Environmental conversions and muslim activists: constructing knowledge at the intersection of religion and politics

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the production of knowledge by Muslim environmental activists in the United States and Great Britain, applying Eyerman and Jamison’s theory of cognitive praxis to demonstrate how religious and political knowledge and practices are synthesised by the activists. The paper emerges from research conducted with Islamic environmental organizations in the United States and Great Britain in 2012–2013 and utilises data gathered from interviews conducted with Muslim environmental activists working in those organizations and from the publicly available newsletters, websites, and articles produced by the activists and organizations. I argue that through the integration of environmental and religious knowledge, Muslim environmentalists construct a ‘critical community’ within Islam that seeks to transform orthodox Islamic knowledge and practice. In the process, Muslim environmentalists demonstrate that religiously-grounded social movements may simultaneously pursue religious and political change.     

The Uses and Misuses of Globalization in the Study of Social Movements

On a general level this article seeks to improve our understanding of the relationship between the concepts of globalization and transnational mobilization; a question that is surprisingly rarely addressed in an explicit manner in the already extensive (and still growing) body of literature on these issues. The article proceeds from the assumption that globalization does not necessarily lead to transnational mobilization. The missing link between globalization and transnational mobilization is a process of social construction that seeks to link the local, the national and the global. Globalization, in this perspective, is both an objective process involving certain structural transformations and a subjective process intimately related to the way social actors interpret these changes and give them meaning. Proceeding from a critique of mono-causal and political economic approaches to transnational mobilization the main objective of this article is to outline an analytical framework able to encompass both of these dimensions; a task achieved by combining insights from the globalization literature and the social constructionist framing approach to social movements. This integration is captured in the concept of transnational framing.     

Organizing “Below and to the Left”: Differences in the Citizenship and Transnational Practices of Two Zapatista Groups

This article examines the political transnational practices—that is, both the physical and symbolic border‐crossing political practices—of two Zapatista groups. This study seeks to contribute to the existing body of literature on transnationalism and citizenship by focusing on immigrants’ political transnational activities in the global South, as well as transnational activists’ practices in the global North influenced by the global South. I argue that transnational ideological and political influences are bidirectional, that is, influences also flow from the global South to the global North. In addition, I argue that different transnational practices are strongly shaped by structural opportunities and constraints on activists, in this case, by citizenship status and economic class. My arguments are drawn from fieldwork and in‐depth interviews conducted in the San Francisco Bay Area with two Zapatista groups, which I name the Localizers and the Globalizers.     

Wikipedia in the anti-SOPA protests as a case study of direct,deliberative democracy in cyberspace

This paper contributes to the discussion on deliberative, direct democracy and volunteer mobilization in the Internet era by analyzing the vote participation levels of Wikipedia volunteer editors (Wikipedians). On 18th January 2012 in the ‘first Internet strike’ against the American ‘Stop Online Piracy Act' legislation, over two thousand Wikipedians took part in the vote concerning whether their site should undertake a protest action, with vast majority expressing support for this action. However, the vote participants formed only a tiny fraction of the total number of Wikipedians who number in millions. Although Wikipedia can be seen as an open, democratic forum practicing deliberative, direct democracy, the process of voting on Wikipedia is significantly influenced by participation inequality, with a majority of the vote participation coming from a small group of most active contributors – an effective oligarchy. This paper discusses the intricate dynamics between Wikipedia egalitarian ethos and the creed to discuss project matters deliberately on one hand and the conspicuous lack of promotion and advertisement stemming from a rule against ‘canvassing’ and an overall skepticism regarding the status of majority votes. While voters' passivity and lack of interest play a major role, as expected, another factor emerges as a significant factor responsible for the low levels of participation: an inefficient information distribution system, as the vast majority of Wikipedians were not aware of the ongoing discussions and the vote itself until after their conclusion.     

“No Tyson in Tongie!”: The Battle to Protect a Rural Way of Life in Kansas*

Political mobilizations in small towns have come to play a disproportionate role in today’s national politics. This article examines the conditions giving rise to small‐town mobilizations through an in‐depth case study of Tonganoxie, Kansas. Residents of this town mounted a massive campaign to block the opening of a Tyson chicken processing plant in 2017. The article draws on interviews, observations, a newspaper claims database, and extractions from the “No Tyson in Tongie” Facebook group page. The article maintains that a racialized cultural framework (“rural idyll”) among White middle‐class residents helped them perceive the plant as an existential threat. Social networks, sustained through social media, enabled the same residents to mobilize in a fast and forceful manner. We suggest that in “hybrid” towns (partially rural and suburban), the “rural idyll” is politically decisive. It unites recently settled and established residents in battles to defend a particularly racialized and classed way of life.     

