Introduction: Subjectivity and Collective Action

Introduction suggests an analytical model explaining subjectivization of the twenty-first century collective movements and introduces the contents of different book chapters.

Reimagining Social Movements: From Collectives to Individuals raises critical questions about how movements are constituted, and the contesting role of subjectivity within a vast array of contemporary collective action processes unfolding on both local and global levels. This collection examines the shifting landscapes of movements. It analyzes the internal dynamics within protest action(s) evolving in a globalizing world characterized by accelerating rates of fragmentation and the dislodging of traditional forms of asymmetrical and vertical power. Then the book shows some collective mobilizations experiencing new form of sociability in a world where identities are more and more replaced by subjectively experienced—both digitally and otherwise—forms of meaning-making around personalized strategies and techniques of dissent. This work present also experimental paradigms to study these new forms of collective action and their cultural features regarding the individual involvement within the labyrinthine interiors of movements of the early twenty-first century.