E-Book Overview
Contesting Globalization makes an innovative and original addition to the literature on globalization examining the challenges faced by those wishing to develop progressive visions of transparent global governance and civil society. This new study closely traces the history and development of the institutions of global governance (The World Bank, IMF, WTO etc.) as well as the emergence of the anti-globalization movement. The author argues that we are at a unique moment where social forces have moved from national and international struggles to a global struggle and intervention in the world economy. A series of case studies examine the ways in which cities have become contested sites for global struggles from the London dockworkers strikes of the nineteenth century to the recent demonstrations against the international financial institutions in Genoa, Seattle and Washington.
E-Book Content
Contesting Globalization What is the nature of the world economy as a terrain of political struggle? Is global civil society a political, or ideological, construct and what autonomy can it have from governing institutions? What is the best way to effect radical progressive change? Contesting Globalization is an original addition to the literature on globalization which examines the challenges faced by those wishing to develop a critical understanding of the nature of power and counter-power in the contemporary world economy. The author traces the history and development of the institutions of global governance (such as The World Bank, IMF, WTO) as well as the emergence of the anti-globalization movement. He argues that we are at a critical juncture in the history of global capitalism, where the world economy itself has become a defining terrain of struggle, as global cities were in the nineteenth century. Drawing lessons from the London dockworkers’ strike of 1889 and the politics of Tammany Hall in New York, Drainville further argues that we need to understand the fundamental contradiction between, on the one hand, hegemonical attempts to organize the world economy as a levelled space to be administered on purely business principles, and, on the other, struggles to make it a place of politics. The former tries to empty the world of politics, while the latter are preparing the ground for a successful, self-supportive and self-governing global neighbourhood. This important volume will interest students and researchers of politics, sociology, geography and urban studies. André C. Drainville is Professor of International Political Economy at Laval University, Québec, Canada. RIPE Series in Global Political Economy Series Editors: Louise Amoore (University of Newcastle, UK), Randall Germain (Carleton University, Canada) and Rorden Wilkinson (University of Manchester, UK). Formerly edited by Otto Holman, Marianne Marchand (Research Centre for International Political Economy, University of Amsterdam), Henk Overbeek (Free University, Amsterdam) and Marianne Franklin (University of Amsterdam). This series, published in association with the Review of International Political Economy, provides a forum for current debates in international political economy. The series aims to cover all the central topics in IPE and to present innovative analyses of emerging topics. The titles in the series seek to transcend a state-centred discourse and focus on three broad themes: • the nature of the forces driving globalization forward • resistance to globalization • the transformation of the world order. The series comprises two strands: The RIPE Series in Global Political Economy aims to address the needs of students and teachers, and the titles will be published in hardback and paperback. Titles include the following: Transnational Classes and International Relations Kees van der Pijl Global Political Economy Contemporary theories Edit