Subterranean Politics in Europe

We are experiencing one of those rare moments in history when subterranean politics 'bubbles up' to the surface. The demonstrations, occupations and new political initiatives that emerged across Europe in 2011 and 2012 struck a chord in public opinion in a way that has not been true of the protests and social movements arising over the last decade. This has caused ripples of discomfort in established institutions, challenging dominant ways of thinking and unsettling normal assumptions about how politics is done. Based on a multi-disciplinary, collaborative research project carried out across Europe, and from the team responsible for the landmark Global Civil Society yearbooks, this volume investigates why this is occurring now, whether the current eruptions are different to previous periods of political upheaval, and what they tell us about the future of the European project.

Mary Kaldor is Professor of Global Governance and Director of the Civil Society and Human Security Research Unit at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), UK. She has written widely on democracy, civil society and security issues, and is a founder and executive editor of the Global Civil Society yearbook series.

Sabine Selchow is Research Fellow in the Civil Society and Human Security Research Unit at the LSE, UK, and in the Institute of Sociology at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat, Germany. She holds a PhD in Government from the LSE.