Class 12: Globalization and Governance Sociology 2 Copyright
2014 by Evan Schofer Do not copy or distribute without
permission
Slide 2
Announcements Midterm grading underway Should be done in about
a week Todays class: Global civil society & social movements
The global environmental movement (an example)
Slide 3
Review: Governance Issue: Can we do anything about the negative
consequences of globalization? Stiglitz recommends we reform
governance What does he mean? Governance: Ruling, governing, or
managing Sovereignty: Supreme power or authority to govern a
territory; Being free from external control The US government has
total sovereignty if no external political body can make rules/laws
in its territory Related term: autonomy
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Global governance: Treaties Treaty: An agreement among nations
to follow a set of rules Nations sign treaties about war/peace,
economy, environment, etc. Ex: 1972 Biological Weapons Convention
Prohibits the use of biological weapons. Ex: GATT: General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Set rules for global trade, prior to
the WTO Ex: Montreal Protocol on CFC emissions An environmental
treaty, in which countries agreed to ban chemicals that damage the
Ozone layer
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Global governance: IGOs IGO: Inter-governmental Organization:
An organization whose members are governments A kind of global
government Manages cooperation & agreements among countries
Example: The United Nations
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Governance: The UN Basic UN Info Founded 1945 after WWII
Originally 51 countries, now 193 members Initial focus: maintain
peace, avoid disastrous wars Goals have broadened: economic
development, health, human rights, environmental protection, etc.
UN system includes: The World Health Organization (WHO) Works to
improve health (e.g., vaccination programs) The UN Security Council
Makes decisions about war/conflict UNICEF UN international
childrens emergency fund World Bank
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Governance: IGOs More examples of inter-governmental
organizations (IGOS) Ex: The World Trade Organization (WTO) Ex: The
World Bank Governments created it to reduce poverty and encourage
development via loans and projects Ex: The International Monetary
Fund: Works to stabilize the global financial system, avoid
economic disasters Often acts as lender of last resort for
countries in trouble Ex: European Union An supra-national
government that coordinates (and in some cases has the power to
set) economic & trade policies for member countries Ex: UNEP:
The United Nations Environment Program Branch of the UN; urges
nations to address environmental issues
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Civil Society Civil society: Citizen activity in the public
sphere that is not part of the state Social movements: Sustained
efforts by members of civil society to challenge existing
governance and produce social change Protests a common strategy of
social movements
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Governance: Definitions Some components of civil society:
Non-governmental Organization (NGO) A domestic association Clean
Water Action; The Nature Conservancy Also sometimes called
non-profits or associations International non-governmental
organization (INGO) An association that is international in terms
of membership scope Ex: Greenpeace, Amnesty International Labor
unions Groups that represent the interest of workers.
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Key Players in Global Governance
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Governance: Issue to reflect on Issue: Who should be able to
participate in making the rules for governing globalization? Just
states? Domestic or international NGOs & social movements?
Random people? What would a more democratic global governance look
like?
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Video: Commanding Heights Issue: Who writes the rules of global
governance? Debates about global governance, and the anti-
globalization movement Episode 3, Chapters 15-17 (12 minutes) Time
index: 1:14:35 1:25:50
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Video: Commanding Heights If time allows: Inequality,
governance, and the future of globalization Issue: Should NAFTA be
expanded? Free trade area of the americas (FTAA) Bush 2
administration and many developing countries wanted to do that
Multilateral negotiation But, many major protests Commanding
Heights, episode 3 1:41:06 to 1:49:50 (9 minutes)
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Civil Society & Governance How does civil society affect
governance? 1. National civil society and social movements put
pressure on states Example: US environmental organizations put
pressure on governments to address problems or participate in
global treaties 2. Global civil society and social movements can
put pressure on states and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs)
Ex: Greenpeace can try to pressure countries around the world; and
put pressure on the World Bank.
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Civil Society & Governance How does civil society affect
governance? 3. Globalization increases the opportunities of civil
society Optional reading in Week 8: Keck and Sikkink 1998 National
civil society can gain assistance from other states or global civil
society Ex: Domestic human rights protestors are often unsuccessful
by themselves due to repression But, domestic protestors can
increasingly appeal to the international community Domestic
protestors can get help from international NGOs or people in
wealthy nations Increasing their chances of success.
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Civil Society & Governance Civil society strategies: 1.
Education / creating awareness of problems And, encouraging people
to change behavior 2. Lobbying/fundraising to affect elections 3.
Contentious politics direct challenge to state (or international)
authority Demonstrations; civil disobedience; even violent acts
(e.g., destroying a plant genetics lab) Issue: Social movements
often use all of these strategies to generate change.
