This book explores the activism and solidarity movements formed by contemporary European citizens in opposition to populism, which has risen significantly in reaction to globalization, European integration and migration. It makes the counterforces to neo-nationalisms visible and re-envisions key concepts such as democracy/public sphere, power/empowerment, intersectionality and conflict/cooperation in civil society. The book makes a theoretical and empirical contribution to citizenship studies, covering several forms such as contestatory, solidary, everyday and creative citizenship. The chapters examine the diverse movements against national populism, othering and exclusion in various parts of the European Union, such as Denmark, Finland, the UK, Austria, Germany, France, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Italy. The national case studies focus on counterforces to ethnic and religious divisions, as well as genders and sexualities, various expressions of anti-migration, Romanophobia, Islamophobia and homophobia. The book's overall focus on local, national and transnational forms of resistance is premised on values of respect and tolerance of diversity in an increasingly multi-cultural Europe.

Chapter 1: Citizens' activism and solidarity movements in contemporary Europe: Contending with populism.- Chapter 2: Dilemmas of citizenship and evolving civic activism in Denmark.- Chapter 3: Against Romanophobia, for diversity and equality: Exploring the activism modes of a "movement within a movement" in Finland.- Chapter 4: Forging "the people" in the UK: The appeal of populism and the resistant anti-bodies.- Chapter 5: The (im)possibility of creating counter-hegemony against the radical right: The case of Austria.- Chapter 6: We are still here and staying! Refugee-led mobilizations and their struggles for rights in Germany.- Chapter 7: The anti-discrimination activism in a backlash context: A panorama of the French situation.- Chapter 8: Racism, post-democracy, an economy that kills: The challenges of civil society movements in Italy.- Chapter 8: Being a citizen in times of mainstreaming of populism: Building post-communist contestatory and solidary citizenship.- Chapter 10: Feminist movements' acts of citizenship: Experiences from post-socialist Slovenia.- Chapter 11. Citizen's activism for reimagining and reinventing citizenship countering far-right populism.- Chapter 12: Activist citizens: An afterword.