An explosion onto the scene of new claims and demands mark contemporary politics. Sometimes they become sedimented into a specific or wider programme of action. At other times, the demands remain isolated, unable to appeal to a wider audience or even to sustain themselves in their particularity. The reasons for the seeming frequency of emergence of new demands are multiple, ranging from the speed of contemporary life, and the dislocations and disruptions associated with it, to the ability of issues to transcend borders at a pace previously unknown. A key task of democratic theory today is to address, account for and analyse the formation and character of these demands. This involves giving attention to a number of different issues. We need to be able to understand the structure of such demands, including the varied elements – verbal and non-verbal, rational, emotional and imaginative – that go into their formation. In addition, consideration has to be given to how demands become universalized and to the nature of such universalization. A plethora of further questions arise in this respect.