From the Street to Institutions through the App: Digitally Enabled Political Outcomes of the Spanish Indignados Movement

This article examines the relationship between social movements’ digital democratic innovations and political parties through a case study based on the involvement of 15M activists in the creation and development of new political parties in Spain. By analyzing the impact of certain technological activist groups on the implementation of the movement’s demands in terms of mechanisms of participation and deliberation in the new parties through the use of digital technologies, we aim to evaluate the activists’ contribution to the transformation of formal politics and the deepening of democracy. In this sense, we explore the role of so-called ‘tech activists’ as mediators of political participation, and the digital repertoire of action they use. Sources used include various documents and websites as well as interviews with key informants and notes from participant observation in meetings and assemblies