Riccardo Emilio Chesta

This innovative book situates research on the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of institutional and grassroots participation, participatory and deliberative democracy, and science and risk communication. The authors analyse the democratic challenges and opportunities faced by social movements and civil society organizations in emergency situations, and emphasize the crucial importance of their engagement in solidarity actions. Providing in-depth analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, with international applications, this book pairs qualitative empirical data with sociological and political theory, drawing on an extensive original collection of interview data. Authors situate civilian responses to the pandemic within a broader crisis framework to explore ongoing debates on social movements, active citizenship, participation, and contemporary political communication. Chapters highlight the role of political actors, media, and scientific expertise in influencing mobilization and public discourse, to analyze the processes that shaped action during the health emergency. Pandemic Communication and Participation is an essential resource for scholars and students of sociology, political communication, and social movement studies. Its practical guidance and focus on mitigating the risks of future health emergencies also makes it a beneficial read for policymakers and practitioners in public health.

From Deliveroo to Amazon, digital platforms have drastically transformed the way we work. But how are these transformations being received and challenged by workers? This book provides a radical interpretation of the changing nature of worker movements in the digital age, developing an invaluable approach that combines social movement studies and industrial relations. Using case studies taken from Europe and North America, it offers a comparative perspective on the mobilizing trajectories of different platform workers and their distinct organizational forms and action repertoires. This is an innovative book that offers a complete view of the new labour conflicts in the platform economy.

Based on mixed-methods research and ethnographic fieldwork at various sites in Italy, this book examines the relationship between expertise and activism in grassroots environmentalism. Presenting interviews with citizens, activists and experts, it considers activism surrounding infrastructure in urban areas, in connection with water management, transport, tour- ism and waste disposal. Through comparisons between different political environments, the author analyses the ways in which citizens, political activists and technical experts participate in using expertise, shedding light on the effects of this on the structure and composition of social movements, as well as the implications for the mechanisms of participation and the formation of alliances. Bridging the sociology of expertise and contentious politics, this study of the relationship between contentious expertise and democratic accountability shows how conflict transforms, rather than inhibits, expertise production into a ‘contentious politics by other means’. As such, it will appeal to social scientists with interests in social movements, environmental sociology, science and technology studies, and the sociology of knowledge.

Based on mixed-methods research and ethnographic fieldwork at various sites in Italy, this book examines the relationship between expertise and activism in grassroots environmentalism. Presenting interviews with citizens, activists and experts, it considers activism surrounding infrastructure in urban areas, in connection with water management, transport, tour- ism and waste disposal. Through comparisons between different political environments, the author analyses the ways in which citizens, political activists and technical experts participate in using expertise, shedding light on the effects of this on the structure and composition of social movements, as well as the implications for the mechanisms of participation and the formation of alliances. Bridging the sociology of expertise and contentious politics, this study of the relationship between contentious expertise and democratic accountability shows how conflict transforms, rather than inhibits, expertise production into a ‘contentious politics by other means’. As such, it will appeal to social scientists with interests in social movements, environmental sociology, science and technology studies, and the sociology of knowledge.