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| Alter-globalization | |
|---|---|
| Name | Alter-globalization |
| Caption | Global protest, 1999 |
| Formation | 1990s |
| Type | Social movement |
| Location | Global |
| Key people | Naomi Klein; José Bové; Vandana Shiva; Walden Bello; Arundhati Roy |
Alter-globalization is a social movement advocating alternative forms of globalization that emphasize social justice, environmental sustainability, and democratic control over transnational institutions. Emerging in the 1990s amid opposition to policies associated with World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, and World Bank, the movement brought together activists from labor movement, environmental movement, indigenous peoples movement, and anti-war movement. It challenged policy frameworks promoted at summits such as the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference of 1999, the G7 summit, and the G20 summit while engaging with debates in forums like the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development and the United Nations Millennium Summit.
Roots trace to protests against Multilateral Agreement on Investment proposals, demonstrations at the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference of 1999 in Seattle, and earlier campaigns by groups linked to Attac (France), La Via Campesina, and Greenpeace International. Intellectual influences include authors and activists associated with Zapatista Army of National Liberation, Abahlali baseMjondolo, War on Want, and thinkers appearing at Davos World Economic Forum counter-events. Debates over terms involved actors from International Forum on Globalization, People's Global Action, and scholars tied to Harvard University, London School of Economics, and University of California, Berkeley.
The 1990s saw mobilizations at events including the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference of 1999, the G8 summit in Genoa (2001), and protests connected to the World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings. Prominent campaigns involved networks such as La Via Campesina, direct actions by Earth First!, and policy advocacy by Oxfam International and Amnesty International. High-profile figures like Naomi Klein, José Bové, Vandana Shiva, Arundhati Roy, and Walden Bello helped popularize critiques during hearings before bodies including the European Parliament and panels at United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. The 2000s saw diversification with alliances including Arab Spring participants, Occupy Wall Street, and activists from Sierra Club and Friends of the Earth International adapting tactics for digital platforms linked to Wikileaks and Anonymous (group).
Advocates promote alternatives to neoliberal policies enforced by World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, and World Bank by championing principles found in documents circulated by La Via Campesina, People's Global Action, and Attac (France). Goals often reference labor standards from International Labour Organization conventions, environmental norms reflected in Kyoto Protocol debates, and human rights frameworks associated with Universal Declaration of Human Rights and cases brought before Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Proposals include debt relief measures discussed at Jubilee 2000 campaigns, food sovereignty advanced by FAO dialogues, and municipal reforms inspired by initiatives in Porto Alegre and the World Social Forum.
Key organizations include La Via Campesina, Attac (France), People's Global Action, World Social Forum, Friends of the Earth International, Greenpeace International, Oxfam International, Amnesty International, International Trade Union Confederation, Global Justice Movement, and regional networks such as Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance and Asian Peoples' Movement on Debt and Development. Influential campaigns connected with personalities from Zapatista Army of National Liberation, Brazilian Landless Workers' Movement, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, and Solidarity Federation also shaped strategies.
Tactics ranged from mass demonstrations at summits like the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference of 1999 and the G8 summit in Genoa (2001) to sustained occupations exemplified by Occupy Wall Street and alter-globalization encampments at World Social Forum events. Direct actions included blockades modelled on Earth First! campaigns, farm occupations inspired by La Via Campesina, and legal challenges filed in venues such as the European Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Media strategies leveraged alternative outlets like Democracy Now!, The Guardian, Le Monde Diplomatique, and independent publishers such as Verso Books and Zed Books.
Critiques arose from institutions including World Bank and International Monetary Fund which defended policy conditionalities debated in forums like the Bretton Woods Conference (1944) legacy. Some commentators associated with Neoliberalism defenders at Harvard University and The Economist argued that actions disrupted diplomatic processes, while others from United Nations fora highlighted tensions over engagement versus rejection of multilateral institutions. Controversies included policing responses at events such as Seattle WTO protests and Genoa clashes (2001), internal disputes between groups like People's Global Action and World Social Forum over consensus processes, and debates over representation involving indigenous peoples and activists linked to Black Lives Matter and Feminist Majority Foundation.
Alter-globalization networks influenced policy discussions at venues including the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), UN Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations, and World Bank internal reviews. Ideas from La Via Campesina and Friends of the Earth International informed food sovereignty and environmental policy dialogues at the Food and Agriculture Organization and United Nations Environment Programme. Labor and human rights proposals fed into deliberations at the International Labour Organization and shaped campaigns that led to debt relief measures discussed during Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative. Elements of the movement resurfaced in policy debates involving the Green New Deal, Paris Agreement, and regional trade negotiations such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership and North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiations.