ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides an account of the European Marches in relation to the broader social movement of which it formed a part. It describes the actual events that mobilized citizens in protesting Europe. The book is structured around the three phases of mobilization which spanned the EU summits in Amsterdam, Cologne and Nice. It develops a critique of this analysis based initially on its misconception of class as an economic category rather than a social relation. The book highlights the significance of the strikes over welfare reform in France which marked a breakthrough for those critical currents inside and outside of mainstream labor organizations which had been challenging the dominant strategy of social partnership. It focuses on European Marches as part of the broader social movement which emerged to contest neoliberal globalization in Europe and promoted an alternative Social Europe.
