Social Movements and Europeanization

Addressing the relationship between social movements and Europe and locating contemporary social movements in a broader scenario of political conflicts around European integration, the research in Social Movements and Europeanization confirms that issues related to the degree and forms of participation of social movement organizations in European politics (and their support toward Europe) emerge as particularly central in the process of creation, together with a European polity, of a democratic polis. The empirical research allows us to observe different paths of Europeanization by social movements and civil society organizations.

Donatella della Porta is Professor of Sociology in the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the European University Institute, where she teaches courses on political sociology, transformations in democracy, social movements and civil society as well as qualitative methods and research designs. Her main research interests concern social movements, political violence, terrorism, corruption, police, and policies of public order.

Manuela Caiani is a Research Assistant in the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the European University Institute, where she works for the VETO project on "Processes of Radicalization and Violent Political Activism", focussing on right wing extremism in several European countries (Germany, Italy) and the US. Her main research interests concern social movements, Europeanization, political violence, right wing extremism, and social capital.