CHAPTER-IV

NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATlONS THEORY: A STUDY

OF LINKAGES

1 i1e last icvo th:t:ades of thc 20'" century witnessed the proliferation

and i~rtc.~~ict~ori 01' iron-state actors in global politics. Cultural groups,

women. tribal>. en,\ llorrmental organisations and a number of non-

traditiollal global actolrs havu colne fonvard to critically and creatively

engage 11.1 the global Lrrcna and to put pressurc on international institutions

to implement po~icic:, 11.1 tivour 01' local entities and national minorities. It

is a tran>c:ulturai and ir;insnational gathering of the peripheral entities in the

social rc;iltn. l lie i~lcoiogical b;ise and mobilization strategies of the

movelrrcnts are cliver,xt but the! lind a common ground in challenging the

traditiorl~ri order of' plobal politici. I h c emergence and strengthening of

trans-borclcr cic i i socrely ;~ctivit~es through new social movements (NSMs)

contrihutc to \\li;it At~lli-cw l.iriklater described as the '-widening of the

tnoral hotindarlei r,t'tI~< political com~n~~nities". l'

( '~)ntemporao ~~ltemational relations is characterised by neoliberalism,

which c e k s to privi1c:e private irltercsts and market fi)rccs. The state-owned

enterpriycs and iolnlllcin propcrtlcs are increasingly privatised in such a

context ihe statc hecc~mcs an Important agency of assertion and spreading

of neo-liberal Itleas itr~d practices. It is in this situation of the changing

character of thc statc that t ic see an increasing disillusionment of the

people \\ith stale p~)lltics atld the dominant parties by the people. The

neolibcr-a1 intcrnation;~l structure. in a way, is also characterised by the

existcncc and assert~on c ~ ) f ' i t5 o\vn oppositional entities in the form of

NSMs. i he dc-cenrrcd civil society movements lnostly represent an

anarchist idca (!I' thc xsorld. and such an idea is positioned against

neolibct.;~i global li)rc~,>.

I t I S in this hacl.;:;round that International Relations (IR) theories are

re-articulated. pitrtic~riarl? in ihc context of the third debate in the

disciplir~c I'his rc-WOI-king has opcned up possibilities of considering non-

traditioni~i aspects ot p~)l~tics operationalised by civil society entities like

new soc~sl rnovelnenl.~ I'he NSMh are not only instru~nental in unleashing

a politic. ti-o~n helo\\ hu t the? provide opportunities for re-dcfining

traditional perspt~ctivr~:~ on security. sovereignty, power and democracy.

Both thc pol~t~cal reali~ies and the fresh perspectives evolved thus create

what Petcr Waterman ~tlentitied a \ "new internationalism". 2

1 lri. domnrdnt J~,coursc of development and the practices and policies

related I , such a pc~spccti\c have evolved a hegemonic global-local

interactioli.' l'hc devt:lopmentalist constitution of international relations

through ~nstitut~onal. date and other organisational means resulted in

localis;ltiorr o t trmrsnar~~.)nai capital and the strengthening of national and local

hierarch~c:~ that i<)ciellc,; inherited If new social movements emerged as a

critique r j i thls tlominarlt develop~rlcntalist enterprise, they tried to question

the r e c e ~ ~ e d pouer mucture trom local sites of struggle. I'his "new

internationalism". a broader netnork of peripheral communities from local to

internatio~~al levels. is ;I rnqor ti)cus of this chapter.

The 1)evelopmental Paradigm

1I1c delclopmcnt discc>ursc. either of the institutionalist form or its

new :~vilti~r neol~heral~\~n. evol\ ecl in various fhrms in the realm of civil

societ!. I he dc\clop~~~entalist in~ernational order oE things not merely

affects (111: ..internatiorldl" arena. hut it has a determining influence on, in

Eve11 i h o u g h I'crer L$aterlnan rt.lki-red tu this idea with respect to new labour ino\cnlc.nts. there is ;I possibilit~ S I T using it in the context of the assertion of N S M \ %re I'crcr M :ircrrnan. ( ; /~~h~r l i z t r / io t i . Social ,Wovement.s onti the New l n t ~ ~ r r z ~ ~ i ~ o n i t l r . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ( I . < , I . I < ~ I ) I > . 200 I 8

' Sec At-taro I s u ~ h a r . I(etlcctiont .,n 1)evclopment: Grassroots Approaches and Altern'ltive Policlcs i t1 illc l ' h i r ~ l Lborld". b'cr~ures (June. 1992). pp.41 1-36.

