The growing interdependence on a global scale which characterizes the human condition at the turn of the century constitutes a challenge for both the mobilization of social movements and social movement theory. The present volume makes an attempt to adjust the perspective of the political process approach to a world in which political opportunities, mobilizing structures, framing processes and collective action of social movements are no longer confined to national political contexts.

Although living conditions have improved throughout history, protest, at least in the last few decades, seems to have increased to the point of becoming a normal phenomenon in modern societies. Contributors to this volume examine how and why this is the case and argue that although problems such as poverty, hunger, and violations of democratic rights may have been reduced in advanced Western societies, a variety of other problems and opportunities have emerged and multiplied the reasons and possibilities for protest. Acts of Dissent: New Developments in the Study of Protest examines some of...

On February 15, 2003, the largest one-day protest in human history took place as millions of people in hundreds of cities marched in the streets, rallying against the imminent invasion of Iraq. This was activism on an unprecedented scale. The World Says No to War strives to understand who spoke out, why they did, and how so many people were mobilized for a global demonstration. Using surveys collected by researchers from eight countries--Belgium, Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States--The World Says No to War analyzes how the new...

Das Internet, so der empirische Befund anhand der offentlichen deutschsprachigen Debatte zu Genfood, unterscheidet sich seiner diskursiven Qualitat kaum von Tageszeitungen, sofern vom durchschnittlichen Nutzerverhalten ausgegangen wird. Die mit dem Internet verknupften Hoffungen auf eine Demokratisierung und Rationalisierung politischer Streitfragen werden sich kaum erfullen.

Die politischen Demonstrationen am 1. Mai in Berlin waren und sind in vieler Hinsicht ungewohnlich- angefangen vom "Blumenmai" des Jahres 1929 uber den Nazi-Aufmarsch 1933 und die rivalisierenden Kundgebungen in Ost- und Westberlin in den Nachkriegsjahrzehnten bis hin zu den konkurrierenden Veranstaltungen von Gewerkschaften, PDS, linksradikalen Gruppen und NPD in den vergangenen Jahren. Am Beispiel des 1. Mai 2002 wird dieses komplexe Demonstrationsgeschehen in Berlin in seinenTraditionslinien, seinen Inszenierungen und seiner Sinngebung durch die beteiligten Akteure beschrieben und...

Das Buch analysiert anhand von neun Fallstudien aus unterschiedlichen Bereichen Aspekte der gesellschaftlichen Verantwortung von Wirtschaftseliten. Es fragt nach den Ursachen und Bedingungen eines gesellschaftlichen Engagements, aber auch nach den Grunden fur die Ablehnung von Verantwortung.

The concepts of power and democracy have been extensively studied at the global, national and local levels and within institutions including states, international organizations and political parties. However, the interplay of those concepts within social movements is given far less attention. Studies have so far mainly focused on their protest activities rather than the internal practices of deliberation and democratic decision-making. 'Meeting Democracy' presents empirical research that examines in detail how power is distributed and how consensus is reached in twelve global justice movement...