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The article discusses recent challenges and opportunities for democracy. Stressing that the scientific discourse on this topic has to critically consider the various meanings of the concept of democracy, some main narratives on the status of democracy are reviewed, looking at the elements of crisis of representative democracies, but also at the growing importance of democratic qualities promoted in participatory and deliberative conceptions of democracy. Original empirical research on conceptions and practices of democracy in social movements as pre-figurative arenas provides illustrations of the tensions and potentials within the, variously understood, conceptions of democracy. Moreover, some explanations of the different conceptions of democracy are discussed. The author concludes that, if the historical evolution of democracy privileged some specific qualities (related in particular to electoral accountability), the recent difficulties of representative institutions require a reflection on different qualities that, as participation and deliberation, are acquiring new relevance. Adapted from the source document.

A symposium discussion of the following book by Pierre Rosanvallon; "Counter-Democracy: Politics in an Age of Distruct".

The "return" of poor people movements encourages reflection on the impact of changes in the social structure, the availability of organizational resources, and political and discursive opportunities for collective action. Based on a quantitative and qualitative claim analysis in six European countries, this article maps unemployment-related protest actions in three areas: (a) long-term unemployment; (b) massive dismissals; and (c) unemployment and labor policies within more general cycles of protest. The article discusses the actors, the forms and claims of the protests, and the social and political opportunities for their development. Protests on unemployment tend to assume some similar forms, each oriented to stress the"absolute injustice" of the position of the unemployed. The framing of the issues of both labor changes and the evolution of the labor market restates the importance of social dynamics for political protest. Unions as well as other social movements and political actors play an important role in the protest against unemployment. Adapted from the source document.

In this contribution, I suggest that some emerging developments in social movements can be usefully discussed in the light of the growing literature on deliberative democracy &, moreover, that reflections on social movements might help in specifying some conceptualization of deliberative politics. 29 References. Adapted from the source document.

The debate on deliberative democracy could open a fruitful perspective for research on social movement conceptions & practices of democracy. This article reports a pilot study of the values & norms that guide the global justice movement's organizational choices based upon focus groups & in-depth interviews with participants in various Italian social forums. Deliberative democracy, which emphasizes participation & the quality of communication, is particularly relevant for a multifaceted, heterogeneous movement that incorporates many social, generational, & ideological groups as well as movement organizations from different countries. The global justice movement-a "movement of movements" according to some activists-comprises a dense network of movement organizations, often the product of previous protest cycles. It builds upon past experiences of organizational institutionalization, but also upon reflexive criticisms of it. These networks of networks provide important resources, but also pose challenges for participation & internal communication. The activists in our study addressed these challenges by building an organizational culture that stressed diversity rather than homogeneity, subjectivity, rather than obedience to organizational demands; transparency, even at the cost of effectiveness, open confrontations oriented to consensus building over efficient decision making; & "ideological contamination" rather than dogmatism. Traditional participatory models of democracy are bridged with concerns for good communication & deliberation. 62 References. Adapted from the source document.

The European Social Forum hosted by Florence, Italy, in Nov 2002, was expected by many to balloon into a giant violent political protest. It did not. There was not a single act of violence, & participation was way beyond expectations, with 60,000 participants, representing 426 associations in 105 countries, taking part in the 30 plenary sessions, 160 seminars, 180 workshops, & 75 cultural events. The protests that did take place were seen as a moment of consolidation of a social movement. The ESF formally declared "We want a World of differences, freedom, & reciprocal respect." This chapter focuses on how this "movement of movements" mobilizes, constructs its own resources & opportunities, exploits a vast but heterogeneous social capital but has an individualistic Zeitgeist that discourages traditional militantism, develops tolerant identities, & frames differences as an enriching characteristic of the movement. This reconstruction of the movement's identity & politics is based on survey of ESF activists, 6 focus groups, & semi-structured interviews with representative country samples, totaling 2,384 participants. The findings lead to the conclusion that from this movement for global justice there emerges a conception of democracy as a search for a common good, starting from a pluralist confrontation among equals. Tables. J. Stanton

This paper is based on a research led during the anti-globalization protest in Genoa in July 2001. It challenges the dominant view of globalization as a negative perspective for social movements. The author argues that this phenomenon has brought both resources & constraints for collective action that emphasizes a will of political participation & contests the classical scheme of democratic representation. 4 Tables, 56 References. Adapted from the source document.

The aim of this chapter is to discuss the problems & peculiarities of comparative politics as a method for the analysis of social movements. After a discussion of what comparative politics is, I present the principle methodological strategies & describe the underlying logic of the comparative method. Important issues include the formation of concepts, the number of cases, the use of time, & the choice of similar or different contexts. I conclude with a discussion of different perspectives in the field. Throughout, research on social movements will be the center of attention, providing illustrations of the main problems (& solutions) in the field. Adapted from the source document.