Ilaber~ni~\ \ tcrm~ltoloo'*. he ' I~te worlds" of people. Ecological settings,

reproduclivc s\sLem:;. humall rclations etc. are constructed with a

tl~\toricall\. thc r~rimedi,~te post-mar decades are identified as the

decade\ ot developme~~tal~sm. Ihc I rurnan Doctrine placed developmentalism

as onc ot the carti~nal roti ions of International relat~ons. President Truman

emphawed th<~t ihr. 'underde\cloped' needs the assistance of the

'developed' tor tlevelopment. I hl\ division of the world into two opposing

camp\ such as 'tlcveloped' and ur~derdcveloped' gave rise to a hierarchical

idea ol internat~onal relations Oevelopmentalism produced a periphery

5 outsidc I t i locus l'he p12ripheric.i arc a realm of the have-nots.

Social mt~venlt:nt\ of the last fifty years thus emerged from the

periplicr~<s to secure I he right to devclop. to progress and to assert the right

to lilc ol the oppressed. Arturo t xobar. while uncovering the link between

developn~en( ant1 S ~ L I ; I [ movements. argued that social movements could

not he placed orltsidc rhc: dekeloplnental paradigm.' Local development is

" A I . I L I I ~ ~ t.'rcohxr. ~ r i n I Post-1)evelopmenl a : Critical Thought, I)e\,clopmenr . ~ n d ! \ i j g : i ; ~ l Mo\emcnts." Socitrl Texl, Vol.lO. No.2 & 3 (1992). pp.2 I 54

a central tlotion of'thc political tliscoursc in third world countries. 'Local'

is a constr.uct ot (he tlc.\,elopmer~talis~n. It projects local as underdeveloped

scctor bcc;luse o l the iack ' of c;~p~tal . information, and knowledge.

7 S;r~nir .4m1n . ,\ndre (;under Frank8 and others have criticized

traditionill social mmemcnts for Idling under the yoke of the colonial

developnrcntalist discr)ursi.. l l l c intellectual and experiential realisation that

social nl(~vements couitl not nro\c out of the do~nain of hegemony of

developrlrcntalis~~~. challenged the tnoral base of modem social movements

from tht. late 1960s. 'I'liis crisis a b e birth to new kinds of social movements

known as NSMs Thc 1970s niarkcd an ideological shift and a style of work

that is drl'l'erent ti.orn i.h;i~t o f modenr social movements.' The birth of NSMs is

the real~/i~tion 0 1 a rrc\v historical context; it is a creative response to the

socio-political rc;ilitie\ 111' the cllar~ged era. I'he challenge of NSMs was to

' Silii~ir , \min. .hociai ilo\ernetit\ ; I I the Periphery". in Ponna Wignaraja (ed.) New S o I o n . 1 I S o / fi.rnpo\t.ering the People (New Delhi, 1993), pp. 7(,- 1 0 1 1

X ,411drc (;under tvranh illid Matla Ibllentes, "Nine Theses on Social Movements", in Gh;rn\lryarn Sli;tIi, S.1, ,iri .Lfo~en~c,tl/.\ rnld /he Stule (New Delhi. 2002), pp.32-55

%I In rll i I o r 1')60s. v.c i .~l rnovcnients were inore or less ideologically Jomii~i~teci b? lie ' c i ;~ \ s ' ~rientation. whereas afier 1960s we can see the assertion of 'identit) ' a h their i rntra l crjnccrn. Sce Sara1 Srakar. Green Al/ernutive Politics in it'c\! (;errntrr~v: 7 1 ~ 2 ; ~ Soc.ii11 Ilovetnenl.~ (New Delhi. 1993).

criticall) cngagc with ihe local \ ~ t c constituted by developmentalism, while

being critlcal of the notion of' development itself."

' 1 ' 1 1 ~ non-slate < : ~ v i l cntitics have become important arenas of power

struggle in the contcut of ihc emergence of NSMs. A critique of

develop~nent evolved ,tnd gren along with a critique of traditional social

organisatlons and hierarchies held fast by institutions like the church. The

latter shape to a new brand of spiritual articulation known as 'liberation

theolog Ihe ~dcolog? and pra~ttcc of' liberation theology was instrumental

I I in giklng birth IO nulllerous alternative social movements. The role of

religion has beer' anbivalent to\zards the hegemony and marginalisation

created h! the develop~llcntalist experience and worldview."

I hc Second V'it~can Council inaugurated a new era of faith

I ~ movements at the global level. I he 'social movement industries', that is, a

1 0 The n'uure and ~)rien~atior~ of varlons agitations such as Chilika Bachao Andolan for rights over the Iahc water. C'hattisgarh Mukthi Morcha on mining issues, South li~dian I landlooln Wea\;erh .\ssociation's strike against establishment of mech;ll~isation and a \ 2 1 i ~ 1 of strikcs led by the NFF etc. indicate this phenomena. See tiV.Thom;~s (ed. : .Strike 11 .\VM' : W e Stur lent I'ower (Thiruvalla, 1993); Ajitha \usan (;ei)rge li,d. I .';etrrcil for /lltrrntifive.s (Thiruvalla. 1991); Sammie P. Formi llua (cd. I Soliil~ir.i/~~ wirh / h i Peol)le.s Slruggle in Asiu (l'rivandrum, 1990).

