ABSTRACT
The Europeans were aware of empirical shifts such as new constituencies and new forms of action, including groups that challenged modern forms of political organisation and experimented with decentralised, directly democratic forms of organisation, and often sought to affect culture and lifestyle more than laws and macro-institutions. However, unlike their North American counterparts, the European propensity to explain collective action in such macro-political and social-theoretical terms often left them unable to explain why particular movements emerge to prominence at particular times, through reference to the availability of resources, and the opportunities for action offered by a political structure.
