I chapter Explaining Social Movements CONTENTS Defining social movements 288 The shifting ethos - towards global thinking Changes in communication technology The widening repertoire of social movements 299 Recent social movements The switch to identity politics Non-material values and 'counter cultures' The questioning ot authority 289 290 291 293 294 302 Review 303 The elevation of grass-roots activity If you would like to know more 303 Globalization of social movements: constraints and opportunities 295 Group work 304 Questions to think about Global social movements and INGOs The problems of worldwide economic modernization 297 298 304 Social movements are agencies of social transformation that emerge in response to certain social changes and conditions. They are also manifestations of popular sentiment and in this they overlap with numerous other kinds of social activity. This means that it is quite difficult to know where a social movement begins and ends. As Wilson (1973:13) suggested, perhaps it goes too far to include fraternities, youth groups, political parties, sects, nudists, voluntary associations, guerrilla organizations, cool jazz or beat literature under the rubric of 'social movements'. Yet, he continues (p. 5), it is impossible to ignore the influence of such individuals as the Suffragette, the Abolitionist, the Prohibitionist, the Pentecostal, the Black militant or the peace marcher. Even the flying-saucer spotter, the flat-earther, the Sabbatarian and the Satanist have managed to attractive sizeable numbers of dedicated followers. In this chapter we first consider the attempts to theorize the general nature of social movements, especially as they evolved from the 1960s, while discussing concrete examples whenever possible. We then examine why and in what ways some social movements have become increasingly transnationaljnJhejr_orien_-taüonsTWewüi call these 'global social movements'. Thejrelationship of global social movements to international non-governrnerdxtl^orjjam^^ is complex, as the latter often 'nesť wfthmthe fnrrner^without being m-tť"™"""« with them. We conclude this chapter by arguing that global social movements 287 chapt Explaining Social Movements Defining social movements Recent social movements The switch to identity politics Non-material values and 'counter cultures The questioning of authority The elevation of grass-roots activity Globalization of social movements: constraints and opportunities Global social movements and INGOs The problems of worldwide economic modernization CONTENTS 288 289 290 291 The shifting ethos - towards global thin Changes in communication technology The widening repertoire of social movements king 299 301 302 293 Review If you would like to know more 303 294 303 295 Group work 304 297 Questions to think about 304 298 Social movements are agencies of social transformation that emerge in response to certain social changes and conditions. They are also manifestations of popular sentiment and in this they overlap with numerous other kinds of social activity. This means that it is quite difficult to know where a social movement begins and ends. As Wilson (1973:13) suggested, perhaps it goes too far to include fraternities, youth groups, political parties, sects, nudists, voluntary associations, guerrilla organizations, cool jazz or beat literature under the rubric of 'social movements'. Yet, he continues (p. 5), it is impossible to ignore the influence of such individuals as the Suffragette, the Abolitionist, the Prohibitionist, the Pentecostal, the Black militant or the peace marcher. Even the flying-saucer spotter, the flat-earther, the Sabbatarian and the Satanist have managed to attractive sizeable numbers of dedicated followers. In this chapter we first consider the attempts to theorize the general nature of social movements, especially as they evolved from the 1960s, while discussing concrete examples whenever possible. We then examine why and in what ways some social movements have become increasingly transnational_in„theirlorien-tätiönsTWe will call thesejglöbai social movements'. Th^e relationship of global social movements to international non-goverrvrnejrteU)^ complex, as the latter often^''nest^ňlyln Jhelojme^ withlheln.l^Tonc^^ by arguing that global social movements 287 288 GLOBAL SOCIO-"* .1 NING SOCIAL are vital to our wider understanding of the ways in which global society i> MBJ built from below. Our discussion in this chapter will serve to introduce subsequent two chapters - where the women's and green movements will considered in detail. Sä? * t?7'] ill im ,1 ť* Figure 16.1 A rally of 'Solidarity', the Polish social and labour movement, 1989 DEFINING SOCIAL MOVEMENTS Given the many aspects of social life covered by the expression 'social mo* ments' you will not be surprised to learn that there is a plethora of definitic and descriptions. We can start with Wilson's (1973: 8) prosaic definition: 'A social movement! a conscious, collective, organized attempt to bring about or resist large-scar change in the social order by non-institutionalized means.' He prefaces th» formal definition with a more imaginative characterization: 'Social movements-nurture both heroes and clowns, fanatics and fools... Animated by the injustices, sufferings, and anxieties they see around them, men and women in sc movements reach beyond the customary resources of the social order to launc their own crusade against the evils of society. In so doing they reach beyond! themselves and become new men and women' (p. 5). More recent definitions include that of Byrne (1997: 10-11). For him sodal movements are: • unpredictable (for example, women's movements do not always arise when women are most oppressed) to societies ice industries Ming the knaM ::,- and inforram sectors - hm •nost importom mlth and emd mpanying I is a relative contribution * iuĹŤ.tring indusi Mziorud wealth í lüfcr numbers oft workers, a hugei at university or I šucation and í -čile class. mmmT GLOBAL SOCIC. ■ch global society is I serve to introduq jreen movements \ _* VNG SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 289 • irrational (adherents do not act out of self-interest) • unreasonable (adherents think they are justified in flouting the law) • disorganized (some avoid formalizing their organization even when it seems like a good idea to do so). Finally, we can refer to Zirakzadeh (1997: 4-5) who suggests that a social movement: :bm 'olish ression 'social mou lethora of definitions asocial movemer: I : or resist large-sci* "-?■ He prefaces ths : 'Social movement imated by the ir •. «nd women in socia xáal order to laur zr ; they reach bevonJ -11). For him socat always arise where • is a group of people who consciously attempt to build a radically new social order • involves people of a broad range of social backgrounds • deploys politically confrontational and socially disruptive tactics. Major Concept POST-INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY ■ -) societies where the industries-hiding the knowledge-, - and information-' sectors - have become \tast important source alth and employment, ccmpanying this, there-• a relative decline in contribution ofmanu-ing industry to mal wealth, a fall in ' 'lumbers of manual rs, a huge expansion iniversity or tertiary ration and a growing wáddle class. Figure 16.2 The student movement in Indonesia celebrates the removal of President Suharto, 1998 RECENT SOCIAL MOVEMENTS Many scholars who have written about social movements in the advanced countries argue that they underwent a sea change from the late 1960s onwards. As with all social movements this was apparently linked to certain underlying changes evident in the industrialized countries from around that time. Touraine (1981) tried to capture the outcome of these changes with the term POST-INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY, which saw an occupational shift away from manual work to the knowledge