Handbook on World Social Forum Activism 1st edition

Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 397-431) and index. Table of Contents: List of Tables and Figures -- List of Acronyms -- Preface and Acknowledgments -- Foreword -- Introduction: Learning from the World Social Forums / Jackie Smith, Scott Byrd, Ellen Reese, Elizabeth Smythe -- Part I. Background and Context -- 1. Social Forums as Public Stage and Infrastructure of Global Justice Movements / Dieter Rucht -- 2. (In) Fertile Ground? Social Forum Activism in Its Regional and Local Dimensions / Peter (Jay) Smith, Elizabeth Smythe -- 3. The Political and its Absence in the World Social Forum: Implications for Democracy in the Forum and in the World / Teivo Teivainen -- 4. Surveys of World Social Forum Participants Show Influence of Place and Base in the Global Public Sphere / Ellen Reese, Christopher Chase-Dunn, Kadambari Anantram, Gary Coyne, Matheu Kaneshiro, Ashley N. Koda, Roy Kwon, Preeta Saxena -- Part II. Campaigns and Movements in the Social Forum Process -- 5. More Than a Shadow of a Difference? Feminist Participation in the World Social Forum / Lyndi Hewitt, Marina Karides -- 6. Indigenous Peoples and Social Forums / Marc Becker, Ashley N. Koda -- 7. Building National Labor Solidarity: Unions and Labor Activists at the 2007 United States Social Forum / Ellen Reese, Kadambari Anantram, Linda J. Kim, Roy Kwon, Preeta Saxena -- 8. The World Social Forum as a Bounded Open Space: Maintain It, Fix It, or Nix It? Evidence from Post-9/11 Global Antiwar Activism / Ruth Reitan -- 9. Our World Is Not for Sale! The WSF Process and Transnational Resistance to International Trade Agreements / Elizabeth Smythe -- 10. Global Environmentalists and Their Movements at the World Social Forums / Matheu Kaneshiro, Kirk S. Lawrence, Christopher Chase-Dunn -- 11. The Road to the World Social Forum: The Case of the Dalit Movement / Peter (Jay) Smith -- Part III. Local Places and Global Spaces -- 12. African Voices and Activists at the WSF in Nairobi: The Uncertain Ways of Transnational African Activism / Marie-Emmanuelle Pommerolle, Johanna SimEant -- 13. Global Movements in Local Struggles: Findings on the Social Forum Process in Italy / Donatella della Porta, Lorenzo Mosca -- 14. Diverging Visions of Another World in the Making of the Quebec Social Forum / Pascale Dufour, Janet Conway -- 15. In the Belly of Empire: The U. S. Social Forum Process / Jeffrey S. Juris, Jackie Smith -- Part IV. Democratic Innovations -- 16. Youth Camps and the Bolivarian Revolution: A Story of Horizontalism and Blocked Diffusion / Lesley J. Wood -- 17. Deliberative Discussion and Languages in the World Social Forum Process / Nicole Doerr -- 18. Democratic Innovation in the U. S. and European Social Forums / Jackie Smith, Nicole Doerr -- 19. Transnational Movement Innovation and Collaboration: Analysis of World Social Forum Networks / Scott Byrd, Lorien Jasny -- Conclusion: The Space as Actor: The Form and Content of the Social Forum Process / Thomas Ponniah -- References -- About the Contributors -- Index -- List of Tables and Figures -- Table 2.1. WSF 2005 Participants by Geographical Origin -- Table 2.2. Polycentric WSFs 2006 by Nationality of Participant -- Figure 2.1. Number of Social Forum Events and Organizations by Region -- Figure 2.2. Social Forums by Scale -- Table 2.3. African Social Forums-National, Subnational, and Local -- Table 4.1. Political Experiences and Affiliations of WSF and USSF Participants -- Table 4.2. Political Views of WSF and USSF Participants -- Table 7.1. Social Characteristics of USSF Participants that Are Unionists, Other Labor Activists, and Nonlabor Participants -- Table 7.2. Political Participation of USSF Attendees -- Table 7.3. Political Views of Labor Activists and Other USSF Attendees -- Table 10.1. World-Systems Location of 2005 and 2007 WSF Participants by Geographic Region -- Table 10.2. Characteristics of Participants in 2005 (Porto Alegre) and 2007 (Nairobi) WSFs. Publisher Marketing: The World Social Forums began in 2001 as a civil society countersummit to the World Economic Forum, an annual gathering of global corporate and political elite that shapes global economic policies. Since then the World Social Forums have become the premier focal point for a diverse array of movements and associations advancing alternative visions of globalization. The World Social Forum "process" encompasses a variety of meetings and networking activities taking place around the world at local, national, regional, and global levels. United by a belief that Another world is possible, World Social Forum activists are engaging in a massive global experiment to bring about a more democratic and just world. Social Forums held at multiple levels from local to global help connect activists in an increasingly dense network of advocates for radical social change. They have mobilized hundreds of thousands of people and may be one of the most important political developments of our time. The Forums overlapping networks link conversations across vast distances as well as over time, allowing unprecedented learning and sharing across movements and across continents. "Handbook of World Social Forum Activism" brings together some of the leading scholars of the WSF process from North America and Europe to offer comparative and longitudinal analyses of the World Social Forum process. Succinct chapters offer lessons and insights on this important global movement drawing from a variety of innovative research methods. The collection documents and contributes to the ongoing process of reflection and learning from World Social Forum experiences and is accessible to activists, students, and scholars alike."

Contributor Bio:  Smith, Jackie Jackie Smith is Professor, Department of Sociology at the University of Pittsburg. She is also the editor of "Journal of World-Systems Research". Smith s most recent books include "Social Movements in the World-System: The Politics of Crisis and Transformation, " with Dawn Wiest; "Handbook on World Social Forum Activism, " co-edited with Scott Byrd, Ellen Reese, & Elizabeth Smythe; "Globalization, Social Movements and Peacebuilding, " co-edited with Ernesto Verdeja, and "Social Movements for Global Democracy" (2008). Contributor Bio:  Reese, Ellen Ellen Reese is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of California-Riverside. Her research focuses on poverty, welfare state development, urban politics, and social movements. Her book, "Backlash Against Welfare Mothers: Past and Presents" (2005) examines long-term transformations in the U. S. welfare state. She is also coeditor with Amalia Cabezas and Marguerite Waller of "The Wages of Empire: Neoliberal Policies, Repression, and Women's Poverty" (Paradigm Publishers 2007). She is currently writing a new book, "They Say Cutback; We Say Fight-back! Welfare Rights Activism in an Era of Retrenchment". Contributor Bio:  Byrd, Scott Scott Byrd earned his Ph. D. in Sociology at the University of California, Irvine. His research and writing have appeared in "Globalizations, Mobilization, Social Movement Studies" and the "Journal of World-Systems Research". He currently serves as the technical editor of the "Journal of World-Systems Research". He is the founder of the Broad Cove Institute, a non-profit research organization supporting small social justice organizations. Contributor Bio:  Smythe, Elizabeth Elizabeth Smythe is a professor of political science at Concordia University College of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta.