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Now that
globalization has reached the furthest corners of the planet, the world is said to
have been globalized —either for better, as some argue (pp 19-20), or for worse according
to the critics (pp
20-21).
Faced with the universal and uniform spread of this revolutionary process, these
critics have created a kind of international opposition movement made up of previously
fragmented groups, drawn together by the inseparable nature of local and global issues.
Seattle was their spotlight.
This dossier offers a guided tour through this constellation of movements opposed
to the current style of globalization and spearheaded by NGOs (pp 24 to 32). Though their
backgrounds, demands and actions are radically different, these U.S. environmental
activists, Philippine ethnic minorities, indigenous groups in Ecuador, peasants in
Burkina Faso, Indian fisherfolk or janitors in Silicon Valley have joined to attack
the same targets and support the same aspiration: a new notion of citizenship that
balances the might of business with a much stronger political realm. Sharing experience
and capitalizing on knowledge have thus become key elements in their strategy (p 33).
But what shape should the future “democratic world governance” take? Current plans
are still vague (pp
34-35),
while the legitimacy of these NGOs appears to rest solely upon the relevance of the
issues they raise and their ability to develop ideas that can be turned into action
(pp
35-36).
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