and service sector, including information technology, the media, fashion, design and even therapy and counselling services. A related feature of post-industrial society was a growing middle class of public and private sector employees many working in the rising cultural, media and knowledge industries. Touraine contrasted the 'old' labour and political 290 GLOBAL SOCIOLOG movements with the 'new' social movements that represented the interest é those working in emerging occupations. The question of whether there vris-l clear distinction between 'old' and 'new' movements was a lively debate rrra while, but we are content with the view that nearly all the changes were maJ those of degree than of kind. Naturally, social movements respond to new nl ities and new social demands, but this is a different argument from the idea am they are totally new phenomena. Keeping this important point in mind, we not discuss-four ways in which social movements have changed their orientatMM over recent decades: • the switch to identity politics • the rise of 'counter cultures' • the questioning of authority • the elevation of grass-roots activities The switch to identity politics According to Giddens (1991: Chapter 7) throughout most of the period modernization until the mid-twentieth century, social movements were ger ally concerned with what he calls 'emancipatory polities'. These w struggles against those structures and inequalities that constrained peopk freedom to choose their own life experiences. Chief among these compulsions were the heavy weight of tradition (such as religious and customary oblis»-tions), material scarcity and poverty and the people's exclusion from access J legal and political rights or the same opportunities to attain wealth enjoyed m ruling groups. Important examples of emancipatory politics were: the struggles to obtajm universal suffrage, freedom of movement, assembly and opinion; the abolition of slavery in the USA and the European colonies; and the rights of workers Hj engage in free collective bargaining and to curb the worst excesses of exploitation by constructing a welfare state. All of these struggles required social movements to gain some degree of direct control over state power. Trna, workers and socialist movements not only formed trade unions, which couiJ bargain more effectively with capitalists at the workplace, they also estab» lished political parties capable of assuming the reigns of government. Armed with such weapons, working classes eventually succeeded in curbing the excesses of capitalism so that it served the interests of the majority a little mou? fairly than before. By contrast, contemporary social movements have been less interested no winning direct control over or access to state power. Nevertheless, during the last forty years or so, struggles to extend the full rights and opportunities already won by the majority of citizens to previously disadvantaged or excluded groups have continued to be fought everywhere, but especially in the developing coimtries. Sometimes, these demands have involved confrontations with the state. In the case of the advanced societies we should include here the social movements associated with the demands of women, religious or ethnic minorities (as in the case of the Civil Rights Movement in the USA during the 1960s), the needs of children and young people, and the struggles of gay and disabled people. \ :3 LOBAL SOCIO^C FIAINING SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 291 sented the interesuJ f whether there x-aJ s a hvely debate inj le changes were síni > respond to new Tamil. tent from the idea Up »int in mind, we tum Red their orient; -iJ ost of the period I rements were gearail »ütics'. These wad unstrained peoriad g these compulsui d customary ob ls»-| usion from acce*>? mil n wealth enjovei hurl Returning to the main argument, Giddens pointed to a more important difference between earlier and more recent social movements. Thus, he (1991: 214-27) observed that the main focus of socialjmovementsjia^^iitedio.causes concerrdngjyhat^he calls life polities'. These raise the question of how exactly we might prefer to use emancipatory freedoms once they have been won -what kinds of personal and community life we mjgh^wj^h tc^construct — and what responsibilities individuals must exercisejí Jhe_guarantee_of_imÍYersal freedom is to continue. Since we alldepend on in^^^j^nnal_rglatiori.ships and each individual's freedom hinges on exactly how these are arranged, issues of self-realization and questions of personal identity inevitably come to the forefront of our concerns. This has been particularly evident in the case of the feminist movement, which originated in the USA, swept across the western world in the early 1970s and has now penetrated most societies. As we have seen, feminism challenged patriarchy; the relegation of women to roles defined as culturally inferior. However, it has also gone much further than this by compelling women to confront the question of what kind of life course, values and personal identity they wish to build their lives around. Pressing questions for contemporary feminists include: the nature of sexuality and preferred sexual orientations; the control of biological reproduction (including abortion); who should be entitled to exercise rights over children; the terms on which marriage and other kinds of intimate relationships should be founded; and issues of representation and freedom of expression, such as pornography. Thus, political conflicts and processes have started to dissolve the boundaries between the private and public spheres. í struggles to obaiJ pinion; the aboliänj rightsaf workers M excesses of explain»! gles required sodal state power. Thau,: inions, which ccuül ce, they also esca§>~ j jovernment. ArmJ ied in curbing one ■ajority a little mam n less interested ■ ruleless, during dt» ■ and opportunity» disadvantaged or xit especially in č«? Ived confrontatioat ild include here the , religious or ethnic ihe USA during the niggles of gay and Major Concept ľ DUNTER CULTURE wptmanth) seen in the if western countries in 1960s and 70s, those :'--:d in developing a -::• culture opposed the L unreflective, self-ritulatory uniformity sKventional political fs. They displayed a ring desire for more trol over personal devel-sent, greater equity and iity in social relation-■i. a heightened respect nature and promoted the -al of more decentral-: autonomous commu-e. A turn away from rlished religion towards ern philosophies, experi-ziation with drugs, enturous popular music 'way-out' dress codes -: also characteristic of period. Non-material values and 'counter cultures' According to Inglehart (1990) and others, growing affluence and material security, associated with economic growth after the Second World War and the welfare reforms implemented by the social democracies at that time, encouraged many people to become much more concerned with the pursuit of non-material values together with more emrjhaj^s_j3n_issujgs^ personal fulfilment and identities^This development of a COUNTER CULTURE also accounts for the declining appeal of radical, socialist ideas among many workers and others during the same period. Although they may have been in opposition to pro-capitalist parties, they were still seen as 'part of the system'. Students were particularly associated with the counter cultural movement. A ground swell of student unrest, initially associated with the Civil Rights Movement in the USA, became evident from the early 1960s. This student movement spread to Europe and probably reached its high point during the events of May 1968. These events, in particular, appeared to validate Inglehart's thesis. Then, across Europe, workers, intellectuals and students held strikes and occupied college campuses and factories. They appeared to demonstrate against a society that produced what Marcuse (1968) - a Marxist intellectual living in the USA -called 'one-dimensional man'. In the eyes of many intellectuals this protest involved an attack on two features of industrial societ 1. The dehumanizing consequences of the bureaucratization of industry, government and higher education. 