Collectives in contemporary collective actions: emergence, context, definitions, and practices

The cycle of protests from 2010 to 2013, which sparked a wave of massive demonstrations in different regions of the world, drew attention to a modification in traditional collective action. Unlike other historical moments, these demonstrations no longer depended on the direct mediation of classical political organizations such as political parties, unions, or even social movement organizations. On the contrary, there was a popular refusal of these organizations in the pursuit of new organizational models for political action, encompassing new values and worldviews for collective actions. Concerning the waves of protests, analysts began to perceive the effervescence of new (associate)activist experiences  and  to reflect on their possible impact on political-organizational practices and discourses. Self-styled collectives stand out among the new characteristics of protesting observed since then. By adopting methods, forms, and organizational practices  based on values and ideals of collectivity, collaboration, the construction of internal mechanisms based on horizontality, and the deconstruction of the idea of formal and vertical leadership, collectives have  indicated changes in organizational experiences and the forms of contemporary political interaction, challenging both analysts and the public authorities. Faced with these (re)definitions and aiming to contribute to the process of building a field of study focused on the analysis of collectives in their multiple dimensions, the dossier Collectives in Contemporary Collective Actions: emergence, context, definitions, and practices aims to gather works focused on (a) the development of new analytical approaches and categories, (b) the construction of methodologies attentive to the apprehension of the phenomenon, as well as contributions that discuss (c) the relationships of collectives with the institutional sphere and (d) the possible innovations,  challenges  or  limits  of  these  groups  for  collective  action  and  democratic construction.

Organizers: Dra. Maria da Glória Gohn (Unicamp), Dr. Ernesto Morales (UAB) eDr. Claudio Luis de Camargo Penteado (UFABC).

Article submission 05/03/2024 until 30/05/2024.