Hegemony's Dirty Tricks: Explaining Counter-Globalization's Weakness in Times of Neoliberal Crisis

Against the backdrop of the international financial and sovereign debt crisis, this article revisits the development of the counter-globalization movements in the global North over the past thirteen years. How can we explain that the systemic failures of the current order are not being met through a broad ideological formation posing a serious challenge to the neoliberal hegemony in international politics and political economy? Why have the mass protests at summit meetings and democratic deliberation experiments at social forums not prepared the ground for such an ideological formation? Drawing on (neo-)Gramscian concepts, this paper argues that the counter-globalization movements' ‘war of maneuver’ has not been complemented by an adequate ‘war of position’. Counter-hegemonic dissent articulated broadly on the streets has not translated into counter-hegemonic capacity. Without focusing on movement-internal reasons, this article highlights the role played by the strength of the opponent in preventing such success. Our analysis sheds light on three important macro-contextual factors: the difficulties created for establishing counter-hegemony in international politics when hegemonic powers insulate themselves from critique; the co-optation of critical discourse that is achieved by bending critique into a new legitimation strategy for neoliberal measures; and the de-politicization of power relations by current international security discourses and policies. Together, these macro-contextual factors help explain how neoliberal forces successfully prevent counter-globalization movements from moving from ‘war of maneuver’ to ‘war of position’ and becoming counter-hegemonic, even in times of neoliberal crisis.

Desde el punto de vista de la crisis de la deuda soberana y financiera internacional, este artículo vuelve a tratar el desarrollo de los movimientos antiglobalización en el norte global, durante los últimos trece años. ¿Cómo podemos explicar que los fallos sistémicos del orden actual no se hayan satisfecho mediante una formación ideológica amplia, planteando un reto serio a la hegemonía neoliberal en las políticas internacional y económica? ¿Por qué no han preparado el terreno, las protestas masivas en las reuniones cumbre y en los experimentos de deliberación democrática en los fórums sociales, para tal formación ideológica? A partir de conceptos (neo-)gramscianos, este artículo sostiene que ‘los movimientos antiglobalización, ‘la guerra de maniobra’ no han sido complementados por una adecuada ‘guerra de posición’. La disidencia antihegemónica ampliamente articulada en las calles, no se ha reflejado en una capacidad antihegemónica. Sin enfocarse en las razones de los movimientos internos, este artículo destaca el rol jugado por la fuerza del oponente, para prevenir tal logro. Nuestro análisis esclarece tres importantes factores macrocontextuales: las dificultades creadas para establecer una antihegemonía en la política internacional, cuando los poderes hegemónicos se aíslan de la crítica, la cooptación de un debate crítico que se logra doblegando a la crítica a una nueva estrategia de legitimación para medidas neoliberales; y la despolitización de las relaciones del poder mediante debates de seguridad y política. Juntos, estos factores macrocontexuales ayudan a explicar cómo las fuerzas neoliberales previenen exitosamente a los movimientos antiglobalización de pasar de una ‘guerra de maniobra’ a una ‘guerra de posición’ y volverse antigemónicos, incluso en tiempos de crisis neoliberales.

以国际金融和主权债务危机为背景,本文重新思考过去13年的全球的北方的反全球化运动的演变。我们如何解释,当前秩序的系统性失败并未产生一个对国际政治和国际政治经济中的新自由主义霸权构成严峻挑战的宽广的意识形态构成？为什么在各类峰会中的大规模抗议和在各类社会论坛中民主的主张之实验没有为这样的意识形态构成准备依据？借助（新）葛兰西主义的概念,本文认为,反全球化运动的“策略战争”（war of maneuver）并未被足够的“立场战争”（war of position）所补充。 街头的广泛的反霸权的异议并未转化为反霸权的能力。并未聚焦于运动的内部理由,本文强调反全球化的优点组织了这样的成功。我们的分析着重于三大重要的宏观背景因素：国际政治中建立反霸权的困难性,当霸权的各国不理会批评;批评的话语的被吸收,新自由主义措施的新立法策略纳入了一些批评;由目前的国际安全话语和政策而存在的大国关系的去政治化 （de-politicization） 。综合起来,这些宏观的背景因素帮助解释了,即使在新自由主义的危机时代,新自由主义势力如何成功地阻挡了反全球化运动从“策略的战争”到“立场的战争”以及反霸权。

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На фоне международного финансового и полновластного долгового кризисов, статья пересматривает развитие антиглобализационных движений в странах Севера за последние тринадцать лет. Как можно объяснить, что системные сбои существующего порядка не решаются в рамках широкого идеологического формирования, представляя серьезную проблему для неолиберальной гегемонии в международной политике и политической экономии? Почему массовые протесты против встреч на высшем уровне и демократические эксперименты, рассмотренные на социальных форумах не подготовили почву для такого идеологического формирования? С опорой на неограмшианские понятия, в статье утверждается, что “маневренная война” антиглобализационных движений не была дополнена адекватной “позиционной войной”. Контргегемонистское инакомыслие, широко сформулированное на улицах, не привело к контргегемонистской мощи. Не сосредотачиваясь на причинах внутри движения, эта статья выдвигает на первый план роль, которую силы противника играют в предотвращении такого успеха. Наш анализ проливает свет на три важных макроконтекстных фактора: созданы трудности для основания контргегемонии в международной политике, при изоляции гегемонистских держав от критики; кооптация критического дискурса, которая достигается путем перехода критики в новую стратегию легитимизации неолиберальных мер; и деполитизации властных отношений на действующих международных дискурсах о безопасности и политике. Вместе эти макроконтекстуальные факторы помогают объяснить, как неолиберальные силы успешно препятствуют тому, чтобы антиглобализационные движения перешли от “маневренной войны” к “войне позиционной” и стали контргегемонией даже во времена неолиберального кризиса.     