292 GLOBAL SOCIOLC! The 'bargain' offered by post-war Fordist economies; namely the distorti emphasis placed on economic prosperity and acquisitiveness bought at t cost of relentless disempowerment at the workplace and the decline community and cultural autonomy. 3:sr ■ #%> 1 %$ a. i Battles in cyberspace: Greenpeace against French nuclear testing Background events In June 1995, the French government decided to resume testing nuclear weapons ir the South Pacific despite its earlier commitment to respect an international agreement on nuclear non-proliferation, Greenpeace had long campaigned against the French government's adherence to an out-dated view of national security needs fuelled b, 'great power' aspirations. For example, Greenpeace had crossed swords with the French government in 1985 culminating in the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior ship by ; the French Navy. Greenpeace's worldwide campaign: July 1995 to early 1996 During its campaign against the resumption of nuclear testing, Greenpeace operated on many fronts; ■ A petition was signed by more than five million people. ■ Demonstrations were organized around the world including one involving over :; 15 000 people in Tahiti who blocked roads and demanded that Greenpeace's leading ship be allowed to dock against the wishes of the French government. ■ Networks of supporting groups formed coalitions in many countries to influence world public opinion. ■ Australian public opinion was especially targeted. Here, past admiration for the bravery of Greenpeace warriors and proximity to the nuclear testing zone could be expected to generate strong pressure on the government to use diplomacy in order to oppose French activities. ■ Greenpeace sailed its fleet of five ships into the test area along with its helicopter, divers and several inflatable boats. Greenpeace also exploited the latest techniques in communications technology ■ Numerous faxes were sent and satellite telephones kept the various campaign messages flowing constantly across the world. ■ Three ships were equipped with the most up-to-date communication systems and so were able to relay powerful images, including colour photos, via satellite. ■ Events were also filmed by helicopter, adding to the dramatic footage that was fed into the global media. ■ Meanwhile, the leading ship sent out messages on the Internet. This enabled individuals, groups and the media to pick up the information relayed by Greenpeace's on-the-spot warriors via its web site, established in 1994. When the action began, with French commandos boarding Rainbow Warrior II and using tear gas against the protesters, the world was left in no doubt concerning the intensity of the South Pacific struggle. A global social movement had beaten one of the world's most powerful nation states, at least at the propaganda war. Source: Cooper (1997) «!lh MG SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 293 f Student discontent fed directly into an upsurge of counter cultural move- ments that soon spread across the western world including the hippy and drug cultures, the anti-Vietnam war movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s and the early stirrings of the green movement. A retreat from the repressive and materialistic lifestyles offered by mainstream consumerist capitalism also involved such things as the establishment of communes and co-operatives, an interest in organic farming and foods and experimenting with eastern philosophy and health practices. Whether or not all or most students and others who participated in the events following May 1968 perceived it as a struggle against materialist values quite to the same degree as the intellectuals involved is open to debate. Again, in the light of more recent changes, the argument that mostpeople^s liyesare noTonger . plagued byjendemic economic insecurities now seems distinctly.premature. The questioning of authority According to writers such as Giddens (1991) and Beck (1992; 1994) the spread of higher education and the developments in communication technology, among other changes, have enabled people in the advanced societies to become more knowledgeable about science, technology and the management of economic life than previously. At the same time, the ever increasing dangers incurred by nuclear energy and weaponry as well as by chemical and biological warfare have spurred many citizens to demand that governments, the military and business corporations relinquish their right to monopolize control over these areas. The realization that some scientists and technologists had placed their expertise and public prestige at the service of such narrow and unaccountable interests further deepened these demands. The campaigns against the dangers of nuclear energy in North America and Europe, which gathered pace in the 1970s, can be regarded as a concrete expression of such sentiments (Joppke 1993). They also provided a foundation both for the peace movement, which erupted in a new form in the early 1980s in Europe, North America and the Soviet Union (see Box 16.3), and for the wider green movement which we discuss in Chapter 18. Even the buttoned-up world of markets and business management, once regarded as out-of-bounds to ordinary citizens (except in their limited capacities as individual consumers or shareholders) has become increasingly exposed to detailed public scrutiny and liable to substantial criticism. This has become particularly evident in the case of large companies that decide to market green or ethical products (Kennedy 1996). Making such commercial claims both invites external validation by relevant campaigning groups and requires it. Indeed, such companies may find themselves sucked inexorably into engaging in educational and green-ethical consciousness-raising activities, in order to inform public opinion about their products, that are barely distinguishable from the overt campaigning in which explicitly political groups are engaged all the time. The upsurge of European public anxiety concerning genetically modified crops and foods in the late 1990s is another case in point although here it remains to be seen whether and how far commercial interests will respond to public concern. Similarly, we are prepared to criticize the economic priorities employed by private companies, governments and IGOs such as the World Bank in their dealings with developing countries. Thus, there has been a demand for the democratization of decision-making in every sphere. Although 994 294 GLOBAL SOCIOLOGY »PLAINING SOG such demands have not always been met the point is that citizens are no loi prepared to accept that there are legitimate areas of decision-making wheal do not have every,: right to be fully informed and amply consulted. ?rr The elevation of grass-roots activity The post-1960s social movements have tended to be decentralized and non-hi archical in mobilizing members for collective action, although there are exceptions to this such as Greenpeace and the African National Congress (ANO i South Africa. Normally, social movements form loose federations of semi autonomous groups, rely very much on grass-roots support based i networking activities and usually permit members to arrange their own pria ties and strategies of protest. Of course, such practices may also lead to dň siveness within movements, indecision, lack of focus and poorly organifflj campaigns. Nevertheless, these characteristics allow social movements rapidy to adjust their mode of operations, respond to the constant rush of events, seietl new targets for mobilization and draw upon a heterogeneous and ev« changing mix of supporters. By the same token, each social movement's f o of concern and band of support tends to coalesce and overlap with thosť others. For example, many animal rights' supporters are also likely to rasi strongly about road-building programmes which threaten wildlife conservation areas and this may simultaneously place them among the various radical green groups. Frequently, one kind of commitment leads quite naturally to another. Three factors largely explain the emphasis on democratic, decentralized ani participatory forms of organization and action: 1. Contemporary social movements are not interested in winning direct contrri over state power and so they have no need to construct vast, centralized organizations capable of assuming the reins of government. 