Sec I1;ivid Rogers. l'oii~rcs l ' , r i~ ,er ~ m d Prrrliameni (1,ondon. 2000) and Christ~~pher Ro\r land i ih~,rtr/iotr iheologv (Cambridge. 1099).

lntcr\~cw with t r. i\ I \ \ S I U S 1 ) Ii~rnandez. Alappuzha, 16 October 2001; Br. Vinccn~ Benedlct. c l i k r 08 March 2002. Fr. Joseph Thomas. Kottal.;~hkara. 0' Ma? .'IN)!.

I3 Sec Rc~wland. 11 I I ; i<<,gcrh. n I I. (lustavo Gutierrez. Thc Power of the Poor in H;.sIo~.I (I,ondo~i. 198: I : .I Sobrill,, 1he Y i ~ l t , ('hurch unti the C'hurch ofthe Poor (Lo~idol~. 1985 1

set 0 1 social movemcrrl:i that rclnlorce developmental agendas and reproduce

them or1 a world scalc hy resisting the possibility of challenging the existing

pdradiglrl. originating Il.orn the Wcst, planted their units in the soil of many

third world countries. 5ebcmo. l3ilaiance. Caritas, Presbyterian Hunger Fund

and a nutnber olother hoc~al rnoietnent industries thus got transplanted in the

local spacc of many th~tti \vorld societies. Development has been the prime

;-I impcra t~~e for tlicir fi~~iction. 411 such industries uot only transplant their

organizatronal slructurc and working pattern. but they thoroughly observe and

monitor minute social ~rartslbrmations in the local society. Thus, through the

movancnt industry. t h ~ local camc under the keen surveillance of the global

powers. ;\ccording to I'tzter Watcnnan. over a period of time, we can see the

emergcncc of hourgcclmis and proletarian internati~nalism.'~ A capitalist

develop~nent pattern produced ~ n d reproduced bourgeois internationalism,

which \ \<IS retlccted t n tran\nat~onal network ol' faith movements and

moverncrll indu\rnes I hi, doe\ not imply that all movements related faith

Ir~~ernatio~lalisi~~.~o~~ of non-state actors is not a new phenomenon.

Various I-cligious ide~)lo,gies have ~raditionally been intemationalised in big

Sec I'rojec~ I k p ~ r t : . ~ 1 n ~ 1 M I I I L I I C ~ 1)evelopment Project for Inland Fishing Conln~llnity. I l i u n c l ~ : ~ 9 8 - 0 0 1 1: Virnochana Vidiyabhyasa Kendram, Nar;lnganm ( 1 '198-;!0Ii 1 ) . la i ia i .~ i~i~r thy. Alappuzha ( 1994-2000): Mochaka Jeevaha M u n n e ~ i ~ m ( 1 ' ) 7h- 1984)

waq\ i '11th nlo\emcllis of thc ~onlemporary era are typical non-state realm

that kecnly engage in the ~nternationalisation of their constituency.

.%rowing ccunreni:im amongst Christian churches, combined

, t \~th increasing relativc ~rcight of Third World Christianity,

111~ 'option for the poor' and liberation theologies, have led

ccrtain ihur~hcs or religious instances to make practical

contriburlon i o a non-scctarian internationalism, amongst

\~h ich is that of labour At a time when most labour and

ic~iialisl organr,:ations arc state-oriented and dominated by

'cconorn~c,' anti 'political' concerns. the Christian address to

nioral pr~nciple.; and hu~nan relationships can allow to

rcspond to. and even spon\or. a grass roots internationalism.

l the othcr spiritualistic t)r humanist beliefs of pre-capitalist

or~gin. such unr\!er.salisln l;lcks an understanding of political

ant1 econc~~nic processes. or. 01' spccitic strategies in the face

ol them (and therei'crre often depend on a simplistic t h Marxism I

lu (lie casc of ihc NPF. \\c h a ~ e already seen that the church and its

c ~ l l a b o r ~ ~ ~ t v e mo'iemrril industr~c\ OxFi~m. Caritas India, and the Bread for

'Poor enlered as the tnissionaries of 20th century developmentalism. The

ideology ol'thc Nt.'l:. ;I great extcnt. is derived from the critical theology -

liberat~on rheolog! - niovcrnents I he NPF that is moulded in the frame of

~- ~ - -

"' [bid.. p 10.

