This book addresses many questions in evaluating social movements and is the first in a series being developed by The Centre for Canadian Studies at Mount Allison University. What lessons can we learn from protest movements and social mobilizations of the past? Do newer movements differ from those of the past in process or outcomes? How have globalization and international events changed and shaped the way Canadian social movements operate? How effective are (and have been) social movements as agents of change: is there validity to the critique that social movement actors somehow lack legitimacy as the self-appointed ‘voice’ of communities they claim to represent? Are the stated democratic values espoused by these movements borne out in their internal processes and practices? Contributors from the fields of history, political science, education, sociology and women’s studies–covering 80 years of social movement activism in Canada–seek to address these questions.