2. Their aims involve trying to persuade broad sections of the population h adopt new agendas for deep changes in social and cultural life while compelling businesses and other powerful bodies to alter their priorities. I Particularly in democratic societies, such goals call for a multiplicity of dispersed and highly diverse grass-roots activities that involve conscious- I ness-raising and exposing the failures of the existing system. Accordingly, the following actions are likely to be effective: demonstrations; petitions, consumer or investment boycotts; land occupations; road actions such as blockades and sit-ins; conferences; high-profile media events; neighbourhood action groups or mass letter-writing to politicians and company directors. Such actions embarrass politicians, undermine their electoral support and threaten the sales, profits, investment sources and reputations of commercial interests. 3. Those who tend to be attracted to social movements are often educated informed and used to exercising personal autonomy. Äs such, they would be unlik^ŕylo tolerate permanent exclusion from policy-making by impersonal, bureaucratic cliques of largely unaccountable movement leaders. After alL this would fly in the face of the very ethos of self-realization and the need to empower people and civil society, which prompted suchJndMd^s to join socíáTlnT^mentsJn jhe first pläčeľ LOB A L SOCIOLO^B ■PLAINING SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 295 t citizens are nc Pn-makingwhf Consulted itralized and non-1 »ugh there are i al Congress (ANQi federations of si s support basei •nge their own; nay also lead to •id poorly orga il movements rai t rush of events, i rogeneous and •al movement's werlap with those] re also likely to wildlife conserve: rarious radical |_ aturally to another ic, decentralized, inning direct cont act vast, centralize* lent. nf the population m-cultural life w tutej liter their priorifces. ar a multiplicitv at' t involve consciots-fstem. According«, strations; petitions »d actions such as-events; neighbour-md company direc-ir electoral support md reputations of « __ often educated uch, they would be áng by impersonal I leaders. After al on and the need to individuals to join GLOBALIZATION OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS: CONSTRAINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES Transnational co-operation between social movements is not new. Ever since the nineteenth century, peace, anti-slavery women's, conservationist and workers' movements have sometimes drawn strength from collaboration with similar groups in other countries. Certainly, during the 1960s the civil rights, anti-Vietnam, student movement and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) spread out across national borders. But we must distinguish between occasional collaboration between largely separate national groups and campaigns specifically designed to be globally orchestrated and which deliberately synchronize national support as a resource in the pursuit of worldwide goals. For example, before the 1980s, green groups in the USA mostly campaigned on domestic environmental issues except in the case of a few attempts to protect international wildlife (Bramble and Porter 1992: 324). By contrast, the peace movement which erupted across Europe, the USA and elsewhere from 1981 was much more selfconsciously transnational. It was more globalizing in its scope, effectiveness and thinking about the causes of and the remedies for the risk of nuclear war than any previous anti-war movement (Taylor and Young 1987). Roseneil's work (1997) on the Women's Peace Camp at Greenham Common, in the UK during the 1980s, and which we summarize in Box 16.3, demonstrates this globalizing dimension well. Until recently, most of the theorizing on social movements by sociologists and others has presumed that the nation state was the natural and obvious location where movements would seek to operate (Princen and Finger 1994: Chapter 3). This is not unrelated to the fact that very real constraints have rendered genuine global activity much more difficult than corresponding actions at the national level. Accordingly, most social movements had to be rooted first and foremost in national struggles dependent on domestic support. However, it can also be argued that social movements possess several features that, in principle, provide them with excellent opportunities as well as motivations for choosing to operate transnationally Indeed, in certain respects they are much better equipped to do so than states. In Box 16.2 we try to summarize these opportunities and constraints by drawing on the work of Ghils (1992), Fisher (1993), Princen and Finger (1994) and Riddell-Dixon (1995). You will notice in Box 16.2 that we have included INGOs in the discussion. Estimates of the numbers of INGOs vary from around 17 000 for the mid-1980s (Schölte 1993: 44) to 23 000 in the early 1990s (Ghils 1992: 419). Of course, the number of NGOs operating at the local, grass-roots level is much larger. According to Fisher (1993: xi) there are more than 100 000 such groups in the developing countries (the South) at the present time. These probably serve more than 100 million people. Most are concerned with furthering the immediate economic needs and human rights issues which preoccupy women, the urban poor living in shantytowns or tribal peoples threatened with the loss of livelihood by large development projects such as dams. Approximately 35 000 associations, which Fisher (1993: viii) calls 'grassroots support organizations', assist these NGOs. Young professionals, who, either out of a sense of commitment to their fellow citizens or because of I 296 global socio_:»a a?_AINING SOC Social movements and NGOs: possibilities of global mobilization Opportunities and motivations Constraints on global mobilization Unlike states: Unlike states and business 1 1 ■ ]Í!£y4BUt!er_exist to proteci-tewiteries corporations: f ;,; .a£dnaiionaljnt§rests nor are they tied 1. They have limited funds, yet the cosö : t ! to diplomatic practices for stabilizing global action are often high - : inter-state relations. national communication, trans ;: 2. They can operate without secrecy and and travel to conferences or tc : | are not accountable to electorates. IGOs and governments. 3. They are not responsible for key prob- 2. Engaging media attention may e:_- lems such as human rights abuses, stunts which involve access to ť: environmental threats or the poverty ment (for example, Greenpeace snira which results from development. and costly operations. 4. The concerns they articulate are widely 3. Family and work commitments a" ľ ■ shared by disadvantaged and/or costs of long-distance travel discontented people and so support individual participation in trans spills naturally across borders. actions. 