Christian theolog! used i'aith as ;I inohilization tool in the early 1980s. The

Christiarr faith bcconles a uniting factor of movement activism frorn local

to globill level5 As pointed out above. Christian faith movements are a

major social rnovemerll indust? in the world. The World Council of

Churcheh. missionan goups ;inti various charitable societies are best

example., in tlns track 'Irans~~ationalisation o i faith leads to the

transnatio~~alisatiw ol hocial mokernents in particular fonns and directions. In

the case or'NFF. [he Chtuch was lirnctioning as a forni of global civil society

and social movcnlenr l r rdus t~ that was working for the linkage of civil

entities ;II the transnaritrnal lekel. I'hus. Christian faith turns into a political

tool thr planting and n~ll-turing rnokement industries.

'I'tlz rnodcrn chu~.ch rnostl? works within the dominant development

paradig111 and i r w i d c ~ ~ s its ontology and cpiste~nology on the basis of

scientilic rationality. the central conception of modernity. Christian ideas

of resurrection arid lih~.ration bear their own new economic and political

mcaningh in thc 1noc.lcrn contcyt What \vc saw was the spread of the

theolog) of progress~vism across national boundaries. Transnational

missionar) work. tra~~snational faith and transnational relations are

tcrminologicallq sep;lrltc. but the trinity produced a transnational

instit~~tic,rr. A transnat~onal faith m(~vement in the colonial and postcolonial

days reprcsents thc prt.:;cnce o l a uansnational institution.

I I I the cahe s~ucly of the NFF. we mentioned how the Catholic

Church organized fisticrl~lk in the coastal belt. Faith is reflected as an

ideological tool here. I he fulcrum of early trade unionism of the fishworkers,

the Punnapra St. Josepli ('hurcli and I:r. Paul Arackel represent traditional

Church in the movement. In :I inovement perspective, Christian faith is the

'framc set' of thc neul:, ernerged non-party political formation. In the next

stage. lihcration iheolu::~ hecon~cs thc movement frame. In the 1980s, the

moverncrlt was highl? politicisetl and spiritualised by the influence of

liberati011 theology. I'~.ie,ts and nuns assumed the leadership of the

movement from local K O national and transnational levels. The movements

are linked. for resource n~obilization. frame setting, training of the activists

and thc like, at the tra11snation;ll lc\ cl.

( h e r the last t\\i) decade>. [he fishworkers movement has became a

network (~fvar ious ci\ 1 1 entities. l r i the primary stage, the church played a

leading r e Fishworkers co-operative societies. development societies,

local chur-ches. cultural ti)rurns. \\omen's groups, transnational movement

industrich teachers, prlests. nuns. professional social workers and media

persons are involved 1 1 ; he various stages of the struggle. Such networks

are orie of the niajor peculiarir~e\ of NSMs. There is no doubt that the

lishuorkcrs' movemcnl ill lndu I S indigenous but its transnational links

creatcti 1p1-oblems of' ,.lgi111icai11 psop<,rtions. Thus \vc see a bifurcation of

thc ino\cment :it a \:ritical Jilncture of its developmcnt. At different

instar~e~,h. the rnovcrncnt was li)rcetl to redefine its position because o f

transnatltmal prcssurc We thirth that the indigenous identity is a kind of

ideali/.;it~on 01' the n-lovement. i\ pure indigenous movement concept is

wrong hccause (he ne\v rnovenrerits are transnational. The claiming of the

indigenous idc~itity I > constr~icrcti in the context of 'otherness.' The

for ma ti or^ of Vvorld I-rsh blarvcsters and Fish Vendors Forum (WFF) and

the split in thc World Forum liv Fisher People (WFFP) constructed an

indigeno~is identity rid othcr~~ehs, between the South and the North.

Nearlq. 35.000 tkctorr fish trawlers are considered as the 'other' of the

third \\c~rld tishcrfolk isran and 4frlcan unions came into an alliance with

the Wl I 1'

\~,condl) the lur~e of dc~narcation between 'movement industry' and

'indigenous movcmerrt' has t'aded. Movement industries came in close

relations tbith t h ~ 'intilk:enous rno~cmcnts'. Oxfam immensely supports the

rnovenlcrlts indircctly. ;\ number 0 1 other movement industries came forward

to support the tishcnneri s cause lliesc movements are transnational. Thus, it

pavcd r h ~ way fbr the tr~rnlat io~~ i) l a transnational civil society. Now the fish

,workers rilovemcllt irr India ha:, comc in close contact with Green Peace

intematiorlal. Wc hail: seen tlic work of Asian Cultural I'orum On

I)evclopr~~cnt (At 'FOI) ) anti I khan Rural Mission (URM) of World

Council ot'Churches ( 'WCC) to mobilize and build a movement network in

transnational level. I his transformation led to the internationalisation of

social nlovemcnts lihc NI:F.

