The transnational perspective of political participation: linkages and differences between social movement and public participation studies

Abstract

Although political participation is a major issue in the research on both social movements and public participation, until today these two fields remain largely unconnected. This introductory article aims to bring these fields together, exploring the linkages and differences between studies on public participation and social movements, by focusing on the term “political participation” and its varying meanings and implications. As a result of globalisation, the study of political participation in both social movement and public participation studies has been confronted with a range of new questions. Therefore, of particular interest to our focus on political participation of civil society are questions about implicit and explicit references to democracy and participation, as well as the shaping and making of transnational publics. Thus, based on a systematic literature review of recent developments in these fields, this article compares how these new questions are dealt with in studies on social movements and public participation.