5. Accordingly, they can co-operate more 4. Language barriers and prob easily than states and generate alter- inter-cultural communication native ideas and solutions more ' undermine co-operation be readily than states. different national groups d :1" '"' -'.. shared goals. Unlike business corporations: They onen have special needs and 6. They do not represent narrow interests problems: «,;' and have no fixed investments to protect. Nor are they engaged in 5. Many global social movements a market competition (although they INGOs need technical expertise ■ compete for members and media they can be taken seriously by =: -5" attention). lists, governments and the pub: : | 7. They are relatively unbureaucratic and de-centralized. being sufficiently prepared to their case. For this they need ac:s full-time professionals and re ; In contrast, they share certain unique databases. features: 6. Southern groups may only be at i 8. They earn public support by virtue of act or collaborate in transna: m 1 their altruism, meagre personal gains, events if they are subsidize: openness and willingness to risk their Northern partners. This can lea; 1 lives. charges of 'paternalism'. i 9. They are adaptable, versatile, In touch 7. Southern NGOs and social movere-« with ordinary people and cheap. often have different priorities to th: s - These qualities have sometimes made the North. They are more conceded] them useful to the World Bank, UN and with human rights issues and the need governments who have asked them to to overcome poverty among the "^as administer aid or famine/refugee relief. deprived groups. Global environmeraMH 10. They mobilize support at many levels. concerns often take second p ace t 11. They draw upon a heterogeneous This has given rise to disagreeme": the past, membership, which may be shared with several groups. ■ '-•-:. :■ - '-:''"..',.. ,.,.:.: 12. The diversity of movements and NGOs enables each to draw upon the "■'.- : " ' ""*::.; .. r'iüi* ■• " ,','.,■"• i-'íŕ specialist resources of others. L. „............................................._..................._............„........ _ ■ : ;::-;: ■ncnpicmraent, have decided to woik in a serru voluntas capacity in these bodies. The primary aim of all these groups is to find alternatives to the top-down, commercially oriented development initiatives pushed bv Southern governments, often with the backing of western states, investors and IGOs such as the World Bank. These tend to by-pass the needs and interests of poor people. Many grass-roots support organizations enjoy links to INGOs that provide them with funds, technical expertise, international media coverage and other kinds of external support to assist them in their struggles to secure a fairer deal for local people. Several writers (including Princen and Finger 1994, Riddell-Dixon 1995 and Fisher 1993) argue that it is useful to regard some, although not all, INGOs as more or less equivalent to social movements. There are various reasons for this: 1. Whatever else they may do - for example, providing famine relief or financing self-help development projects - many INGOs are directly involved in running campaigns. These are designed to influence public opinion and compel governments and IGOs to change their policies. 2. INGOs such as Oxfam, Action Aid, Amnesty International and Friends of the Earth seek to bring about a fairer, more just world. This involves championing the interests of those who are presently disadvantaged by the present one while offering alternative agendas. 3. On occasions, such campaigns involve forms of protest, which are unorthodox, illegal and even dangerous, as in the case of Greenpeace International. 4. The kinds of people who are likely to provide donations to INGOs or who work for them in a voluntary capacity are often similar those who are also directly involved in social movements. In short, although INGOs are formally designated as organizations and are officially recognized as such, in most other respects and for some of the time they function in much the same ways as social movements. They also forge close links to the latter and frequently coalesce with them. Moreover, they are often much better placed to operate effectively at the global level than social movements. Here, in effect, they stand in for - and become the mouthpiece of - social movements. Perhaps the easiest way of seeing the relationship is to regard social movements as broad, informal and largely unorganized with relevant NGOs and IGOs 'nesting' under their wings and giving some direction to their campaigns. GLOBAL SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND INGOS We now outline several overlapping changes since the early 1980s that have markedly accentuated the positive reasons for global activity. Similarly, we examine the increasingly concrete opportunities for effective transnational communication, mobilization and collaboration between different sites of potential protest. Meanwhile, the former constraints have diminished. We explore these changes under the following headings: 298 GLOBAL SOCIOUm • the problems of worldwide economic modernization • shifts in thinking by those who support social movements and INGO? • changes in communication technology • the widening repertoire of social movements. The problems of worldwide economic modernization Many environmental problems linked to the thrust for economic develop both in the North and the South either became clearly evident for the first or worsened during the 1980s. These included the phenomena of transboimdiB, acid rain, desertification, the dangers of toxic and nuclear waste from fatdua" and power plants, water shortages, urban pollution, declining fish stocks; the damage caused by chemicals seeping into inland waterways and seas. and other manifestations of damage to the biosphere had clear global their impact was universal and they required global solutions. The rise of neo-liberal economic thinking in the advanced countries, k the USA and the UK from the early 1980s, led to the implementation of st financial measures designed to reduce public spending and check inflatx pressures. In their dealings with developing countries, the OECD countries^" World Bank and the IMF demanded that the former adopt similar meas There was also relentless pressure to increase foreign earnings for debt pa by expanding the export of raw materials such as forest products. This accentuated the extent of environmental deterioration in many devek countries while threatening the livelihoods of tribal, forest and other ma ized groups. According to Korton (1990: 6) these events have provoked a spread demand for a more autonomous and 'people-centred vision' of econc development among many people living in the South. As we saw in Chapter 4, neo-liberal economic policies, coupled with the >. alization of manufacturing and other changes, also reduced job securitv cially among manual workers and the less well-educated in the North. Thi; virtual exclusion of huge numbers of people from the benefits of econt growth became a worldwide not just a Southern phenomenon. Indeed Indian sociologist Oommen (1997: 51-2) argues that compared to prev upsurges of political action by excluded groups the present one is 'truly tr~ tional in its scale and scope [and] multidimensional in its thrust, because marginalized are the victims of cumulative dominance and inequality'. The spread of various forms of collective action and protest to the South, e daily the demand for greater economic justice, human rights and more arten! to the needs of women, has also been enhanced by the worldwide upsurge democratization (Lindberg and Sverrisson 1997: 5-11). Partly this was linked the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe beb* 1989 and 1992. But the abysmal failure of many governments in the Sous) provide viable development programmes - especially in Africa - for disadvantaged people, often with the assistance of INGOs, to reassert di control over their own economic life. This, in turn, helped to strengthen society and generate internal pressures for democracy. PLAINING SOCIAL MOVEMENTS '""MIHI1 The shifting ethos - towards global thinking According to Hegedus (1989) during the 1980s most suppotastfi movements began to experience a major shift in their undes^an^ tation. They realized that their hitherto mostly localized ccvura« mmm inextricably tied to much wider global structures and problems.. Hut - jr-.