Resisting Globalization: Action & Critique

1. Resisting Globalization: Action & Critique Peter Evans (Ch. 54), International Forum on Globalization (Ch. 60), Charles Tilly, Paul Mason, Naomi Klein, The Yes Men

2. GL, as it exists, is actually “neoliberal GL or “corporate GL” • Evans (Ch. 54) argues that when people invoke GL, they usually mean the prevailing system of transnational domination – or hegemony – which is more accurately called "neoliberal globalization“ or "corporate globalization"

3. Implicit in discourse is idea that GL is "natural," inevitable, beyond our control • GL-as-juggernaut discourse is hegemonic • such discourse enables deregulation, privatization, gov’t downsizing • hegemony: domination, influence, or authority over another, especially one political group over a society or by nation over others • when a discourse is hegemonic it conforms to the dominant ideology, which justifies the status quo

4. counterhegemonic globalization • counterhegemonic globalization(CHG)challenges the prevailing system of transnational domination – and the ideologies that justify it  Hegemonic ideological propositions are not simply instruments of domination, but also a toolkit that can be used for subversive ends

5. Activists involved in CHG make up the "global justice movement" • global justice movement is part of global civil society, but a more critical part that uses less conventional, more innovative strategies & tactics • ultimate objective is “justice,” on a global scale • reject GDP (nat’l or global) as measure of social well-being • Formally organized movement participants work through transnational NGOs, often linked together in transnational advocacy networks • Protests at the 1999 WTO mtg in Seattle & ongoing World Social Forum are key events in the movement

6. World Economic Forum vs World Social Forum • World Social Forum: meeting of transnational social activists, especially from the global south, organized as a "counter-meeting" to the World Economic Forum(annual gathering of leaders in business and politics held in Davos, Switzerland)

7. non-routine resistance • contentious politics: interactions in which actors make claims that bear on s/o else’s interests, leading to coordinating efforts on behalf of shared interests or programs, which involve gov’ts, as targets, the objects of claims, or 3rd parties • takes nonviolent or lethal forms • e.g., social movements or terrorist groups) (Tilly & Tarrow, 2007, p. 202)

8. Terrorists? Terrorism? Anonymous, hacktivist network WikiLeaks/Julian Assange Anwar al-Awlaki, US-born Islamic lecturer who is said to have inspired anti-Western terrorism in his online sermons; Al-Awlaki's “targeted killing” has been approved by President Obama, with the consent of the US National Security Council, making him the first US citizen ever placed on the CIA target list.

9. Terrorism is a political strategy, not a creed • “We can reasonably define that strategy as asymmetrical deployment of threats and violence against enemies using means that fall outside the forms of political struggle routinely operating within some current regime” (Tilly, “Terror, Terrorism, Terrorists,” 2002) ,

10. A great variety of individuals & groups engage in terror • A great variety of individuals/groups engage in terror, thus defined, from time to time, most often alternating terror with other political strategies or with political inaction • Groups and networks specializing in terror and no other forms of political action do sometimes form, but they typically remain unstable and ephemeral • Most groups and networks that engage in terror overlap extensively with gov’t-employed and gov’t-backed specialists in coercion – armies, police, militias, paramilitaries, and the like • Even when they organize in opposition to existing gov’ts, specialists in coercion typically adopt forms of organization, external connections, and sources of supply resembling those of gov’t-employed specialists • Most uses of terror actually occur as complements or by-products of struggles in which participants – often including the so-called terrorists – are simultaneously or successively engaging in other more routine varieties of political claim making

11. What’s new about the recent global cycle of protest? • Paul Mason identifies 3 new features: • Demographics • “youth bulge,” “graduates without a future” • Technology • networked, non- or anti-hierarchical • Behavior • crowd-driven, decentralized, ‘do-it-yourself’ • e.g., DDOS

