Since 2010 we have witnessed new ways of assembling, which have made the word 'democracy' sound important again. These practices may not have led to the political changes we had hoped for. Nevertheless, we are convinced of their importance. This book wants to acknowledge them as a starting point for a new art of being many: The 'many' invoke new concepts of collectivity by renegotiating their modes of participation and (self-)presentation and by rewriting rhetorical, choreographical, and material scripts of assembling. This volume is inspired and informed by the square-occupations and neighborhood assemblies of the 'real democracy' movements as well as by recent explorations of the assembly form in performance art and participatory theatre.

geheimagentur is an open collective working in Performance Art, Cultural Studies, and activism. Martin Jörg Schäfer (PhD) teaches Literature and Performance Studies at the University of Hamburg, Germany. Vassilis Tsianos is professor of sociology at the Kiel University of Applied Sciences. From 2010 to 2013 he was project coordinator of the research focus 'Border crossings" in the EU project "MIG@NET transnational digital networks, migration and gender' of the University of Hamburg. From 2002-2005, he participated as a research member in the transdisciplinary research project TRANSIT MIGRATION of the Institute of European Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology of the University of Frankfurt am Main. Vassilis Tsiano's research interests include racism analysis, Autonomy of Migration, sociology of postmigrant society, European border regimes and biometric border control.