Internationalisation of Social Movements

(ilobal c~vil wcicty is considered as one of the pre-conditions for

global social movements. and at the same time. global civil society requires

global ~nititutio~rs f(,lr its survival and advancement. Global civil society,

global Inovemcnts a11d global i~lst i luti~ns are inseparably linked social

phenomena. A iransnalional net\\orh of the movements subscribes to a

cultur;~l component. er:or~olnic imperative and a political thrust. In short, it

is a 'glohai civ~i soc~t:~.': it is a realm of self-sustained institutions. It is

17 descrihcd as thc hopt i ~ f the people. At the same time. i t is important to

know h o u thesc mo\cnli.nts ha\c been constituted. Habermas observes

that (here is an intern~ediaq sphere in between the public and private

I B sphcrcs. rhis I > vev crucial. ;IS 5ocial movements are constituted in civil

socict!. iceording t1.t tiabemiiis. this "civil society" is an intermediary

spherc. I his is :I polit~(:al spherc. which comprises of a large number of

peoplc's inovel-nents. h(;Os, protkssional groups, religious groups, ctc. In

' Scc <utl!y Prasai-tset , I (ii (ed5.1, i r o m i lo/)e lo Aclion: The Allicrnce of People (13:irighoIi. 1992 ',

, X See R31her1 ( '. l iulul". .!rrr,cen il~th<~~tn<r.s ('rit ics in the Public Sphere (London, I O < ) l )

short. c~ \ . i l soclcty is ;I political sphere in between state and society and

therch) \ocial moveinl:nts are a political intermediary sphere. 19

I n a (iran~scia~l ,ense. the NSMs link personal to the public. In such

a wa). bocial mocemeut< challenge thc dichotomies between the public and

the pr~vatt: as ~ c l l as \yare and \oclcty. Feminist movements' position that

'perhon'll IS pol l~~cal ' I \ e ~ t e r n a blgnilicant in such a context. The situation

evolced througti thc NSMs <ontribute to a kind of evaporation of

traditivn;il political hollnclaries. I ransnational movements in another sense

challenged the drchotorn\. bct\\een the national and international. The

environlrimtal Inovelncnt, are ttncrther example in this regard. They raise

issues 01 global warlnrng. mlnltls. deforestation and such global issues,

while hcrng mo\cmerlr> that t'unct~on at the grassroots level. 20

(~lrrbal soc~al illc~vclnelits ,ire a co~nparatively new phenomenon that

evolved ,long ~vith (he unli,lding of the process of globalisation.21

Intem~tional Kelation:; t h c o ~ has been compelled to address new social

I Y See R~chard Falk anti ,\nclrel? Strnuss. "IJridging the Globalisation Gap: Toward Glohai l'arliament". hlr!? - I ~ , W ' M . , y / ~ h ~ ~ ~ ~ o ~ i c y . ~ ~ r ~ . n ~ o . ~ / i n ( ~ ~ ! x ~ htm.

'I' See Matxhehr I l c ~ r q . I)e~nocrac! and Civil Society in the fhird World: Politics and L Political Minen-lents". 171/!, i~~~~~~w:fin~Iorficle~~.~'om and Jacqueline Peel, "Cii\ing the I'uhlic a \ g ~ i c ~ : in thc f'nrtection of Global Environment: A Venue for Panicip;~~ion b j \GO'. i r i I)ispulc Resolution at the European Court of Justice and World I rade C)rgi~nisati~.~ri". hrl/). n~~~u~.~/ohal[~o/i~y.org~ngo.~/rn~iex.htm.

'I Calllet trlc Elchic. Glo/url I )emo(.,<ic 1.. Soc.i<ll Movements rrnd Feminism (Boulder. Co. 21'11 I I 1. pp. I .4<,-84

movemcllt issues In sucli a context Questions of nation-state and democracy

and issue> like cnvirc~n~nent. hcalth. scicnce and technology. human rights,

and c i ~ i l llherties. peace arms race. etc. are increasingly reinterpreted in the

contcxl 1.)1 social inovculcnts in I K . While there are universal characteristics

that arc visible in itlt: above issues. the local is the site where the

implications of them arc felt cons~derably. This understanding necessitated

the new wcial nloverncnts to "think globally and act locally", with an aim

to reti-a~nc sigr~rticatr~ concern,s such as development, democracy and

sustain:~h~lity as much o t the hrunt of global policies and technological

intervent~ons. en\ ironnrcntal degradation and militarisation. and international

conflicts are hori~ by ~rldigenous communities in different parts of the globe.

