This chapter discusses the state of research on social movements in Switzerland. Following a common

approach in the field, social movements are defined as informal networks of actors with a collective

identity, mobilizing around conflicting issues through different forms of protest. The chapter first

characterizes the context in which movements in Switzerland operate, describing the structure of

political opportunities for the mobilization of social movements in Switzerland. It then discusses the

mobilization of a number of movements and movement families, namely traditional movements, new

social movements, radical-right movements, global justice movements, and anti-austerity

movements. The conclusion summarizes the key aspects discussed in the chapter, also with the aim of

dismantling certain stereotypes according to which the Swiss are not very inclined to take to the

streets. The chapter shows that, while social movement research in Switzerland was characterized in

the early 1990s as a marginal field of research in an underdeveloped social science community, this is

no longer true today, as a growing body of works has focused on social movements in Switzerland

during the last thirty years.