-tr. tion' (p. 19) of understanding encompassed many linked agpm*- fa r ■.-» virtually everything needed to be radically rethought. Thn~ —j—■»-people in the rich western societies was only meaningful if help na. p««», i enable poor people in the South to assert their rights as well. This is e^mmU^j relevant with respect to environmental problems. Similarly, from the esu* O'-Hífe those involved in the peace movement in Europe and North America began to realize that simply pressurizing one's own government to relinquish i" arms or curtail military expenditure was not enough (see also Box 163). over, the range of actions had to be far wider, for example, compelling *. exporting countries to curtail their sales to repressive regimes and to divert anm industries into peaceful activities. Many supporters of social movements also ceased to be concerned only with issues of self-realization and the reconstructiolT^fTuIEraT identities a!*?ugh these remained important. Rather, they asšurniaTštrông sense of 'PSSSSäLresEonsiWtt^^ and lane_ tary_Jeyer_ (Hegedus 1989:22). This links up with our earlier discussion concernmg Gidden's notion of life politics where the political has invaded the sphere of domestic/personal lives and relationships. But this can be a two-way process. When the myriad tiny individual or household decisions are aggregated together they may lend their weight to the attainment of much broader, radical changes. Thus, our very dependence on national and global economic life as consumers, investors, taxpayers or television viewers, coupled to our rights as voting citizens, equips us with ready-to-hand and formidable weapons We can use these as devices for invading the arena of collective politics and protest if we so wish. Moreover, because so much of our cultural, media and especially our economic life has become so globalized and inter-connected, it is perfectly possible for such individual market and voting preferences to engage with transnational movements and not just local or national ones. Take the case of ethical and green consumerism. Here, a growing number of people have refused to buy products from companies that engage in activities of which they morally disapprove. The magazine, Ethical Consumer, first published in 1989, has built-up a database on the worldwide activities of many large companies. Here are just two examples, selected from its fiftieth edition of December 1997, which demonstrate the power of selective buying by individuals or full-scale consumer boycott campaigns (1997: 29-32): • The Body Shop This store, which is committed to ethical trade, increased its sales for cosmetics and other products by three times between 1990 and 1996. Meanwhile, during roughly the same time period various consumer boycotts led several large cosmetics companies such as Avon, Boots, Max Factor and Yardley, to announce their intention to stop testing their' own products on animals. 298 GLOBAL SOC :_J*Bl ■PLAINING SOC • the problems of worldwide economic modernization • shifts in thinking by those who support social movements and INGOs • changes in communication technology • the widening repertoire of social movements. •mii The problems of worldwide economic modernization Many environmental problems linked to the thrust for economic devel both in the North and the South either became clearly evident for the Erst or worsened during the 1980s. These included the phenomena of transbe» acid rain, desertification, the dangers of toxic and nuclear waste from ra and power plants, water shortages, urban pollution, declining fish stcc the damage caused by chemicals seeping into inland waterways and seas and other manifestations of damage to the biosphere had clear global their impact was universal and they required global solutions. The rise of neo-liberal economic thinking in the advanced countries Ml the USA and the UK from the early 1980s, led to the implementation of stein financial measures designed to reduce public spending and check i pressures. In their dealings with developing countries, the OECD count World Bank and the IMF demanded that the former adopt similar me There was also relentless pressure to increase foreign earnings for debt p; by expanding the export of raw materials such as forest products. This i accentuated the extent of environmental deterioration in many deve countries while threatening the livelihoods of tribal, forest and other rr.a ized groups. According to Korton (1990: 6) these events have provoked 2 ■ spread demand for a more autonomous and 'people-centred vision' of e;.o development among many people living in the South. As we saw in Chapter 4, neo-liberal economic policies, coupled with ths alization of manufacturing and other changes, also reduced job securitr« cially among manual workers and the less well-educated in the North. Traad virtual exclusion of huge numbers of people from the benefits of eon growth became a worldwide not just a Southern phenomenon. IndeedB Indian sociologist Oommen (1997: 51-2) argues that compared to pffl« upsurges of political action by excluded groups the present one is 'trulv toa tional in its scale and scope [and] multidimensional in its thrust, becaad marginalized are the victims of cumulative dominance and inequalitv The spread of various forms of collective action and protest to the Soutk.i cially the demand for greater economic justice, human rights and more atat to the needs of women, has also been enhanced by the worldwide upsanj democratization (Lindberg and Sverrisson 1997: 5-11). Partly this was !■■ the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe beö 1989 and 1992. But the abysmal failure of many governments in the fřeva provide viable development programmes - especially in Africa - i disadvantaged people, often with the assistance of INGOs, to reassert ám control over their own economic life. This, in turn, helped to strengthe: society and generate internal pressures for democracy. GLOBAL SOCIOLDSB BFlAINING social movements 299 ments and INGOs The shifting ethos - towards global thinking According to Hegedus (1989) during the 1980s most supporters of western social movements began to experience a major shift in their understanding and orientation. They realized that their hitherto mostly localized concerns were in fact inextricably tied to much wider global structures and problems. This 'planetiza-tion' (p. 19) of understanding encompassed many linked agendas for change; virtually everything needed to be radically rethought. Thus, empowering people in the rich western societies was only meaningful if help was given to enable poor people in the South to assert their rights as well. This is especially relevant with respect to environmental problems. Similarly, from the early 1980s those involved in the peace movement in Europe and North America began to realize that simply pressurizing one's own government to relinquish nuclear arms or curtail military expenditure was not enough (see also Box 16.3). Moreover, the range of actions had to be far wider, for example, compelling arms-exporting countries to curtail their sales to repressive regimes and to divert arms industries into peaceful activities. Many supporters of social movements also ceased to be concerned only with issues of selfoealization_and the reconstruction of cultural identities, although^these remained important. Rather, they assumed a strong sensejpf 'personal responsibility for a collective future at ^j££^J}^pJ}^_^}^_£}^}ie' taryjeveľ_ (Hegedus 1989: 22). This links up with our earlier discussion concerning Gidden's notion of life politics where the political has invaded the sphere of domestic/personal lives and relationships. But this can be a two-way process. When the myriad tiny individual or household decisions are aggregated together they may lend their weight to the attainment of much broader, radical