Challenges of the Police as a political actor in Spain

Abstract

Over the past decades, police forces have evolved significantly as a result of the structural changes that have taken place in democratic societies. The growing delegitimization of representative political institutions; the empowerment of citizens; the crisis of the welfare state and the consequences of socioeconomic globalization have shaped a scenario in which a classic institution, such as the police, is struggling to relocate itself in an ambiguous space. This is leading to its overlap with other institutional actors and some glimpse of an identity crisis. The aim of this article is to investigate the challenges that Spanish police forces are facing as political actors, in this context. In this scenario, a complex structure of interactions between the police forces, political-institutional decision-makers and various social actors is built. We define the profiles of such interaction in a variable geometry framework which is highly systemic and prone to stability. In this system of relationships, security forces face a structural bewilderment derived from their confused and weakened position caused by the hegemonic pressure put by: (1) empowered social actors; (2) demanding and increasingly delegitimized political decision-makers; and (3) increasingly sophisticated, complex and powerful professional challenges. The perspective of analysis is institutionalist, as it is assumed that the police institution conditions actors’ perceptions and interests, but these gain enough relevance and determination to influence an uncertain future scenario. The methodology is qualitative, and it is based on chief police officers' testimonies, whose speeches are interpreted in the light of previous relevant academic contributions. This research was founded by the Spanish National Science Program 2012-‍14.