In the face of high unemployment in Europe for the past thirty years, the unemployed have organized themselves and mobilized at levels ranging from the local to the transnational. These contentious movements invite us to revise traditional analyses that conclude that the unemployed are not able to get mobilized. Through long-term analysis of movements of the unemployed in ten European countries, this work explores why, when, and how the unemployed move from acquiescence to protest. -- Back cover.