12. innovative forms of political activism • mobilization via social media • e.g., “citizen journalism,” informing public about injustice, coordinating resistance via Facebook, YouTube, twitter • media activism • watchdog groups; alternative media • anticorporate activism such as “culture jamming” & “brand bombing” • hacktivism • whistle-blowing (using new, hi-tech tactics)

13. hacktivism • hacktivism: the nonviolent use of illegal or legally ambiguous digital tools in pursuit of political ends • promoting a political agenda by hacking, especially by defacing or disabling websites • hacktivists use the same tools and techniques as hackers, but do so in order to disrupt services and bring attention to a political or social cause • e.g., “Anonymous,” which employs DDoS attacks • distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack: attempt to make a computer resource unavailable to its intended users. Although the means to carry out, motives for, and targets of a DDoS attack may vary, it generally consists of the concerted efforts of individuals to prevent an internet site or service from functioning efficiently or at all, temporarily or indefinitely.

14. whistle-blowing • whistle-blower:a person who tells the public or s/o in authority about alleged dishonest or illegal activities occurring in an organization (gov’t agency, public or private organization, or a company) • alleged misconduct may be classified as a violation of a law, rule, regulation and/or a direct threat to public interest, such as fraud, health/safety violations, and corruption • e.g., Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers; some consider PFC Bradley Manning, an alleged leaker, and WikiLeaks whistle-blowers

15. Resisting the “commodification of the commons” • commodification of the commons: is the process of privatizing, monopolizing, and commodifying common heritage resources and turning public services into corporate profit centers and the promotion of this process within global trade agreements (Ch. 60) (“A Better World is Possible!” International Forum on Globalization, Ch. 60, pp. 482-493 (Excerpted from IFG, A Better World is Possible!, report summary, 2002)

16. culture jamming • culture jamming: the practice of parodying advertisements and hijacking billboards in order to drastically alter their messages • The Yes Men are culture jamming activists • Even old-fashioned “jamming” was a contentious political act: to interfere with or prevent the reception of radio signals • e.g. "Jam the Voice of America"; "block the signals emitted by this station"

17. Brands add value, but depend on image and reputation for success – making brands vulnerable to “brand bombing” • Consider this satirical take on MasterCard’s promo line circulating on Twitter and other social networking sites after MC stopped processing transactions for WikiLeaks: • “Freedom of speech? Priceless. For everything else, there’s MasterCard”

18. Naomi Klein on Brands vs Products • Brands are products, plus the “added value” of ‘identity,” the idea or story behind the brand • Brands sell a kind of “pseudo-spirituality,” a sense of belonging, even community • This fills a gap that citizens, not just consumers, used to get elsewhere, whether from religion, or genuine community involvement • Behind these brand meanings is “a privatized concept of what used to be public”

19. CHG from the Yes Men -- demanding justice for Bhopal victims • Bhopal catastrophe: known as the world’s worst industrial disaster • In December 1984, the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal began leaking gas & other chemicals that harmed hundreds of thousands of ppl • Estimated death tolls vary; a government affidavit in 2006 stated the leak caused 558,125 injuries including 38,478 temporary partial and approximately 3,900 severely and permanently disabling injuries • Civil and criminal cases are pending • Dow purchased the plant in 2001, and claimed they inherited no liabilities

20. The Yes Men Dow hoax • The Yes Men claimed that dealing with the consequences of the accident was Dow’s responsibility • On the 20th anniversary of the Bhopal disaster, a Yes Men member posing as "Dow representative" "Jude Finisterra," went on BBC World TV to announce that the company was finally going to compensate the victims and clean up the mess in Bhopal • The story shot around the world, and by the time the original story was discredited, Dow's stock had declined in value by $2 billion

21. US Uncut • US Uncut is a grassroots movement taking direct action against corporate “tax cheats” and unnecessary and unfair public service cuts across the US • Modeled on UK Uncut, which has been protesting against austerity in Great Britain • Recently teamed up w/ the Yes Men to expose “tax dodging” by GE