Book
2024
Felipe G. Santos
Palgrave Macmillan, London
This book offers an original analysis of how Spain's Platform of People Affected by Mortgages (PAH) built one of the most effective social movements of the 21st century. Drawing on extensive ethnographic fieldwork, in-depth interviews, and original surveys, it argues that care — in the forms of empathy, solidarity, and collective empowerment — was not a byproduct of activism but a deliberate political strategy. The book develops a theory of the 'politics of care' in social movement contexts and traces how the PAH transformed passive beneficiaries into active political agents.
Why it matters: Reframes how we understand social movement success: not as a function of resources or opportunities alone, but of the emotional and relational infrastructure movements build among their members.
Book
2022
Felipe G. Santos, Gabriele D'adda, Montserrat Emperador Badimon, Ezequiel Ramón Pinat, Eduard Sala Barceló, and Luis Sanmartín Cava (eds.)
Bellaterra Editorial, Manresa
An edited volume marking ten years of the PAH, Spain's landmark housing rights movement. Contributions from academics, activists, and legal scholars document the movement's strategies for blocking evictions, its legislative campaigns, its organisational model, and its political legacy. The volume combines academic analysis with first-person testimonies from activists and affected families.
Why it matters: The definitive scholarly and activist record of a movement that stopped over 27,000 evictions and inspired housing movements across Europe and Latin America.
Journal Article
2024
Felipe G. Santos
European Societies
This article analyses how the PAH transformed people facing eviction — initially passive beneficiaries of the movement's legal assistance — into politically active agents. Through a longitudinal analysis of activist trajectories, it identifies the mechanisms through which participation in movement activities generates political efficacy, social solidarity, and sustained commitment to collective action.
Why it matters: Provides micro-level evidence of how social movements generate political capacity among the most marginalized — a key contribution to theories of participation and empowerment.
Journal Article
2023
Felipe G. Santos and Gomer Betancor
Revista Española de Sociología
A bibliometric and thematic analysis of the field of social movement studies in Spain from 1980 to 2020. The article maps the intellectual evolution of the field, identifying its key paradigms, dominant objects of study, institutional centres, and scholars — and documenting the field's increasing dialogue with international social movement theory.
Why it matters: The first comprehensive map of social movement scholarship in Spain — an essential reference for scholars working in or on the Iberian context.
Journal Article
2020
Felipe G. Santos
Social Movement Studies
This article introduces the concept of the 'politics of care' to the social movement literature, drawing on in-depth ethnographic fieldwork with Spain's PAH. It argues that empathy and solidarity — typically understood as emotional dimensions of activism — function as strategic political tools that enable social movements to build power, sustain commitment, and generate political transformation among participants.
Why it matters: The original theoretical statement of the 'politics of care' argument — foundational for the 2024 book and cited widely in the care and movements literature.
Book Chapter
2022
Felipe G. Santos
In Snow et al. (eds.), The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social and Political Movements (2nd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.
An encyclopaedia entry synthesising the emerging literature on care and social movements — tracing the concept's origins in feminist theory, its application to movement contexts, and the key debates about how care shapes collective action, activist well-being, and movement sustainability.
Why it matters: The authoritative reference entry on this topic in the leading reference work in the field.
Book Chapter
2022
Felipe G. Santos and Montserrat Emperador Badimon
In Betancor & Razquin (eds.), Diez años construyendo ciudadanía en movimiento(s). Bellaterra.
This chapter analyses how the PAH's practice of transversality — its organisational commitment to crossing class, ethnic, and political boundaries — operated in practice through specific caring routines and collective intelligence mechanisms. Drawing on participant observation and interviews, it shows how these practices enabled the movement to build an unusually broad social coalition.
Why it matters: A detailed account of how political values translate into organisational practices — relevant for activists and scholars of movement building alike.
Book Chapter
2022
Felipe G. Santos
In Santos et al. (eds.), La Plataforma de Afectados Por la Hipoteca. Bellaterra Editorial.
A narrative reconstruction of the PAH's first successful eviction blockade — the founding moment that defined the movement's identity, tactics, and emotional culture. The chapter uses this single event to trace the role of care, embodied presence, and collective solidarity in enabling ordinary people to confront the state and financial institutions.
Why it matters: A rare micro-sociological account of a founding movement moment — showing how a single act of collective care catalysed a decade of political transformation.