TSUNAMI DEMOCRÀTIC AND THE CATALAN INDEPENDENCE SOCIAL MOVEMENT: INNOVATION IN THE CONTENT, ORGANIZATION AND MOBILIZATION FORMS.

Tsunami Democràtic was created in August 2019 with the motto ‘rights, freedom and self-determination’. Several organizations were already active in Catalonia, organizing actions with the purpose of achieving the independence of the region. However, Tsunami Democràtic was created two months before the Spanish Supreme Court made public the jail sentence for the Catalan politicians that were involved in the referendum that took place in 2017. Tsunami Democràtic organized massive protests in October and November, when the sentence was already published, actions that included the blocking of Barcelona El Prat airport and the highways that connect Catalonia and the Basque Country with France. Did the political situation affect the way Tsunami Democràtic developed? Does the organization have an innovative structure? Are the protests they organize different from the actions that had already taken place in Catalonia? This master’s thesis aimed to find answers to all these questions. 
In order to answer the problem formulation “How has Tsunami Democràtic innovated the Catalan independence social movement in relation to content, organization and mobilization forms?”, this paper used a mixed methodology with quantitative methods such as surveys to Tsunami Democràtic’s followers on Twitter and data analysis of Twitter accounts as well as interview analysis as a quantitative method. The analysis was structured following the four theories described in the paper: political opportunity theory, resource mobilization theory, networked social movements and collective identity. 
Results 
 
78% of the participants of the survey think that Tsunami Democràtic has created an innovative movement in Catalonia. Why is it innovative? 41% think that what it is innovative is the type of protests; 41% think it is the type of organization, and 15% think it is the content. Tsunami Democràtic was getting ready for a hard jail sentence for the 
Catalan politicians and that was the main political opportunity for its creation. However, the participants of the survey think that its content is based on the self-determination or independence, rather than imprisonment of politicians. Therefore, the political opportunity is not only the imprisonment of politicians but also the current political situation in Catalonia and the collective identity that had already been created by other institutions and organizations within the social and political movements. Regarding the type of movement, 42% of the participants think that it is a social movement, 40% an independence movement, and 14% political movement. 
 
Socio-organizational resources such as social media accounts and their own app have been key for the development of the organization. It is the first time an organization within the Catalan independence social movement launches its own app to improve the way the protests are handled. Human resources have also been cultural and moral resources in this case, as they share beliefs, values, sympathetic support and identity, for example journalists, actors and celebrities, among others. The internationalization of the Catalan cause is a relevant approach. Firstly, the content of Tsunami Democràtic is shared in both Catalan and English to reach a broader audience. Secondly, celebrities such as Pep Guardiola have been key in acquiring international attention. Finally, the protests the organize, such as the blocking of an international airport or the highways that connect Catalonia to France, aim to obtain international intervention.  
 
The bottom up structure is an important characteristic of Tsunami Democràtic, as it is the first time an organization related to the Catalan independence social movement does not have leaders and leaves more space for direct involvement and decision of participants. 96% of the participants of the survey think that this is a positive approach. In regard to mobilization forms, 82% of the participants of the surveys think that the protests they organize are innovative. For the first time, they have targeted an international audience and the participants of the protests have more power to decide and control the protests due to the bottom-up structure and the absence of leaders. To conclude, Tsunami Democràtic has an innovative organizational structure, a bottom up structure with no leaders, and the protests they have coordinated aimed to achieve an internationalization of the movement, an innovative approach within the Catalan independence social movement. The content, however, is more similar to the other organizations that were already active, such as the Catalan National Assembly and 
Òmnium Cultural. They way Tsunami Democràtic will develop in the future will be determined by the political situation in Catalonia and between Catalonia and the Spanish state, as dialogues have already started between the two governments.