Slide 17
Growth of Global Civil Society Global civil society has been
growing rapidly:
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The origins of social movements When does civil society become
active? When do we get social movements? Ex: Arab spring protests
in Egypt, elsewhere Example: Occupy Wall Street Widespread protests
in NY in 2011; spread globally
Slide 19
Global environmental movement Deforestation, habitat loss,
biodiversity loss By David Biello
http://www.scientificamerican.com/slideshow.cfm?id=landscapes-of-http://www.scientificamerican.com/slideshow.cfm?id=landscapes-of-
extraction-and-heavy-industry&photo_id=ED824DB3-F06E-BAA0-088E5A0A95BCC56C
Slide 20
Global environmental movement
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Global Environmental Movement The global environmental movement
Civil society efforts to address environmental problems on a global
scale Historical background: Prior to 1950, there were few attempts
to systematically address environmental problems Starting in 1960s,
rapid social change occurred: Growth of a popular environmental
movement in US and Europe First major national laws to halt
pollution.
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Global Environmental Movement 1970s: Environmentalism goes
global 1972: First major international conference addressing
environmental issues Big growth in INGOs, treaties, IGOs By 1990s
Large numbers of environmental NGOs and INGOs National and global
civil society Many international treaties & IGOs Increased
global governance International movements and governance linked to
changes in government policies Nearly all countries have
environmental protection laws, addressing air, water, etc.
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Trends in Environmental Protection Source: Frank et al.
2000
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The Global Environmental Movement Question: Why has the global
environmental movement been (somewhat) successful? This isnt to say
that all problems have been solved But, there has been remarkable
social change over last 30 years Most common explanation:
Environmental problems (pollution, disasters) got so bad that
people got angry, frustrated As a result: people banded together
around common concerns, began to fight for social change In short,
social problems (or grievances) generate social movements.
Slide 25
Grievances & social movements Grievance-based explanations
of social movements are very appealing And, are echoed by social
movement participants, themselves Sociologists are critical of such
explanations Classic work by Tilly; Macadam, McCarthy & Zald.
Historically, many important social problems and grievances have
not produced effective movements For instance: Poorest & most
oppressed rarely revolt Ex: Environmental protests are more likely
in clean suburbs, rather than urban/industrial areas.
Slide 26
Grievances and social movements Environmental grievances have
existed for centuries, without prompting a movement Example: London
fog, which killed people in the 19 th & 20 th centuries Extreme
example: Great Smog of 1952 At least 4,000 direct deaths, possibly
10,000 additional Wouldnt you expect a much stronger environmental
movement then?
Slide 27
Origins of social movements What makes a social movement
happen? Scholars of the civil rights movement observed the
following requirements: 1. Resource mobilization Social movements
require resources: Money, people, organizational capacity Example:
Black churches in the American South Example: Anti-globalization
protestors in Commanding Heights video. They were skilled college
students with free time and strong organizational capacity.
Slide 28
Origins of social movements Environmentalism in US and Europe
started among wealthy suburbanites They were professionals, with
lots of money, organizational capacity Environmental movement was
not started by those most directly affected by urban pollution,
environmental health threats.
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Origins of social movements What makes a social movement
happen? 2. Political Opportunities Success of social movement
depends a lot on the political environment: 1. Overall level of
political repression Example: Protest is rare in authoritarian
countries 2. Kind of party in power; Allies in high places Example:
Unions fared worse under Reagan, Thatcher.
Slide 30
Origins of social movements The environmental movement emerged
in the 1960s The country (and government) was moving to the left,
and there was a willingness to address new ideas and new social
problems Also, subsequent shifts in leadership affected the
environmental movement The environmental movement fared better
under Clinton & Obama than Reagan & Bush 1 & 2
Slide 31
Origins of social movements What makes a social movement
happen? 3. Framing Framing refers to strategic use of potent images
and symbols (cognitive frames) to support a cause Think of it as PR
for social movements Example: Pro-choice vs. Pro life Example:
Anti-globalization unions equate manufacturing job with American
way of life Free Trade will turn us into a 3 rd world country Can
you think of more examples?
Slide 32
Origins of social movements Environmentalists have a long
history of successful framing Example: Animal rights movement
effectively used images of baby seals being killed by clubs
Example: Rachel Carsons book Silent Spring Also, they use cultural
frames and arguments from science to press their cause They borrow
the authority of science.
Slide 33
The Global Environmental Movement Result: Global environmental
movement was relatively successful in US, Europe, and on a global
scale States enacted basic laws to protect air, water, consumers,
etc Treaties and IGOs were formed to protect endangered species,
certain pollutants (e.g., CFCs).
