Framing Collective Action Against Neoliberalism: The Case of the “Anti-Globalization” Movement

The rise of the protest movement against neoliberal globalization represents one of the most significant illustrations of social conflict & contentious political behavior of the past several decades. This paper contends that central to the movement's rise & evolution has been the active mobilization of meanings or interpretations critical of neoliberal policies & institutions. In effect, the so-called "anti-globalization movement" has benefited particularly from a transnationally-shared diagnosis, which implicates neoliberalism for a host of global social ills. However, civil society activists, especially after the Seattle World Trade Organization protests in 1999, have had a difficult time generating agreed upon strategic responses to neoliberal policies. In particular, the political environment for frame dissemination has become a much more contested one in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, as regional & tactical differences within the protest movement have become much more apparent. The difficult experiences of civil society groups committed to sustaining protest against neoliberal globalization are not unusual, but consistent with the history of other protest movements. These movements similarly matured & positioned themselves as genuine forces for substantial political & social change. 1 Figure, 88 References. Adapted from the source document.