changes. Thus, our very dependence on national and global economic life as consumers, investors, taxpayers or television viewers, coupled to our rights as voting citizens, equips us with ready-to-hand and formidable weapons. We can use these as devices for invading the arena of collective politics and protest if we so wish. Moreover, because so much of our cultural, media and especially our economic life has become so globalized and inter-connected, it is perfectly possible for such individual market and voting preferences to engage with transnational movements and not just local or national ones. Take the case of ethical and green consumerism. Here, a growing number of people have refused to buy products from companies that engage in activities of which they morally disapprove. The magazine, Ethical Consumer, first published in 1989, has built-up a database on the worldwide activities of many large companies. Here are just two examples, selected from its fiftieth edition of December 1997, which demonstrate the power of selective buying by individuals or full-scale consumer boycott campaigns (1997: 29-32): The Body Shop This store, which is committed to ethical trade, increased its sales for cosmetics and other products by three times between 1990 and 1996. Meanwhile, during roughly the same time period various consumer boycotts led several large cosmetics companies such as Avon, Boots, Max Factor and Yardley, to announce their intention to stop testing their own products on animals. 300 GLOBAL SOCIO-: NING SOC Nestle The boycott against Nestlé's products which began in 1-company promoted baby foods where the lack of clean water made cult for poor consumers to feed their babies safely) remained active : I than 18 countries during 1997. In the UK alone, the campaign was sur by at least 100 consumer, health or church groups, by 80 student unions! by about 90 businesses. < 16.3 Women and the peace movement in the 1980s Background A sharp revival of Cold War antagonism became evident from around Í980 bring!" '• dangers. NATO declared it would soon introduce new ground-launched missiles -: European bases that were capable of achieving a pre-emptive first strike agar r S military targets. This suggested two things that alarmed old and new : -campaigners alike; NATO had decided it could now win a nuclear war - somer ~z accepted before - and Europe would be the sacrificial lamb should such a prcc-;-be implemented. Personal lives - global forces A revitalized, anti-nuclear peace movement soon emerged. Partly what drove it wa growing understanding by ordinary people concerning the vast dangers create? : 'globalization of nuclear militarism' (Roseneil 1997: 70) and the perception tns: e£ individual's immediate and personal life was inextricably tied to these global force: i there was also anger that remote and unaccountable elites had assumed the speak and act for all of humanity. In the 1980s many simply refused any longer back and allow these elites to go on believing they could exercise such powers posed or legitimately. Women link the personal and the local to the global Women have a iong history of involvement in peace campaigns. However, in the " í a group of women occupied state-owned land and established a Women's Pea: ť '. directly adjacent to the US military base at Greenham Common in southern Britair. the end they had occupied it for eleven years. Their aims were: ■ To demonstrate that individuals could and should take personal responsi global events. ■ To attract world attention and hopefully rally women in many other countries. ■ Tactically to prevent the military from deploying vehicles - intended to be . launching the new missiles - from the base. ■ To express the special frustration felt by women everywhere given that the él: were making decisions of such unprecedented magnitude were not only ren invariably male. ■ To prove not only that women could act in complete independence of men in some situations they could do so highly effectively and without resortini tendencies towards violence and hierarchical organization preferred by me- The women's encampment became a 'global locale' (p. 64) attracting many deie Following visits to Greenham, other women's peace camps became establishe: North America, Europe and Australia. But these interactions meant that Gr-women also learned about the causes and problems faced by women worldwic became increasingly aware that issues of peace and arms were closely linked questions such as Third World poverty, environmental pollution, the dangers of power and the plight of miners and their families in the UK and elsewhere. layer is a band ":iing the plane: I and 50 aoove the earth s Source: Roseneil (1997) 47 LOBAL sociology -AINING SOCIAL MOVEMENTS '•h began in 1977 (t an water made it '"■mained active in mane] nipaign was supported SO student unions arc O'U' ■!■■ 'in the 1980s ~-"d 1980 bringing new -inched missiles at its '-s: strike against Soviet I okf and new peace " ".var - something not a such a programme .'. "at drove it was the dangers created by the csrception that eac-se global forces. B_: assumed the right ;; sed any longer to s: e sjch powers unc:.:- -owever, in the 1980s :~en's Peace Cap-; southern Britain. 8_. ►nal responsibility ;: j ler countries. nded to be used fc- m that the elites who not only remote bul nee of men but thai out resorting to the rred by men. many delegations established act:s:. -nt that Greenha-en worldwide. The. iseiy linked to other clangers of nuclea- ~e ozone layer is a band I gas encircling the planet asr.veen 20 and 50 ■iOTietres above the earth's surface. According to Hegedus (1989) we have realized that what threatens j ngIT if Zm eqUaIIy lmpHCateS eVery0ne ^ ***°» are tlv mean-Sve ncí n ^struggles. Thus, social movements nacreasn^v rSlone 'W?' '♦ ľ *?"****». This ™s symbolized by the live A:a rľiÍnľZn t WOrld and the involve™nt of many rock group, m raising funds for poverty and famine relief in Africa and elsewhere Heidi ľ980Íľncl H "TS SOCÍal mOVementS d™trated all these quahHeľľnlS Europe SXSf^t^ ^ ^ ^ ^ "nt ^ 2ÄS2 ÄS£the Soviet Union and the anti-apartheid— In the case of the last, internal struggle by the ANC and its supporters was aT ;n90br^ early 1990s. However, the widespread campaigns across Europe and Vnrrt, Ä*™ **1 "* ^ * -^ndingTo S^g m^ South African economy and to withdraw their existing assets also played their part. For example, anti-apartheid groups in the USA deployed voter media arl stľespoľ:rtso buorderľ persuadestate and iocai s-™ to -^ wiftlout2i P ? 'UPplÍed by COmPanieS that «^nued to trade with South Africa Eventually 164 municipal authorities, including eight of the sold theirs h t arIy' tWenty State Sov™ents and 72 colleges sold their institutions shares in companies with South African investments Changes in communication technology The CO~nt*^^ technology to an emerging sense of common globa .dentity, can.be ^STSSäTto^ Tu tnP late T96fe len home tT deVel01pmT in satellite communications i^^SS^t^ home televisions enabled vast numbers of people across the worfd to v e - ' images of planet earth for the first time. This was associated with theva riousUS jZis Ír r rhhich culminated in the &st actuai iand^ Ä2 June 1969. Many people have since aigipdjhat&sge^werful images signalled Svtataílco^ SPmnin? maJeStÍCalIy Ín deep SPaCe - and the need * bleaľand infín ľ ľ ™ *** SOUTCe °f mUtUal suste^nce in an otherwise aÍmid 1 Sľ? VaSt UmVerf • SÍmÍlar em0ti0nS Were activated in ^e early and mid-1980s when a series of computer-enhanced images taken from space fhf eľl7rwhdbaľdy 0f dear and -^-ertibleLdence conTern^ depleľed TW ľ ľ OZOne ,ayer surroundi»g the planet had become X^Sisrt0 the 'holes'which are especialiy «*-* - In Chapter 14 we explored some of the ways in which recent development m electronic communications and information technology have generateľnew opportunities for ordinary individuals and grass-roots orgínľzat oÍ Z achieve greater autonomy. Personal computers enable small groups to produce ssen^l for' chT^ T™, ** *""& WMe ^ ^ da^ essential for challenging the claims and legitimacy of states and other powerful institutions. The growing use of the InternetLilitates the mstalt" 302 GLOBAL SOCIOLO'2 neous sending of messages and the dissemination of information. Howevexa also allows groups and individuals separated by vast distances to share ~Jra individual insights with ease and feed these into a kind of rapid cumuisn« learning experience. In Box 16.1 we explored a recent example showing bam cyberspace has now become another basic weapon in the global struggles >m social movements and INGOs. The widening repertoire of social movements All of the preceding changes but especially the recent developments in codpj« nication technology have both propelled many social movements and INQEfc towards seeking greater global impact since the early 1980s and empowartl them to do so. Their techniques for mobilizing support have become more eSeiPi tive in several ways: 1. It has become cheaper and easier to engage in networking activities over La distances. 