{"id":110,"date":"2018-11-02T12:01:03","date_gmt":"2018-11-02T12:01:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/soc14.epgpbooks.inflibnet.ac.in\/?post_type=chapter&p=110"},"modified":"2019-05-08T06:58:00","modified_gmt":"2019-05-08T06:58:00","slug":"globalization-social-movements-and-transnational-networks","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/ebooks.inflibnet.ac.in\/soc14\/chapter\/globalization-social-movements-and-transnational-networks\/","title":{"rendered":"Globalization, Social Movements and Transnational Networks"},"content":{"raw":"
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Contents<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

1. Objective<\/p>\r\n

2.\u00a0Introduction<\/p>\r\n

3.\u00a0Learning Outcome<\/p>\r\n

4.\u00a0Transnational Networks and Anti-globalisation Social Movements<\/p>\r\n

5. Resistance to Globalisation: Causes and Dimensions<\/span><\/p>\r\n

6. Tribals, Mining and Global Capital \u2013 The Role of Transnational Networks<\/span><\/p>\r\n

7. The Trans-Local Space in Niyamgiri Movement<\/p>\r\n

8. Summary<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

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1.\u00a0\u00a0 Objectives<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

The objective of this module is to provide a conceptual framework for interpreting the complex interplay between globalisation, social movements and transnational networks. The module seeks to assess the emergence of social movements in response to globalization and examines how transnational networks are impacting social movement trajectory and outcomes in the context of globalization through a case study from the eastern Indian state of Odisha.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

2.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

The systematic study of social movements has come a long way from its interpretation as 'crowd psychology' and 'collective behaviour', focusing on large-scale mobilisations in the streets as symbols of social dysfunction and irrationality (Smelser 1962) to the 'resource mobilisation' approach of viewing movements as the rational enterprise of movement entrepreneurs (McCarthy and Zald 1977) pursuing collective interests. The studies of the anti-globalisation social movements (AGSM) (Smith et al. 1997; Smith and Johnston 2002) as an attempt to counter globalisation from above through globalisation from below, assume significance in this context. The anti-globalisation movements include an array of protests and resistance actions of social groups and individuals in response to the dislocating consequences of neoliberal globalisation and its effects in the spheres of the economy, politics and identity\/culture. The expansion of capitalism has historically encountered opposition from social groups affected by its disruptive and disentitling consequences (Saguier 2012). Yet, it is during the mid-1990s that the conception of anti-globalisation social movements in the forms of resistance to globalization has entered the sociology literature in a meaningful way.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

The AGSM approach begins from the assumption that there have been profound changes in recent movements due to structural shifts caused by neo-liberal globalisation. The AGSMs are depicted as organised in socially embedded, diffuse, horizontal networks; as primarily concerned with culture and identity; and as aiming to constrain state and economic power rather than to gain access to it (Cohen 1982; Melucci 1989).<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Some Key Sociological Definitions of Globalization<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Immanuel Wallerstein in his book \u2018<\/span>The Modern World System: Capitalist Agriculture and the<\/em> Origins of the European World-Economy in the Sixteenth Century\u2019, <\/em>believes that \u201cglobalization represents the triumph of a capitalist world economy tied together by a global division of labour.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>David Harvey, in <\/span>The Condition of Postmodernity<\/em> defines globalization as \u201c\u2026the compression of time and space.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>Anthony Giddens, in <\/span>The Consequences of Modernity<\/em> says that \u201cGlobalization can thus be defined as the intensification of worldwide social relations which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>Arjun Appadurai opines that \u201cThe critical point is that both sides of the coin of global cultural process today are products of the infinitely varied mutual contest of sameness and difference on a stage characterized by radical disjunctures between different sorts of global flows and the uncertain landscapes created in and through these disjunctures.\u00a0<\/span>With\u00a0 the\u00a0 emergence\u00a0 of\u00a0 what\u00a0 Manuel\u00a0 Castells\u00a0 calls\u00a0 a \u00a0\u201cglobal\u00a0 network\u00a0 society\u201d,\u00a0 social\u00a0<\/span>movements and their participants seem to follow a new protest trajectory. A broad series of\u00a0<\/span>actors, including international non-governmental organisations and transnational coalitions,\u00a0<\/span>are acting in response to the development challenges posed by globalization. Even though\u00a0<\/span>transnational networks (TNWs) and movements are not per se new phenomena (Hierlmeier\u00a0<\/span>2002, Seidman in Guidry et al. 2000: 344), what differentiates the contemporary scenario\u00a0<\/span>from its historical predecessors is the sharpened capacities to co-operate and coordinate\u00a0<\/span>movement activities through networks across nation-state boundaries and their emergence as\u00a0<\/span>a potent political force to reckon with.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