Confionling the 9lob;il extent o l the chain of power of events and policies

incrcasir~~ly bccome, an inlportant political question for local

communrties. It 1s in mcl-1 a situation that global social movements evolve

and the! contest glohiii power i:onfiguration that extend its wings to local

arena ol our li t t '

h ~ . w .;oc~al nrt),icments ihus are political movements linking the

local. ni~t~onal a id the internatit~n;il lcvcls of our world. 'l'hesc tnovements'

ideolog~c~il bast is complex and their struggle fronts are multi-faceted.

Thcq iirc not \inglc.--~ssuc mo\cments like the old ones. New social

nlovcnlc~lts create a \pact tor the people to interact with transnational

;igencics. lo pressurize tile nation-states to adopt favourable standpoints on

behalf'of the people. 01182 can approach these new movements as new vistas

of trans-border de~nocr'icg fhe Mlnamata Ileclaration asserts:

in these blp countries and in smaller ones. in every region.

to\\n, and villagc. the people are on the move. And they are

a\\;lre of each i.)l.her as ncvcl- before. looking after each other,

co~nmunicating. joining i n unprecedented ways. All of this is

net\. It 1s [he rrlain force defining our situation and the main

reason for this :gathering. ./cmukasllaba2' is the spirit of the

people in our tllne. I'his I S why we do not hesitate, despite

e\crything. this ientun has brought us. to declare that the

2 1 st century wrll be the century of hope."

I \ there eiv~l societ) at the global level is a moot question in

movelnent rebearch. \oclal mo\elnents are formed as responses to the

structural strains of ;i society. (ilobalization as a multifaceted phenomenon

producc ,I structural transtorn~atlor~ at the global leve~.~%e internationalisation

of natlon-\tale changes the way\ 01 power articulation. Global classes come to

the centrc stage ot nat~ortal polrtli\ (iradually. social movements recognize

that cantcmporary loc'il lbsues ~ r c reflection5 of global change. New

'' ':l(rtr~rkit.vhclhtr. ' a word i l l the M ~ r ~ t r ! n a t ; ~ dialect. means "cr worldsttmciing not like thi\ "

23 M I I I I ~ I I U 1 1 1 r a t ill Prasarchel rr. 01.. n. 17. p. 18. .J Sec Stcphan )lobe. "(ilohal Cliullcnges to Statehood: I'he Increasingly Important

Kolc ,;t' Non-(iovtrn~nrntal ( Irgnnisations". http.~/w~ww.globolpolicy.org/ngos/ in~/l'.v. Wm.

terminologies like ~,glocal' gcl wide acceptance. Global-local borders

becoinc Vddcd. ( i r i e ~ n ~ ~ c c s rci1ccrt.d at a global level. nuclear disaster like

Chcrrlohyl, ozone diplctiorr. cconomic crisis and scarcity of natural

resourcck. etc. ;ippear a i 'gloial' problems. The Minamata Declaration

states tilal; -'the Mina~!~iaia (jathcring has shown us that global conditions

todal have placcd tllc pcoplc .!i the world on a common ground with a

common fate lilr the i irs~ timy III history.'.25 Glocalisation of issues and

appearance of iransr~;.~lional social movements happen simultaneously.

Setting up of 11cw ~i l~cr~~nt i t r~lai institutions also institutionalized global

politics. Vultilaleral iconomic institutions on the one hand and global

social movements oil hc other hand create a new public sphere at the

transn~tional ic\ cI

I he obsclvanc~, of 1:arth 1).1). World Women's Day. etc. opened up a

large rlu~liber possibi1111~:s to thc concerned non-governmental organizations,

voluntar\ g roup anti .ictivists lo come together in a single platform to

share thc~r problc~ns ,rntl zxtend their support to each other. This juncture

transi'orlrrcd vanous 'L'<;Os the fi~nding agerlcies of the local

rriove~i~c~r~s. I'he proccbs ol'glohalization contributed a new organizational

!setup to the movcmenrx at a global lcvel. The NFF. which was started at a

very loc;ii level in t h ~ , coastal hclt 01' India in thc latc 1970s, gradually

receibccl national reputation and 'tcceptance and in the 1990s and then it

extended its netnork 10 the glohal lebel. It gave birth to the formation of

the W F I Such net\\ork,, arc m e of the major Ceatures of new social

movcnlcnls Nen mc7~cnlcnts 'ire global movements in a wider sense too.

