalization, professionalization, bureaucratization and precarization and clarifies the outcomes associated with them, such as demobilization, depoliticization, co-optation and burn-out. This book will be of interest to scholars and researchers across Gender & Feminist Studies, Social Movements, Sociology, and Politics. Alexandra Ana is a Marie Sklodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellow at Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium, working on resistance to anti-gender movements and politics, within a decolonial framework and from a comparative perspective.