ABSTRACT
Progressive social movements have often reflected upon democracy: they have struggled for democratic deepening in broader society but also permanently searched for democracy in their own practices. While usually asking for more participation in the polity, they have however conceived of democracy as a process. Self-reflexive actors, they have often acknowledged their own limitation in achieving high democratic qualities, and tried to learn from previous mistakes, experimenting with democratic innovations. In order to provide some instruments to map and assess social movements’ attempts to improve different democratic qualities, the chapter first singles out some main models of democracy, and then presents how recent social movements in Europe have developed specific conceptions and practices.