Slide 34
The Global Environmental Movement Does the environmental
movement matter? Is the environment really improving? Or, are we
all doomed? Answer: Mixed results Im cautiously optimistic. In some
cases, environmental destruction has been reversed due to citizen
action & government reform: Air pollution in many US cities
Water pollution of lakes and rivers Some endangered species (e.g.,
elephants).
Slide 35
The Environmental Movement Some environmental problems are
getting worse, but not as fast as predicted (given growth of
population, GDP) Ex: deforestation Finally, some environmental
problems just keep getting worse and worse Ex: habitat destruction
(ex: rainforests), overuse of antibiotics, etc.
Slide 36
The Global Environmental Movement Overall: the global
environmental movement has had some important successes This is
notable to sociologists, because many social movements fail utterly
Especially those that challenge the interests of capitalists BUT:
HUGE challenges remain The magnitude of the problem is staggering
In world of 7 billion people and over $50 trillion of yearly
economic activity, there is a lot of degradation Further successes
will be needed.
Slide 37
If time remains: Amusing Video:
Video\If_Star_Wars_was_made_by_environmentalists...
mp4Video\If_Star_Wars_was_made_by_environmentalists... mp4 Issues
raised in the video: Environmentalists do not have much power Often
engage in symbolic activities This speaks to theories we will
discuss next week Some theories argue that the rich and powerful
will always get their way Others suggest that symbolic actions
(e.g., by environmentalists) can be consequential Issue to ponder:
What do you think?
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Upcoming Readings: Theories Issue: What is a theory? Little t
theory: A specific claim: an argument that leads to empirical
predictions Example: Economic law of supply and demand A theory
(laws are just theories that work well) Claim: prices reflect
equilibrium of supply and demand We can test this theory with
experiments Big T Theory: Big ideas: A broad set of ideas and
imageries about the social world Big ideas that guide researchers
and help to generate specific (little t) theories Example: Marxist
theory: not just a single prediction
Slide 42
Theories Marxism (big T Theory) combines: 1. Observations about
the nature of capitalism e.g., exploitation of labor 2.
Identification of important dynamics e.g., dialectics, historical
shift from feudalism to capitalism 3. Development of new concepts
e.g., Alienation, false consciousness 4. Complex predictions about
the future e.g., capitalist revolution, socialism 5. Normative
evaluations This broader kind of theory is useful because it
generates a rich description of the world And produces many
specific claims to be tested But, it isnt easy to prove right or
wrong.
Slide 43
Main Theories: The Economy General perspectives on the economy:
Readings by Brawley, Sernau 1.Adam Smith: Markets as prosperity
& progress Liberalism, Neo-liberalism 2. Karl Marx: Markets as
a destructive force Cause of inequality and misery 3. Keynesianism:
Markets as beneficial but unstable Markets need to be regulated to
be stable Workers and vulnerable groups need protection Also
discussed in Serneau reading: Optimal hybrid?
Slide 44
Main Theories: Sociology Covered in readings by Sernau, Schofer
et al 1. Modernization theory An optimistic view that societies
will develop and become more prosperous 2. World System Theory
(W-Sys) Related view: Dependency Theory. I will lump them together,
despite some differences Building on Marx: economic exploitation
will perpetuate global inequality 3. World Society Theory (W-Soc)
Also called world polity theory, Institutional or neo-
institutional theory Argues that international institutions and
global culture are reshaping the world.
Slide 45
Main Theories: Political Science Covered by Brawley (and next
week) 1. Realism Also called: Neo-realism, the realist view A
theory emphasizing the importance of military (not economic) power
2. Institutionalism / interdependence WARNING: World Society Theory
also called institutionalism Interdependence has lead to the
creation of global institutions. Power isnt the only thing that
matters. 3. Constructivism A political science version of World
polity theory Global norms and ideas influence countries
Slide 46
Readings: Week 7 Serneau, Scott. Class: A World of Rich and
Poor. Provides general background on global inequality Reviews
broad theories of the economy Adam Smith & the economists
(optimistic) Karl Marx (pessimist) Reviews two main sociology
theories: Why are some nations rich and some poor? Modernization
theory (optimistic) Dependency theory (pessimistic) Similar to
World-system theory
Slide 47
Readings: Week 7 Brawley, Mark R. 2003. Theoretical Lenses for
Viewing Globalization A more challenging reading Reviews
perspectives on markets Adam Smith: Markets as a source of progress
Keynesians: Markets as a source of instability Marx: Markets as a
destructive force Reviews theories from political science Realism
Institutionalism / Interdependence Constructivism.
Slide 48
Readings: Week 7 Schofer, Evan, Ann Hironaka, David Frank, and
Wesley Longhofer. 2011. Sociological Institutionalism and World
Society. Describes world society theory Also called world polity
theory or neo-institutional theory