Peoples' Movement Study Group

Folkrörelsestudiegruppen (Peoples' Movement Study Group) collects the experiences of different movements and disseminates them in various forms. It started in 1983 in Stockholm on the initiative of people active in Alternativ Stad with a seminar attended by people active in the tenants' movement, the solidarity movement, the environmental movement and the peace movement. The theme was Achieving Victory and dealt with the different experiences of directors, soldiers and popular movement activists in this art. The activity has since gradually grown by organising seminars on its own or in cooperation with others, publishing booklets and activist calendars, and participating in various major popular movement meetings in different parts of the world to strengthen knowledge of popular movements.

The group was invited to Finland and Uruguay at an early stage and has since exchanged knowledge of popular movements at meetings in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, India, Denmark, Estonia, India, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Germany.

The aim is to promote knowledge of popular movements as a social actor distinct from others, such as voluntary organisations, charities, NGOs etc. These latter are parts of civil society, but popular movements exist to protect civil society from threats, with the participation of people who are vulnerable to this threat.

Members of the group have also begun more extensive studies, particularly on the global history of popular movements, the history of new popular movements in the Nordic countries and the international co-operation of popular movements in the context of summits. The results are available on this website, which was launched in 1998.

You are welcome to participate in the work.