3.<\/strong>Learning Outcome<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

In this module, we will learn about the dialectical interface between globalisation and social\u00a0<\/span>movements as mediated through the mechanism of transnational networks. The factors that\u00a0<\/span>have contributed to the emergence of these anti-globalisation resistances particularly in the\u00a0<\/span>global south will be critically analysed in the context of an anti-bauxite mining movement by\u00a0<\/span>a hill tribe in the eastern Indian state of Odisha. The conspectus of the case study would\u00a0<\/span>enable students to develop a basic understanding of and critical insights into the implications\u00a0<\/span>of neo-liberal globalisation for subaltern groups like tribals by highlighting among other\u00a0<\/span>factors, the role of transnational networks in empowering the marginalised to rise in peaceful\u00a0<\/span>protest against the combined forces of global capital and local state.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Some Basics of Social Movements<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Social movements are focused, organized groups motivated to work toward a common goal These groups might be endeavoring to bring about change (Occupy Wall Street), to resist change (anti-globalization movement), or to provide a political right to be heard to those who are otherwise disenfranchised (civil rights movements). Sociologically, there are three perspectives of studying social movements: functionalist perspective, conflict perspective and symbolic interaction perspective.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

The functionalist perspective centers itself around the central questions of why social movements develop, why they go on to exist, and what social purposes they serve. The conflict perspective deals with the creation and reproduction of inequality. It basically seeks to discover how social movements are produced through systematic inequality, and how social change is steady, swift, and inevitable. The symbolic interaction perspective studies the day-to-day interaction of social movements, the meanings that individuals connect to involvement in such movements, and the individual experience of social change.\u00a0<\/span>Social movements can occur on the local, national, or the global arena. Social movements can be classified as reform movements, revolutionary movements, religious \/ redemptive movements, resistance movements.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

4. Transnational Networks and Anti-globalisation Social Movements:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Transnational networks (TNWs) could be interpreted as a set of relationships that connects\u00a0<\/span>discrete entities (people, communities, or other groups) in more than one country for the sharing of information, experiences, or resources towards a common objective. The expression \"transnational\" symbolizes the cross-national organizing processes amid participants of the movement. A transnational network may not essentially be a global social\u00a0<\/span>network but necessitates the communication and cooperation of movement actors from no\u00a0<\/span>less than two different countries. A network differs from an organization in that network\u00a0<\/span>members are only weakly tied, relatively autonomous and limit their work together to certain,\u00a0<\/span>mutually agreed on goals (adapted from Colchester et al. 2003: 2; Granovetter 1983).\u00a0<\/span>The TNWs provide the linking mechanisms through which social movement participants\u00a0<\/span>engage in collective action across national boundaries, are involved in conflictual relations\u00a0<\/span>with their opponents by developing a shared and distinct collective identity to bring about, avert, or undo social, political and cultural change outside the conventional political institutions through extra-parliamentary strategies.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

They have been shown to support social movements as catalysts, structural units of movements, sources of information and resources, and by helping to reframe people's understandings and norms (Diani and McAdam 2003). For each of these functions, the contribution of the TNWs could only be realized in partnership with local and national groups. The broader scope of TNWs enables them to collect information, develop strategies and capacities, and identify contacts outside of the usual scope of national or local groups.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

4.1. Strengths of TNWs:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Transnational networks contain several advantages some of which are as stated below:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

