Social Movements for Global Democracy (Themes in Global Social Change)

301 Pages·2007·1.3 MB·English

by  Jackie Smith

Social Movements for Global Democracy
themes in global social change
Series Editor
Christopher Chase-Dunn
Consulting Editors
Janet Lippman Abu-Lughod
Giovanni Arrighi
Jonathan Friedman
Keith Griffin
Social Movements for Global Democracy
jackie smith
The Johns Hopkins University Press
Baltimore
© 2008 The Johns Hopkins University Press
All rights reserved. Published 2008
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1
The Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 North Charles Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21218-4363
www.press.jhu.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Smith, Jackie, 1968–
Social Movements for Global Democracy / Jackie Smith.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn-13: 978-0-8018-8743-7 (hardcover alk. paper)
isbn-13: 978-0-8018-8744-4 (pbk. : alk. paper)
isbn-10: 0-8018-8743-7 (hardcover alk. paper)
isbn-10: 0-8018-8744-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Social movements. 2. Globalization. I. Title.
hn17.5.s586 2008
327—dc22
2007024502
A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.
Special discounts are available for bulk purchases of this book. For more information,
please contact Special Sales at 410-516-6936 or [email protected].
contents
List of Tables and Figures vii
Preface ix
part i foundations
1 Contested Globalizations 3
2 Rival Transnational Networks 19
3 Politics in a Global System 36
part ii rival networks examined
4 Globalizing Capitalism: The Transnational
Neoliberal Network in Action 65
5 Promoting Multilateralism: Social Movements
and the UN System 89
6 Mobilizing a Transnational Network for
Democratic Globalization 108
part iii struggles for multilateralism and
global democracy
7 Agenda Setting in a Global Polity 133
8 Domesticating International Human Rights Norms 158
vi Contents
9 Confronting Contradictions between Multilateral Economic
Institutions and the UN System 177
10 Alternative Political Spaces: The World Social Forum Process and
“Globalization from Below” 199
Conclusion: Network Politics and Global Democracy 226
Notes 243
References 255
Index 281
tables and figures
tables
1.1. Neoliberal and Democratic Globalizers 6
2.1. Fractions of the Transnational Capitalist Class 24
4.1. Corporate Strategies to Undermine International Public Agencies 75
5.1. Historical Shifts in Transnational Activism 94
5.2. “Generational” Shifts in Movement–UN System Relations 97
6.1. Transnational Mobilizing Structures 112
6.2. Mobilizing Structures and Divisions of Labor in the “Battle of
Seattle” 115
6.3. Transnational Networks, Coalitions, and Movements 119
6.4. Issue Focus of TSMOs, 1963, 1983, 2003 123
6.5. Changes in TSMO Network Ties, 1973–2003 124
6.6. Changing Structures and “Generations” of Transnational
Activism 128
9.1. Comparing International Legal Systems 181
figures
2.1. Rival Transnational Networks 21
6.1. Growth of Transnational Social Movement Organizations 122
7.1. Overlapping Agendas 139
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preface
For many, globalization refers to the increasing expansion of global markets
and the subordination of national economies to a global free market system.
This vision of globalization, known as neoliberalism, is presented as the only
way toward progress and development. As former British prime minister Mar-
garet Thatcher claimed, “there is no alternative” to economic globalization. But
citizens’ groups and their allies have long demanded a completely different vi-
sion of global integration—one that begins not with markets but with human
beings. They have worked to build democratic structures to govern markets,
making them responsive to social needs rather than to the laws of supply and de-
mand. This book documents some of these struggles to build a more democratic
and humane world, demonstrating how contemporary activism for global justice
builds upon a rich history of transnational political action.
A more just and peaceful world requires more effective cooperation among
those who support a democratic vision of globalization. It also requires greater
attention to questions about how global institutions can be transformed to better
serve the interests of all of the world’s people. I am increasingly convinced that
people who want a democratic, peaceful, and environmentally sustainable world
must devote greater attention to the work of both strengthening and democratiz-
ing the UN system. By neglecting the UN, democratic globalizers relinquish a
key resource and ally in the struggle to define how our world is organized. And
neoliberals will continue to fill this vacuum. Achieving this will require coop-
eration among a diverse array of people and organizations, and supporters of
democracy must develop new ways to manage their differences so that they can
work together more effectively.
This book is as much a political project as an intellectual one. It takes sides
in favor of pro-democracy forces. Given the enormous inequalities of our day, I
find it hard to even fathom the notion that any scholar might want to remain a