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The Centre on Social Movement Studies

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Publications

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The Contentious Politics of Higher Education. Struggles and Power Relations within English and Italian Universities

Monograph - 2018

Author: Lorenzo Cini

Drawing on neo-institutionalist and social movement approaches, this book analyses the impact that recent student mobilizations have brought about within Italian and English universities in terms of student services, curriculum organization, and governance structures. Arguing that the university context is central to explaining the variety and diversity of this impact, the author examines the effects… more

The far right as social movement

Journal Article - 2018

Author: Pietro Castelli Gattinara and Andrea Pirro

The literature on the far right is trying to connect with social movement studies. Scholars from different social scientific backgrounds are increasingly acknowledging that extra-parliamentary grassroots activism is part of the alliance and conflict structure of nativist collective actors. The recent rise in far-right street politics – or, precisely, its re-emergence with seemingly different clothes… more

The Passage from Hierarchy to Horizontality: The Self-managed Factory of Vio.Me, Greece

Journal Article - 2018

Author: Haris Malamidis

The anti-austerity mobilizations that developed after the beginning of the economic crisis brought to the forefront the increase in self-organized, solidarity structures. One of the most popular examples of these alternative forms of resistance is the self-managed factory of Vio.Me in Greece. After the owners abandoned the company in 2011, the Vio.Me workers occupied the… more

The polyvalent populism of the 5 Star Movement

Journal Article - 2018

Author: Andrea Pirro

Widely recognised as a populist party within a context of mutating populism, ideational approaches have taken only a marginal role in the analysis of the issues of the Movimento 5 Stelle (5 Star Movement, M5S). The article elaborates on the supply side of the M5S and shows how its populist frame has been able to… more

The populist politics of Euroscepticism in times of crisis: A framework for analysis

Journal Article - 2018

Author: Andrea L. P. Pirro and Paul Taggart

The European Union has been recently exposed to the multiple shocks of the Great Recession, the migrant crisis, and Brexit. Populist parties have been, either directly or indirectly, considered the principal beneficiaries of these crises in light of their Eurosceptic profiles. In this introductory article, we lay out the conceptual and analytical tools necessary to… more

The populist politics of Euroscepticism in times of crisis: Comparative conclusions

Journal Article - 2018

Author: Andrea L. P. Pirro, Paul Taggart, and Stijn van Kessel

This article offers comparative findings of the nature of populist Euroscepticism in political parties in contemporary Europe in the face of the Great Recession, migrant crisis, and Brexit. Drawing on case studies included in the Special Issue on France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom, the article presents summary cross-national… more

’Solidarietà sconvenienti’. Reti online di estrema destra contro e per la riforma dell’Europa

Journal Article - 2017

Author: Elena Pavan and Manuela Caiani

In spite of an increasing interest for how ICTs entwine with collective participation dynamics, the ways in which their relational and communicational potential is exploited by extreme right organizations remain overlooked. In this article, we aim at moving forward along this research avenue by focusing on how extreme right organizations and groups employ digital communications… more

A situated understanding of digital technologies in social movements. Media ecology and media practice approaches

Journal Article - 2017

Author: Alice Mattoni

The article tackles two main aspects related to the interaction between social movements and digital technologies. First, it reflects on the need to include and combine different theoretical approaches in social movement studies so as to construct more meaningful understanding of how social movement actors deals with digital technologies and with what outcomes in societies.… more

Anti-Corruption from Below. Social Movements Against Corruption in Late Neoliberalism

Special Issue - 2017

Author: Donatella della Porta, Loris Caruso, and Andrea L. P. Pirro

In the last decades, a growing awareness has emerged in progressive social movements about the relevance of corruption as a hidden factor that negatively influences political and economic decision-making processes in both liberal-democratic and authoritarian regimes. Rampant corruption has been denounced by social movements, which have developed specific diagnostic and prognostic frames as well as… more

Comparing Digital Protest Media Imaginaries: Anti-Austerity Movements in Greece, Italy & Spain

Journal Article - 2017

Author: Emiliano Treré, Sandra Jeppensen and Alice Mattoni

This article presents findings from an empirical study of repertoires of contention and communication engaged during anti-austerity protests by the Indignados in Spain, the precarious generation in Italy, and the Aganaktismenoi in Greece. Drawing on 60 semi­structured interviews with activists and independent media producers involved in the 2011 wave of contention, we bring together social… more

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Publications

Edited Volume - 2026

Conspiracism and Political Conflict

Manuela Caiani, Marco Solinas, Hans-Jorg Trenz

Monograph - 2025

Free download for "Contentious Politics of Global Health Movements"

Donatella Della Porta, Stella Christou

Journal Article - 2025

Communication creates partial organization: A comparative analysis of the organizing practices of two climate action movements, Youth for Climate and Fridays for Future Italy

Marco Deseriis, Lorenzo Zamponi, Diego Ceccobelli
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 communication for the foundation and early development of two national chapters of Fridays for Future: Youth for Climate (YFC) Belgium and Fridays for Future Italy (FFFI).

Journal Article - 2025

Power resources, territory and labour conflicts in the logistic sector

Donatella Della Porta, Marco Antonelli