Description: 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 organizations, with detailed observations of how they operate in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. Written by leading political scientists and sociologists, this work contributes significantly to the wider literature on power and deliberative democracy within political science and sociology.
Brief description: Donatella Della Porta is Professor of Sociology in the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the European University Institute. Her main fields of research are social movements, the policing of public order, participatory democracy and political corruption. Her previous publications include Approaches and Methodologies in the Social Sciences (2008).
Review Quotes: "With but a few notable exceptions, scholarship on social movements reflects an outsider's perspective. But in this exceptional collection, the contributors take us inside global justice groups to describe and analyze the movements unique brand of participatory democracy. The result is as rich an empirical portrait of the internal dynamics of a movement as has been produced to date." Doug McAdam, Professor of Sociology and Director of Urban Studies, Stanford University