Carlos Ramírez is a Colombian political scientist and philosopher from the Universidad de los Andes and holds a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Heidelberg. He is currently Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and Global Studies at the Universidad de los Andes. His research interests are political and social theory, qualitative research methods, and religion and politics.

'With illustrations ranging from the 1789 Revolution to the FARC, this edited volume contributes to our understanding of the individual paths into various forms of collective action. Bridging different approaches and methodologies, it locates the analysis of activists' trajectories within a processual and relational perspective that goes beyond micro-dynamics.'- Donatella della Porta (Professor of political science and dean of the Institute for Humanities and the Social Sciences at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Florence, Italy.'With an all-star cast of contributors, this short book covers an immense theoretical terrain. It probes the mystery of action, linking individuals to the social world around them. They think, feel, and engage with others in and out of many public and private settings, coming to politics with a range of goals and fantasies.'- James Jasper (Professor of Sociology, CUNY Graduate Center)'What if social movement theory were more generous with individuals so often crushed under the weight of structures and reduced to rational abstractions? This book presents a range of innovative ideas for how to sociologically approach the protester. Here we find brighter colours in the palette of our methods and concepts that help bring into the foreground the idiosyncrasies, motives and dilemmas of those individuals who give flesh and soul to the movements in which they participate.'- Erik Neveu (Professor Emeritus, ARENES/CNRS)

• Introduction Carlos RamírezIndividual engagement in social activism: an interactionist accountPaul LichtermanThe ogre and the activist. The sociology of activist careers in a structural interactionist perspective Oliver FillieuleThinking the engagement: dispositionalism, contextualism, and observation scalesBernard LahireThe commanders-educators of the FARC-EP and the links between their biographical trajectories and the guerrillas’ organizational plans.Ingrid J. Bolívar and Sergio F. LizarazoIndividual activism in collective dynamics: some methodological approaches to the practices of –political– resistanceVirginie LaurentThe (Ambivalent) Lives of Others. Reconstructing the Trajectories of Egyptian Revolutionaries Through Social Media Traces and Biographical Interviews.Youssef El ChazliIndividual and collective dimensions of the Parisian revolution of 1789. Historiographic reflections and research strategiesHaim BurstinQCA and radicalisationCarlos RamírezConclusion: building bridgesCarlos Ramírez

Carlos Ramírez is a Colombian political scientist and philosopher from the Universidad de los Andes and holds a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Heidelberg. He is currently Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and Global Studies at the Universidad de los Andes. His research interests are political and social theory, qualitative research methods, and religion and politics.

'With illustrations ranging from the 1789 Revolution to the FARC, this edited volume contributes to our understanding of the individual paths into various forms of collective action. Bridging different approaches and methodologies, it locates the analysis of activists' trajectories within a processual and relational perspective that goes beyond micro-dynamics.'- Donatella della Porta (Professor of political science and dean of the Institute for Humanities and the Social Sciences at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Florence, Italy.'With an all-star cast of contributors, this short book covers an immense theoretical terrain. It probes the mystery of action, linking individuals to the social world around them. They think, feel, and engage with others in and out of many public and private settings, coming to politics with a range of goals and fantasies.'- James Jasper (Professor of Sociology, CUNY Graduate Center)'What if social movement theory were more generous with individuals so often crushed under the weight of structures and reduced to rational abstractions? This book presents a range of innovative ideas for how to sociologically approach the protester. Here we find brighter colours in the palette of our methods and concepts that help bring into the foreground the idiosyncrasies, motives and dilemmas of those individuals who give flesh and soul to the movements in which they participate.'- Erik Neveu (Professor Emeritus, ARENES/CNRS)

• Introduction Carlos RamírezIndividual engagement in social activism: an interactionist accountPaul LichtermanThe ogre and the activist. The sociology of activist careers in a structural interactionist perspective Oliver FillieuleThinking the engagement: dispositionalism, contextualism, and observation scalesBernard LahireThe commanders-educators of the FARC-EP and the links between their biographical trajectories and the guerrillas’ organizational plans.Ingrid J. Bolívar and Sergio F. LizarazoIndividual activism in collective dynamics: some methodological approaches to the practices of –political– resistanceVirginie LaurentThe (Ambivalent) Lives of Others. Reconstructing the Trajectories of Egyptian Revolutionaries Through Social Media Traces and Biographical Interviews.Youssef El ChazliIndividual and collective dimensions of the Parisian revolution of 1789. Historiographic reflections and research strategiesHaim BurstinQCA and radicalisationCarlos RamírezConclusion: building bridgesCarlos Ramírez

Carlos Ramírez is a Colombian political scientist and philosopher from the Universidad de los Andes and holds a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Heidelberg. He is currently Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and Global Studies at the Universidad de los Andes. His research interests are political and social theory, qualitative research methods, and religion and politics.

'With illustrations ranging from the 1789 Revolution to the FARC, this edited volume contributes to our understanding of the individual paths into various forms of collective action. Bridging different approaches and methodologies, it locates the analysis of activists' trajectories within a processual and relational perspective that goes beyond micro-dynamics.'- Donatella della Porta (Professor of political science and dean of the Institute for Humanities and the Social Sciences at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Florence, Italy.'With an all-star cast of contributors, this short book covers an immense theoretical terrain. It probes the mystery of action, linking individuals to the social world around them. They think, feel, and engage with others in and out of many public and private settings, coming to politics with a range of goals and fantasies.'- James Jasper (Professor of Sociology, CUNY Graduate Center)'What if social movement theory were more generous with individuals so often crushed under the weight of structures and reduced to rational abstractions? This book presents a range of innovative ideas for how to sociologically approach the protester. Here we find brighter colours in the palette of our methods and concepts that help bring into the foreground the idiosyncrasies, motives and dilemmas of those individuals who give flesh and soul to the movements in which they participate.'- Erik Neveu (Professor Emeritus, ARENES/CNRS)

• Introduction Carlos RamírezIndividual engagement in social activism: an interactionist accountPaul LichtermanThe ogre and the activist. The sociology of activist careers in a structural interactionist perspective Oliver FillieuleThinking the engagement: dispositionalism, contextualism, and observation scalesBernard LahireThe commanders-educators of the FARC-EP and the links between their biographical trajectories and the guerrillas’ organizational plans.Ingrid J. Bolívar and Sergio F. LizarazoIndividual activism in collective dynamics: some methodological approaches to the practices of –political– resistanceVirginie LaurentThe (Ambivalent) Lives of Others. Reconstructing the Trajectories of Egyptian Revolutionaries Through Social Media Traces and Biographical Interviews.Youssef El ChazliIndividual and collective dimensions of the Parisian revolution of 1789. Historiographic reflections and research strategiesHaim BurstinQCA and radicalisationCarlos RamírezConclusion: building bridgesCarlos Ramírez