Local Armed Uprisings and the Transnational Image of Claim Making: The Kurds of Turkey and the Zapatistas of Mexico in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to explore why and how some local armed uprisings are able to go global with a transnational image of ‘social justice’ while others fail to build such image despite becoming transnational. The cases to be analyzed in the article are the pro-Kurdish mobilization in the leadership of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Turkey and the pro-Mayan Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) movement in Mexico. In explaining the relative success of the latter, the study seeks to make connections with the globalization literature in general and the transnational social movement literature in particular. Particularly, the article focuses on the ability of social movements to market their causes in international arena with a good image. Overall, this study lays out several key strategic differences between the two movements such as the holding and the use of arms, duration of armed resistance, and the leadership and organizational structure to unpack why some social movements are more successful to market their causes as a just cause within ‘global civil society’ and why others fail to do so ending with being listed as a terrorist organization.     

Media and information praxis of young activists in the Umbrella Movement

Young people were key participants in the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong and the media also played an important role in this protest. This study examines how Hong Kong’s young activists developed communication strategies and media practices to mobilize this social movement. A framework termed “media and information praxis of social movements” is proposed for the analysis. The findings showed that in their praxis, the young activists used their media and information literacy skills to initiate, organize, and mobilize collective actions. They not only used social media and mobile networks but also traditional mass media and street booths in a holistic and integrated approach to receive and disseminate information. Hence, these young activists served as agents of mediatization. The results also indicated that the young activists moved away from the traditional movement mode which just tried to motivate a large number of people to protest in the streets. They actively engaged in the new movement mode, which emphasizes the media and information power game. Their praxis in the Umbrella Movement reflects the trend toward the mediatization of social movements in Hong Kong.     

Antenarrative and Transnational Labour Rights Activism: Making Sense of Complexity and Ambiguity in the Interaction between Global Social Movements and Global Corporations

Abstract

This paper draws on antenarrative research and writing techniques to analyse the long-running transnational campaign seeking to improve respect for human rights in the supply chains of Nike and other major sportswear companies. The antenarrative approach challenges scholars to look beyond pre-existing expectations, both in terms of which actors and processes are likely to be most influential and in terms of what is motivating participation in those processes which are significant. In this paper we construct antenarrative accounts of two aspects of the Nike campaign and counterpoint each of our antenarratives with an established scholarly account based on more traditional narrative approaches. We conclude antenarrative analysis can provide useful insights into interaction between global activist networks and global corporations, particularly by drawing attention to the generative possibilities of the complex combination of ordered and disordered processes which often characterise that interaction.     

Discursive opportunities and the transnational diffusion of ideas: ‘brainwashing’ and ‘mind control’ in Japan after the Aum Affair

A case study in the sociology of ideas, this article refines the theory of ‘discursive opportunities’ to examine how intellectual claims cross national and linguistic boundaries to achieve public prominence despite lacking academic credibility. Theories of ‘brainwashing’ and ‘mind control’ originally began in the United States in the 1960s as a response to the growth of new religious movements. Decades later in Japan, claims that so‐called ‘cults’ ‘brainwashed’ or ‘mind controlled’ their followers became prominent after March 1995, when new religion Aum Shinrikyō gassed the Tokyo subway using sarin, killing thirteen. Since then, brainwashing/mind control have both remained central in public discourse surrounding the ‘Aum Affair’ despite their disputed status within academic discourse. This article advances two arguments. Firstly, the transnational diffusion of brainwashing/mind control from the US to Japan occurred as a direct result of the 1995 Tokyo sarin attack, which acted as a ‘discursive opportunity’ for activists to successfully disseminate the theories in public debate. Secondly, brainwashing/mind control became successful in Japanese public discourse primarily for their normative content, as the theories identified ‘brainwashing/mind controlling cults’ as evil, violent and profane threats to civil society.     

Staying the Course: On the Value of Social Studies of Science in Resistance to the “Post‐Truth” Movement

Scientific knowledge has been under attack recently, especially during and from the Trump administration. This article discusses the value of research in social studies of science in relation to scientific practice and post‐truth attacks on science. This literature analyzes the expert work and social values that enter into the production of evidence, the development and testing of methods, and the construction of theoretical and epistemological frames for connecting evidence, methods, and methodologies. Although researchers in this area argue that there are politics in science, this article demonstrates that their analyses of the processes of adjudicating evidence and epistemologies contribute to science. In contrast, post‐truth attacks on scientific expertise exemplify a particular kind of politics aimed at supporting a particular group's political and economic interests.