Collective action in our current global situation is often associated with growing intolerance, xenophobia and exclusion, or it is regarded as incapable of making a real and positive difference in the lives of individuals. This book acknowledges the severe problems with effective and significant collective action, but it arrives at a more optimistic diagnosis of our time by rethinking the political from the angle of the experiences with progressive and conservative collective action in different parts of the globe: Brazil, South Africa and Europe. By doing so, it contributes a critical perspective to the debate about the possible impact that the Global South could have for positive social and political developments worldwide.