Cosmos
The Centre on Social Movement Studies
Journal Article - 2026
Author: Caiani, M., & Fenner, L. S.
This article for Journal of European Public Policy makes a case for reassessing what counts as pro- or anti-European identity. Over the past decade, the rise of radical right mobilisations has prompted many progressive social movement organisations and parties within the EU to anchor their activism in a defence of ‘Europe’ and in resistance to… more
Edited Volume - 2026
Author: Manuela Caiani, Marco Solinas, Hans-Jorg Trenz
This book explains how and why conspiracy theories have become such a powerful political weapon. From stolen-election claims to vaccine scepticism and global “elite” plots, conspiracy theories have moved from the political margins to the centre of public life. In an era of polarised politics, digital campaigning, and democratic backsliding, they increasingly shape elections, mobilise… more
Journal Article - 2026
Author: Rosario Freire Saray
The article examines the feminist campaign #EnContra, which emerged in Chile in response to the 2023 constitutional plebiscite led by far-right actors. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted between September and December 2023, this study analyses how autonomous feminist groups collectively diagnosed the socio-political threat posed by the proposed constitution and mobilized against it through a… more
Journal Article - 2026
Author: Alice Franchini
Non-ethnic mobilization in divided societies is often read through a lens of exceptionalism shaped by the adoption of narrowly outcome-oriented paradigms. Processual approaches have problematized such interpretative distortions by introducing longitudinal explorations of movement trajectories, but often apply rigid distinctions between explicitly political forms of mobilization and those which, occurring outside recognizable political organizations, are… more
Journal Article - 2026
Author: Alice Franchini
Nationalist mobilization is mostly associated with ethnic and territorial grievances. However, studies in recent uprisings, such as the SWANA revolutions of 2011 and 2019, found that nationalist discourse prominently featured in social movements’ repertoires of contention. A widely understood signifier, nationalism was reappropriated by movements to build consensus on ideas of popular sovereignty and direct… more
Journal Article - 2026
Author: Nerea Montejo-López
The study of temporality has gained increasing prominence in sociology and social movement studies. As this wave of research on temporality has risen, scholars have increasingly argued that time should not be understood as a neutral backdrop but as a dimension of power and conflict. Building on the concept of the capitalist timescape as a… moreJournal Article - 2025
Author: Marco Deseriis, Lorenzo Zamponi, Diego Ceccobelli
ABSTRACT: This article focuses on a neglected aspect of the climate action movement Fridays for Future, namely, the relationship between its mediated communication practices and its early organizational processes. Drawing from a strand of organizational communication that underscores the constitutive dimension of communication to organizing processes, we analyze the significance of mediatized leadership and networked… more
Monograph - 2025
Author: Donatella Della Porta, Stella Christou
While much research has addressed the regressive anti-vax protests, the book focuses on campaigns by progressive social movements to promote the development of vaccines for Covid-19 and ensure their equal access on a global level. Over the course of the pandemic, health and care have become central claims, mobilising health workers and patients as well… more
Journal Article - 2025
Author: Batuhan Eren, Manuela Caiani
The transnationalization of the far right is a noteworthy and evolving phenomenon, characterized by extensive networks of actors, their collaborative activities and the exchange of novel ideas and frames. The emergence and cross-national spread of ‘anti-wokeness’ is a recent trend in the ongoing transnationalization process. As a concept to criticize the woke ideas while promoting the illiberal… more
Journal Article - 2025
Author: Manuela Caiani
This paper examines the normalization of the far right via the transnationalization of identities, networks and mobilization. Normalization is related to transformations in the socio-political landscape, and the travelling across borders of discursive strategies and practices of backlash political players play a role on it. Focusing on the crucial Italian case, first, we distinguish extent… moreJournal Article - 2026
Journal Article - 2026
Journal Article - 2026
Edited Volume - 2026
Journal Article - 2026
Journal Article - 2026
Monograph - 2025
Journal Article - 2025
Journal Article - 2025