First, funding people to get together \u2013 they are able to collect funds which is very necessary to carry out any task from multiple sources to sustain protest activities in different parts of the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Second, knowledge of broader policy frameworks \u2013 they offer a much larger framework necessary to link a local movement with global developments.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Third, independent assessments and critique \u2013 they are able to assess any development on their own and formulate a critique that is quite different from those offered by either political parties or stakeholder close to the state agencies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Fourth, wider repertoire of strategies and ability to increase capacities - international networks have access to a wider range of information about strategies and capacities that have been tried or developed elsewhere that they can share with local groups;<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Fifth, contacts for exchanges, media and campaigns - international networks have a wider range of contacts for facilitating exchanges across countries. They can also help local groups identify influential or strategic international media contacts;<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Sixth, dissemination - international networks can greatly aid in the dissemination of local stories. They can bring excellent writing skills, an ability to turn out information quickly, established and well-known websites and newsletters, and a large network of contacts;<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

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Seventh, confidence building - the involvement of an international network 'on the ground' or their endorsement of a local social movement acts as a morale booster for grassroots movement actors.<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n4.2 Limitations of TNWs:<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n

First, some TNWs do not see it as their mandate to work with local groups. They feel they can have more of an impact working through focal points and larger scale organizations that have a wider reach;<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Second, the possibilities or need for collaboration are often not apparent to TNWs unless they are active at the local level. This puts them in a difficult situation where they can only become aware of local needs for collaboration if they are already active;<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Third, the activities of local groups are often informal, unanticipated, urgent and small-scale. Raising funds for such activities can be difficult at short-notice, even for international networks;<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Fourth, TNWs may also lack the flexibility to respond quickly to calls for assistance. With many requests, they may not be able to easily distinguish from a distance which causes are the most important;<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Fifth, TNWs may be concerned about stepping on the toes of their national counterparts or national counterparts may feel their international 'partners' are irrelevant to local causes;<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Finally, language barriers and cultural gaps can make it difficult, if not impossible, for TNWs to link closely with local groups.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

5. Resistance to Globalisation: Causes and Dimensions<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Separated from traditional social movements, such as trade unions\/labour movements, the AGSMs are innovative forms of collective action resisting the neo-liberal globalisation. The AGSM could be interpreted as a variety of the so-called new social movements (NSMs). The TNWs facilitate the awareness that local events are embedded in global processes, thus making global approaches a necessary condition to redress the negative consequences of globalization. In other words, the resistance to globalization through the TNWs emerges as a category for thinking and acting in a context of interconnected capitalism.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Factors contributing to the emergence of the globalisation resistance movements <\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Global capitalism, revolution of information technologies; centrality of a global financial market in all productive activities; transnationalization of production; privatization of global commons; salience of transnational corporations, rising social inequality and ecological degradation and the subjective conditions associated with the rise of a global consciousness.\u00a0<\/span>The resistance to globalization has taken concrete shape as part of the dialectical and co-<\/span>determining processes of interaction between TNWs and organized grassroots mobilization\u00a0<\/span>beginning mostly towards the mid 1990s. It is an expression of a generalized discontent with\u00a0<\/span>the consequences of neoliberal globalization. While \u201caccumulation by exploitation\u201d (Harvey\u00a0<\/span>2003),\u00a0 like\u00a0 the\u00a0 workplace\u00a0 centered\u00a0 form\u00a0 of\u00a0 accumulation\u00a0 has\u00a0 historically\u00a0 generated\u00a0 the\u00a0<\/span>traditional class-based labour movements and trade unions, the AGSM as a type of new social\u00a0<\/span>movement has emerged in response to \u201caccumulation by dispossession\u201d (like privatization of\u00a0<\/span>land and forest) and around issues such as land rights and tribal identity (adapted from Hickey\u00a0<\/span>and Bracking 2005: 853).<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Arguments in favour of Neoliberal Globalisation<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Advocates of Neoliberal Globalisation argue that market competition should be the organising principle of ever more areas of life from the production of cars, to delivery of health services, a policy which requires stripping the state of \"excessive involvement\" in the economy and society. In the South, the IMF and World Bank took advantage of the 1980s\u2019 debt crisis to insist that debtor countries remove the government from the economy as the price of getting credit. <\/span>Structural Adjustment Programmes<\/em> (SAP) required governments to redirect their spending away from public services and publicly-owned enterprises into debt servicing. State industries were sold to private companies; public services were \"contracted out\"; development projects \"franchised\" to private companies; state spending slashed; user charges for basic services introduced or increased; and markets deregulated.\u00a0<\/span>Transnational Corporations have benefited from neo-liberal globalisation through the four related processes of:<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

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