This chapter uses a comparative case study analysis to explore how solidarity economy initiatives following different approaches to collective action constitute themselves as counterpower by strategically establishing and mobilising linkages at the local and translocal levels. The analysis is based on the comparison of three solidarity economy initiatives that represent distinct approaches to collective action and social change. Tamera – Healing Biotope I is an ecovillage and self-defined peace research centre located in southwestern Alentejo, Portugal. It is a prominent example of a living laboratory and educational model, being one of the oldest, largest and most established ecovillages in Europe, as well as a core member of the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN). Esperança/Cooesperança is a commercialisation network, founded in 1987 in the municipality of Santa Maria in the central region of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Cooperativa Integral Catalana (CIC) is an ‘integral cooperative’ founded by an assembly of activists in Catalonia in 2010, which mobilises online peer-to-peer platforms and alternative currencies to develop an autonomous, self-managed infrastructure for the satisfaction of core human needs such as housing, nutrition, health and education.

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This publication is an output of the following project(s):

• Transnational networks for regenerative development in Europe: A comparative perspective on grassroots mobilisation and policy advocacy