Student Movements in Late Neoliberalism

“This rich and insightful collection arrives at the perfect historic moment. Even as the modern neoliberal university reels under the impact of the COVID pandemic, these chapters remind us that university students continue to be significant political actors.”

–         Professor Judith Bessant, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

“This wide-ranging volume provides the reader with a holistic understanding of the specificities of contemporary student movements within the context of neoliberal higher education.”

–         Dr. Sarah Pickard, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3, France

“Drawing on recent cases from the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia, this volume successfully draws the study of student movements into the social movement literature.”

–         Professor Christopher Rootes, University of Kent, United Kingdom


This book inquires into the global wave of student mobilizations that have arisen in the aftermath of the economic crisis of 2008, accounting for their historical and sociological significance. More specifically, its eleven chapters explore the role of students as political actors: their ability to build effective organizations, to make political alliances with other actors, and to win public consensus, as well as their impact on cultural, political, and policy outcomes. To do so, the volume examines case studies in England, Chile, South Africa, Quebec, and Hong Kong, covering Europe, Africa, Asia, and North and Latin America. Grouped into two major sections, the collection covers the organizational structures of student movements and their alliances and outcomes. Ultimately, this volume examines the understudied political aspects of student unrest, exploring how student mobilizations—driven by indebtedness, precariousness, the corporatizationof the university, and other issues—correspond to larger processes of change with wider implications in society.




Lorenzo Cini is a political sociologist on the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences of the Scuola Normale Superiore of Florence, Italy.

Donatella della Porta is Professor of Political Science, Dean of the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, and Director of the PhD program in Political Science and Sociology at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Florence, Italy.

César Guzmán-Concha is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow at the University of Geneva, Switzerland.