Considering the rise of global political instability and subsequent importance of new social movements, I examine the relationship between the alter-globalization movement and political power in Italy, Spain, and Greece. I argue that not only is the movement anti-political, but that it operates within an apolitical social milieu, as a ritualized holding pattern for middle class youths that find themselves uncomfortably placed between a receding state structure on the one hand, and a rising informal economy on the other. Its ritual liminality allows adherents to act revolutionary while assuring that their middle class privileges remain intact. I consider the social ramifications of the movement at a time when Europe finds itself at a political and economic crossroads, and offer specific and timely case studies from the three southern European countries.