‘Another U.S. is Necessary’: Perceptions of the World Social Forum Process by U.S. Civil Society Organizations
Journal Title: Journal of Globalization Studies - Year 2011, Vol 2, Issue 2
Abstract
This paper examines awareness and perceptions of the World Social Forum (WSF) process among grassroots civil society organizations (CSOs) in the United States, aiming to shed light on relatively low U.S. participation and apparent disinterest in global social fora to date. Our data come from repre-sentatives of 248 U.S. CSOs, who in late 2008 completed an online survey comprising of both open-ended and quantitative questions. Nearly half (47.8 %) of the CSOs in our sample were aware of the WSF. Regression anal-ysis revealed four significant predictors of the WSF awareness: international contacts, organizational identity as a ‘social movement’, engagement in political campaigns, and broadband Internet access. The analysis of re-sponses to open-ended questions reveals deep ambivalence about the horizontalist ethos and ideological decenteredness of the global justice movement, and about the use of social networking media such as Facebook for social justice organizing. The possible value of networks and high-speed Internet access are considered as crucial elements to promote the globalist critique of neoliberal capitalism and transnational solidarity thus far illusive to civil society in the United States.
Authors and Affiliations
Benjamin Junge, Emily Korona
Keywords
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