Rethinking globalised resistance : feminist activism and critical theorising in international relations

This article argues that a feminist approach to the 'politics of resistance' offers a number of important empirical insights which, in turn, open up lines of theoretical inquiry which critical theorists in IR would do well to explore. Concretely, we draw on our ongoing research into feminist 'anti-globalisation' activism to rethink the nature of the subject of the politics of resistance, the conditions under which resistance emerges and how resistance is enacted and expressed. We begin by discussing the relationship of feminism to critical IR theory as a way of situating and explaining the focus and approach of our research project. We then summarise our key empirical arguments regarding the emergence, structure, beliefs, identities and practices of feminist 'anti-globalisation' activism before exploring the implications of these for a renewed critical theoretical agenda in IR

Revolutions from above: worker training as trasformismo in South Korea

While making very substantial changes to the population's working conditions, government strategies to foster economic development in South Korea have historically attempted to keep worker involvement, in terms of influence on the process, to a bare minimum. Applying the Gramscian concept of passive revolution, this article analyses governance mechanisms and production relations over a history of authoritarianism and up to the contemporary period of democratic reform. Trasformismo, which is a strategy of limited concessions, has been provided via vocational training for workers. Despite this attempt at inclusion, it is concluded that workers have not enjoyed full participation in negotiation for their welfare at any time in Korean history

Hegemony Reloaded: Why the Anti-Globalization Movement Does not Benefit From the Neoliberal Crisis

Hegemony Reloaded: Why the Anti-Globalization Movement Does not Benefit From the Neoliberal Crisis. Why has neoliberal crisis not enabled a strengthening of counter-hegemonic capacity? Our explanation focuses on 1) the ability of hegemonic powers to insulate themselves from critique; 2) the co-optation of moderate critical discourse for the legitimation of further neoliberal measures; 3) the marginalization of radical dissent via current security discourses. Together, these factors help explain how neoliberal forces successfully prevent globalization-critical movements from becoming effectively counter-hegemonic. ___ Wie können wir erklären, dass die Finanz- und Wirtschaftskrise nicht von einer gegenhegemonialen Formation begleitet wird, die die neoliberale Hegemonie ernsthaft herausfordert? Die drei Hauptelemente unserer Erklärung sind 1) die Isolation hegemonialer Kräfte, 2) ihre Vereinnahmung moderater Kritik und 3) die Versicherheitlichung radikaler Kritik. Als Resultat des Zusammenspiels dieser hegemonialen Verteidigungsstrategien hat der Dissens der globalisierungskritischen Bewegung nicht zu einer gegenhegemonialen Formation geführt

NGOs and the Information Society: Grassroots Advocacy at the UN - a cautionary tale

This article looks at the United Nations-brokered World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in light of nongovernmental organization participation as a full partner in consultations and decisions. Combining participation-observation fieldwork, interviews, and eye-witness accounts with a selective content analysis of key WSIS documentation, official and dissenting, the article presents the occupational hazards of this sort of encounter between civil society participants, government, and business sectors as global information and communication technologies (ICTs) and media agenda-setting partners. It focuses on the hazards of key word strategies in what are now irrevocably computer-embedded domains for action and access. Hyperlinked textual production and related key word search functionalities are now, I argue, integral to global agenda-setting in the intertwined areas of ICT, media, and sociocultural policy. This formal encounter between multilateral institutions and social justice and ICT advocacy, online and on the ground, raises new questions for policy research in these domains, questions that require fresh approaches. Copyright 2007 by The Policy Studies Organization.