The birth of democracies owes much to the interventions and
mobilizations of ordinary people. Yet many feel as though they have
inherited democratic institutions which do not deliver for the people -
that a rigid democratic process has been imposed from above, with
increasing numbers of people feeling left out or left behind.
In this well-researched volume, leading political sociologist Donatella
della Porta rehabilitates the role social movements have long played in
fostering and deepening democracy, particularly focusing on progressive
movements of the Left which have sought to broaden the plurality of
voices and knowledge in democratic debate. Bridging social movement
studies and democratic theory, della Porta investigates contemporary
innovations in times of crisis, particularly those in the direction of
participatory and deliberative practices - 'crowd-sourced
constitutions', referendums from below and movement parties - and
reflects on the potential and limits of such alternative politics.
In a moment in which concerns increase for the potential disruption of a
Great Regression led by xenophobic movements and parties, the cases and
analyses of resistance in this volume offer important material for
students and scholars of political sociology, political science and
social movement studies.
