Extremist parties in the EU and the US have one thing in common: They create and sustain momentum through Internet activism, producing dramatic results at the ballot box. Long-standing political structures, on the other hand, are falling short in their utilization of digital strategies, putting democracy under pressure and creating a vacuum for new players.

The options available to progressive activists include a renewal of existing leftist parties, supporting (trans)national powers (such as the UN) and working on fundamentally new ways to build political participation from below. How can we rethink our democracy? What kind of role will digitization play in reconnecting politics and people? What can we learn from extremist strategies, and how do they work?