Abstract

In democratic regimes, governance encompasses the institutional mediation between government and non-governmental forces through which interests are represented, and social and political inclusion is promoted in accordance with the rule of law. Accordingly, when governance is in place, governments are able to exert effective and accountable public authority. Yet, this is not set in stone; governance is produced through an interactive process in which actors’ interests are constantly redefined. Social movements contribute to this redefinition by introducing new interests, shifting policy agendas, and mobilizing through different repertoires of action to secure that their demands are met. Hence, one cannot understand how governance is generated and upheld without analysing the role played by social movements in this process.