2. This has enhanced the possibilities for pooling resources: informativ specialist technical knowledge and practical expertise; and, at times. í ability to tap into the particular reservoirs of grass-roots support enjoyed ■ sister groups. In other words, one of the great strengths of social movemaÉ and INGOs, namely their diversity, has also been brought into greater pjBH 3. While the urgent need to engage in coalition-building has intensified, sc id opportunities for collaboration have also improved. Indeed, many cm tions not only coalesce across national boundaries and sometimes bndgj the deep divisions between North and South (see Box 16.2), they jH engender cross-issue alliances facilitated by overlapping allegiances or. ii» part of many individuals. Two examples here are women's and pes« groups or indigenous peoples trying to protect the forests, mounail pastures or fishing areas which provide their livelihoods and envnJ mental groups, especially those interested in wildlife conservation (GcwmJ and Madsen 1997). 4. Social movements and NGOs activate and empower people at the bati society and connect them directly to the top levels where power holders can mine policy. In doing so they try to bypass conventional channels of isM ence. Simultaneously, their close contacts with the grass-roots enables nasi to articulate alternative ideas for change which are then brought into plsrii the arena of public life and politics. 5. However, when growing horizontal connections between couiii augments these vertical links within societies, the stage is set for a mult^i process whereby flows of pressure feed into each other on a cumulative mutually reinforcing basis. The ability of social movements and INGOs to shape public opinio r « mobilize support for their lobbying campaigns has also been consider* enhanced. Clearly, it is far easier and more effective to bring pressure t. r against one government or company if other groups are prepared to pal resources. This might involve synchronizing other kinds of activity linker II 05 .OBAL SOCIOLOG' EXPLAINING SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 303 ng activities over Iar»r related issues at the nation state level and/or mounting parallel campaigns involving additional companies or states. Other tactics may include galvanizing the support of consumers worldwide, combining forces with other groups, capturing media attention and lobbying sympathetic groups at the UN or other IGOs. The case studies outlined in Boxes 18.2 and 18.3 both demonstrate this cocktail of transnational protest activities. Thus, it is the multiplicity of levels through which global social movements and INGOs operate - linking individual and grass-roots activities vertically to the top levels while also establishing horizontal inter-state, state-IGO and cross-issue connections - which explains the much stronger presence of social movement activity in the world today. In effect, their greatly enhanced reach and efficacy mean that social movements have largely overcome the physical constraints of geography on their capacity to mobilize support. Assisted by the media and their close links to INGOs global social movements can short-circuit the cumbersome processes that might otherwise be required in order to mount huge protests by millions of people simultaneously across the world. REVIEW Although still resembling earlier models, social movements have undergone several important changes since the late 1960s. In the advanced countries they have developed a potential to incorporate much larger numbers of people. The latter are engaged in an ever widening repertoire of activities designed to challenge established interests and re-construct society by continuously broadening the range of contested issues. Social movements have also become much more widespread and active in the South even though the political climate and available economic resources are considerably less favourable than in the North. Important cross-national, cross-issue and North-South linkages have been established between global social movements since the 1980s, often with the help of INGOs. All of this has coincided with a growing compulsion to recognize the inter-connected and universal nature of the problems we all now confront coupled with enhanced opportunities to engage in more effective strategies for global co-operation. Bjr understanding the nature and activities of global social movements sociologists have been given a "vital tooJ^fgX^xarnmingJiQW, .global soeieiyJs_. emerging from below. In subsequent chapters we will explore this process in relation to particular movements. you would like to know more •••..••••••••••• ••••••••••••••• The book by Scott, Ideology and the New Social Movements (1990) and the same author's chapter, 'Political culture and social movements' in Political and Economic Forms of Modernity, edited by Allen eř al. (1992) offer readable attempts to synthesize and evaluate the debate concerning social movements. The Road from Rio by Fisher (1993) bristles with ideas and provides an exciting account of the current situation in the South. 304 GLOBAL SOCIO Sasha Roseneil has written extensively on the women's peace movement m 1980s. The piece from which Box 16.3 is drawn demonstrates very many off themes discussed in this chapter and is highly recommended. Social Movements in Development edited by Lindberg and Sverrisson (1997) ccmftii some valuable material. Try especially Chapters 1, 3, 7, 12 and 13. Group work •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 1. Arranged in advance, the students in each of three groups will assume responsibility for contacting and building up a file on either Oxfam, Amnest. International or Friends of the Earth (or similar INGOs). Each group will report mni the following: their INGO's current membership, recent objectives and camasp* affiliated sister groups abroad and forms of transnational collaboration. 2. Students will read this chapter before the class. They will then divide into th-ae groups and each will prepare a brief report concerning this proposition: The opportunities for effective transnational action by global social movements snů INGOs are outweighed by the obstacles'. Qusstions to think shout ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••■! 1. In what ways did social movements in the advanced societies change from fw late 1960s and why? 2. What factors explain the tendency for social movements and NGOs to 'go gotnf during the last fifteen years or so? Assess their relative significance. 3. Using examples, examine the main strategies for engaging in transnational acini which have become increasingly useful to global social movements and INGOs i recent years. 4. Why is the study of global social movements so important for those wanting to elaborate a global sociology?