Alter-Globalization

Contrary to the common view that globalization undermines social agency, ‘alter-globalization activists', that is, those who contest globalization in its neo-liberal form, have developed new ways to become actors in the global age.

Contrary to the common view that globalization undermines social agency, ‘alter-globalization activists', that is, those who contest globalization in its neo-liberal form, have developed new ways to become actors in the global age. They propose alternatives to Washington Consensus policies, implement horizontal and participatory organization models and promote a nascent global public space. Rather than being anti-globalization, these activists have built a truly global movement that has gathered citizens, committed intellectuals, indigenous, farmers, dalits and NGOs against neoliberal policies in street demonstrations and Social Forums all over the world, from Bangalore to Seattle and from Porto Alegre to Nairobi. This book analyses this worldwide movement on the bases of extensive field research conducted since 1999. Alter-Globalization provides a comprehensive account of these critical global forces and their attempts to answer one of the major challenges of our time: How can citizens and civil society contribute to the building of a fairer, sustainable and more democratic co-existence of human beings in a global world?

Foreword by Alain Touraine
Acknowledgements Part 1 Alter-Globalization - Becoming Actors in the Global Age
Introduction
From the first uprisings to the global crisis
A global movement
1 The Will to Become an Actor
An actor against neoliberal ideology
Social agency in the global age
Part 2 The Way of Subjectivity
2 The Experience of Another World
Resisting through subjectivity
Spaces of experience
Diversions of experience
3 From the Mountains of Chiapas to Urban Neighbourhoods
The Zapatistas
Barricade social and cultural centre
Alter-activist youth
From the Zapatistas to alter-activists
4 Expressive Movements and Anti-Power
A concept of social change
A social and subjective engagement
Illusions of anti-power and diversions of spaces of experience
Facing the political
Conclusion
Part 3 The Way of Reason
5 Expertise for Another World
Resisting through reason
Spaces of expertise
The ambivalence of expertise
Conclusion
6 Citizens, Experts and Intellectuals
Introduction
A citizen movement Committed intellectuals
Theories of another world and practices of expertise
Conclusion
7 Reason, Democracy and Counter-Power
A movement against neoliberal ideology
Rationality at stake
Democracy at stake
A concept of social change
Conclusion
Part 4 Confluence of the Two Paths
8 Tensions and Collaborations
Common problematics
Dichotomization: from tension to opposition
Absorption: tension erased by hegemony
Combination: tensions and complementarities
Conclusion
9 The Main Debates
Think local and global, act local and global
The movement-internal organization
Rethinking social change
Conclusion
10 Towards a Post-Washington Consensus Alter-Globalization
Reconfigurations
Towards concrete outcomes
Climate justice
Conclusion
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index