STUDY DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS (UNHEARD) CALLS FOR DEMOCRACY FROM BELOW Social and Protest Movements and Potentials for Democratic Renewal Activism in Southeast Europe takes a unique path, that is not an imitation of the West­ern patterns of activism. More­­over, local contexts in a specif­ic way encourage the expres­sion of activism in the com­munity, providing truly inno-­vative examples of mobiliza­tion and organization. Contentious movements are formed by individuals, who act as a group and advocate for common goals and who in the process of acting together develop a collective identity. Gazela Pudar Draško, Vedran Džihić and Marko Kmezić December 2020 Activists have recognized that structural change in their soci­eties is impossible to achieve without taking their struggle to the realm of electoral poli­tics and developing genuine platforms for political change.