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The rise of the protest movement against neoliberal globalization represents one of the most signi?cant illustrations of social con?ict and contentious political behavior of the past several decades. This paper contends that central to the movement's rise and evolution has been the active mobilization of meanings or interpretations critical of neoliberal policies and institutions. In e?ect, the so-called "anti-globalization movement" has bene?ted 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 dif?cult 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 and tactical di?erences within the protest move-ment have become much more apparent. The di?cult experiences of civil society groups committed to sustaining protest against neo-liberal globalization are not unusual, but consistent with the history of other protest movements. These movements similarly matured and positioned themselves as genuine forces for substantial political and social change.

Research on transnational contention has largely overlooked how global economic negotiations and arrangements shape transnational dissent. In this article I examine how neoliberal economic arrangements structure transnational activism. I first describe neoliberalism as an important facet economic globalization, and then suggest why neoliberal accords have become lightning rods for protest. I propose that transnational opposition to neoliberalism is supported by the growth of transnational mobilizing structures, as well as by the internationalization of political opportunities. For illustration, I draw upon qualitative research on the tactics of Canadian activists over more than fifteen years of sustained protest against trade and investment accords. I conclude by affirming that the link between international political processes and the rise of transnational social movement organizations and coalitions will mean significant transnational mobilizations in the future. I also caution against drawing premature conclusions about the long-term durability of these transnational alliances. Further research on recent anti-WTO and IMF protests will give a fuller picture of the roles played by these transnational alliances. (Mobilization / FUB)

The Internet has been widely credited with sparking a revolution in everything from consumer shopping habits & the management of stock portfolios to the practice of popular democracy. It is also leaving its mark on the dynamics of popular contention. Political protest traditionally relied heavily on claimsmakers gathering in the streets to contest power holders. The Internet is altering this dynamic by electronically promoting the diffusion of protest ideas & tactics efficiently & quickly across the globe. Less concerned with such constraints as time & geographic space, it has caught policymakers off guard with its ease of public accessibility & immediacy of impact. This cyber-diffusion, however, has a cautionary side: while significantly enhancing the potential for disparate individuals & groups to collectively pool resources & strategy, the Internet also holds the power to turn unreliable & unverifiable information into a global electronic riot. 31 References. Adapted from the source document.

This article examines cross-national social movement theory for its analytic utility in addressing the critical role that political processes play in social movement mobilization. First it critically reviews recent cross-national research on political movements, highlighting the growing body of literature which confirms the mobilizing role played by political processes. Second, it discusses the essential propositions presented by the three major approaches to the field - the new social movement, resource mobilization and political opportunity - discussing each school's ability to account for the role that politics plays in movement mobilization. Finally, this article argues that of these three models, a reconceptualized, synthetic political process approach represents a more inclusive alternative for arriving at a more generalized understanding of the important interplay between movements and politics.

Abstract. The mobilization to defeat the United States‐Canada Free Trade Agreement is used as a point of departure for reflections on the role political processes play in social movement mobilization. Previous articles in this Journal presented a resource mobilization‐political opportunities paradigm in the study of social movements. This article expands this paradigm's analytic reach to a country that has contributed little research to the ongoing debate about social movement mobilization. Adopting a political process perspective, political institutions, political opportunities, and social and political organizations shaped the emergence and mobilization of the popular campaign. This case can strengthen a generalized understanding of those political factors most conducive to the interesting interplay and outcome of movement, party, and electoral politics.

Hawes, M.; Kirkey, C.: Canada in a unipolar world(?) : new directions in Canadian foreign policy. - S. [2]-8