ABSTRACT
Most chapters of this book have been written in the wake of the debt and financial crisis. At the time of publication, that crisis had amounted to a veritable systemic one embracing politics, markets, and society alike. While much of the relevant literature in the fields of democratic theory, of political economy, and of critical sociology tends to overemphasize the phenomena of an all-encompassing decay that also includes forms of collective action by those who are most concerned, the contributions to this book suggest a rival hypothesis. Looking beyond crisis, they argue that opposition is not only possible but may assume the format of a proper countermovement aimed at fighting both the perversities of neo-liberalism and undermined forms of democratic governance. In order to understand that cumbersome process, collective action research needs to adopt a developmental perspective with respect to interest formation and strategic objectives according to which nothing is fixed forever, while much is still to be achieved.