The) ~ e ~ r c r a t c thc~r enclp) from thc transnational networks

A \ po~ntcci our carlier, nu\\ social movements are constituted in an

in tenne t l~q space. not on14 materially but also conceptually. In the

traditionai polit~cal boundaries 01 ' thc Wcstphalian statc apparatus, nation-

states \\ere thc malor actor\ in national and international policy

management. I'hc socikrl moverncnts or civil society are considered by a

host 111' traditional co~~ceptual~sations of International Relations as inferior

entities compared to 111': predoniinant position of nation-states. However,

they ho\c been iissel~tirlg their role as a lobbying force. The movements

also pro\ ~ d e certain intellectual resources to the policy managers. They

most14 cngage I I I the politicisation of the 'passive masses'. In this sense,

thougll their rolc i ~ . minimal ;I! thc material base. their potential is

cnonnolr\ at the ~ o n c ~ p t u a l ba\e ,\nother above, global social movements

operate r10t on11 ,it a qlohal spacc. hut at a local. national and international

space "' I he questior~?; which arc addressed in these different spaces are

'" 0' L{I.ILI,. Kohcrt, ~ \ V L I I C Maric cr<,etz. Jan Aart Scholte and Marc Williams, o t t i l i i i n Ili~ltilrr/rr(rl Economic In.stitlrtions and Global So~.i(ri \ / ~ V ~ ~ V ~ ~ ~ I I I Y (('i~~nhridge. 2000) . p. 12.

dift'crent and cornple.\. but thcrc is a link between the local and the global.

The incstricabl~~ linh;izc. '. of local and global issues are illustrated in our

casc study on the N i l .

scholte point\ O L I ~ that "global as a plane of activity ... coexists with

local. nat~onal and ir~~ernational tl~mensions"." According to O'Brien, .'the

tenn glohal \oc~dl nlo\,ement rrtcrs to groups of people around the world

worklnp on the lrans\\orld planc purwlng far reachlng social change".28 He

also adds: "a GSMs iocal characteristics and interests may clash with other

local ~na~~ifestations 0 1 the ~ n o \ c ~ n c n t . ' . ~ ~ In such a sense. the intermediate

space occupied by k o t i a l mokcnients of global character is not only an

intermediate polltical \pace, but also a contested terrain of diverse interests

and articulation\

hew soc~ ;~ l mo\emcnts hroke the boundaries of traditional politics

and co~lrributed to \l:e recon~itlerarion of, and the restructuring of,

1nternatit)nal Kclation\ o n a wide scale. I'he emergencc of a brand of new

theoretical schools i l l 111 that arc influenced by post-colonial thought,

gendcr politics 2nd (ireen politich, etc. are to be seen in this background.

As men~~oned above. tile lernin~sis argue that -personal is political', and

" Jan .\as\ Scholtc .X;l,,h;~l t 'apital\,,r and thc State". Inlr~~ncrtinnrrl Affirirs, Vo1.73, No.;. I ! 097). pi, 427--.

0' I ~ ~ I C I . , < , I (11 11.26. 1.) I 3

[bid

they question 'public-private dichotomy'. The Greens raised the motto of

'think globally. act locall) '. Thus. these thoughts and practices attempted

1.0 dirnin~sh thc tlistincrion of national and international boundaries by

asserting their prcsence in international relations.

Nc\\ social nioveinents try to reconstruct the basic tenets of

1:raditional International Kelatiotls theory by challenging the concepts of

power. democracy, n;iiional security and sovereignty. The remarkable

~contribut~on of the ne\\ ,iocial rnovcment paradigm is that it produced a new

~heoretic;~l kame in international relations. We would like to call it as New

,Social Movemeni The,.)t*re.s in IR. i l is a new paradigm countering the state

centric realist IR theories and the anti-statist liberal institutionalist theories.

Ciramsci rcaliscd that the strength and weakness of liberal ideology

is thc adtnission of tl-lc ~eparaticrn ol' state and civil society. Economic

powers ,Ire held in c ~ \ 1 1 societ? and political powers are vested with the

state. hotrever the 1cp.1sluture i \ closcly related with the civil society."

Gramsci provide3 a cr~tical understanding of the liberal concept of the state

and soclerq and he pro\cd tha~ thcy are not separate power realms but

genially \veldcd together. It is 14 ith this iinderstanding that Grarnsci poses

the quebtion: "I )o iii1rrnatio11al relations precede or follow (logically)

-- ~ ~~ ~p~ ~- ~

3 0 Anto111~ 8 (;ra~nscr. .%le~:iiori~ front ihc /'ri.sr~~i .%)rehooks (New York. 1987). p.246.

lundan~ental social rclal~ons'.'" 111s answer is in clear terlns, "There can be

no douh~ that they li)llo\b". Ciranlsci continues: -'any organic innovation in

the socl;ll struc~ure. througli its technical-military expressions, modifies

organically absolute iind relati~e relations in the international field too."31

It is on the bas1 of tti~s ;issunlptlon that we have attempted to observe the

nature of the soc~al rt-;tnstbrnlation in the local level of Kerala society and

how il uf'fects Interna~ional Relations. The case of NFF reveals that the

development p;lradig~n transfortned social structures. The spread of

capitalistn privatised i:~~)nlrnunil? resources and provided a wide range of

structural transli>rrn;~tions at the local level. This kind of capitalist

translimnation I \ desc~ibed by llabennas as the trans-nationalisation of

I r;insnationali\;~~ion 01 ' bourgeois public sphere transnationalised

other public spheres r l l a counter hegclnonic way. As we have seen in the

previous chaptcr, thc inechanisation and industrialisation of the fisheries

sector forced art~san ii'i\hv orkcrh to unite nationally and trans-nationally. It

cxposcd tht: lac1 that tile transr~ationalisation of bourgeois public sphere

pave the \vap to ;in ellt~st intern;itionalism as well as the view that counter

hegetnonic mo\.cmerit, like thc NFF pave the way to a 'populist'

~nterna~lonalistn. 1 he torination (11 the WFF represents the transnationalisation

of the tisher tblk'\ local and national activities and their incorporation of civil

society into the hphere ol' intemat~onal relations. The split of WFF and the

formation of the World l?orum o l Fisher Peoples (WFFP) represent the new

assertiotr of a transnatc,)nal 'proletarian public sphere'. Thus the NSMs

contrihu~c to the ,cro\r.lh ol'a 'populist' international relations.

New lnternationalisnl and International Relations

l'cler Wa~erm;~n and Konaldo Munk recognize the solidarity of

32 intematiclnal nr~~venir~~it>. ah new internationalism. According to

Waterman. "internatir~nalization icads to internationalism only through the

self creation of popular non-territorial identities and their combination into

self-conscious. clemocr;!ltic: anti selL'activating internationalist subjects. "33 It

should he noted Irere rhat Shrin Kai and a few other writers used the term

'interti;lt~c~naIizat~on~ O i a synon>m thr .globalization'.'4 We follow a

rework tion on ol Watcrmsns idca.

Ncw internatio~ialism is 11ot stale-centric diplomacy. As the case

study ol the NFI has sllo\vn, h\ thc involvement of social movements, civil

entities are capable playing t i positive role in the decision making

" Petcr Materlnat~ anJ I \jluiik (cds.), Luholir Worldwi'ie in the Eru i f t i I o h ~ / i ~ f ~ n . 1 l t 1 1 ' 1 \ o / / in llle New' M'orld Orders (httr):' \~w~lantenna.iil -\\aterin;in munk.html).

33 Watcrirlan. n.2. p48. 34 Shrill \ I . Kai. 'ting~.ii,Jei.ed l)c.\clopment in a Global Age?" ( 'S(;K Working

Pirlic,r Uo.20. 1'198.

process In that wa!. ~t becomes possible for social movements to

tranhloriri the transna~iorlal inhtltutional structures. as we have discussed

earlier. I he growing lumber ol' transnational institutions recognized the

potentla1 of' non-go\en~~nenlal organisations in policy management,

especiall! in the po51.-Cold War decadc. It can bc easily discerned that

inslitut~oirs like the lrl~ernalion~~l Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank

(WH) drrtl the horld I mtle Organ~sation (WTO) etc are making successful

advanccr~rents ttr incc~rporate nun-state actors in their policy management.35

A nunlbet of mo\emcill ilidustr~c\ are falling prey to this cooptation.

A, we hahe secrl i r l Chapter-11. there is a triangle of ecology, gender

and suhalrem perspectlbc that influences transnational policy management

through the impact ( 1 1 new .;c*c~~l movements. New social movements

present ~ l i e ~ n s c l ~ c s ?I\ a challcrrse to the oppressive political structure.

Struetordl changcs in global arrd local levcl generate new internationalisms.

I'his. I r i (urn. \+auld lrad io net\ International relations. IK responds to the

changcj in struclure airti provide\ ~ools to interpret it.

New inter~ratio~laiisin is the manifestation of new movement activism.

New internationalism cut!; across illc traditional boundaries and it creates its own

15 Prtcl- I Spiro. - Nem i ~lohal C'~~~?ln~uniries. Non-<;overnniental Organisations in Intt:rn;~~ic)nal L)ccisiol~ Vlakin . ' . I%r LV<rshington L)urirtevly, Vol. 18. No. I.(l')9 0 pp.45-56: als,: set: Cher \ oke 1.ing. "NGO's Voice Concern for GEF, Detiiocl-acy. 'rl.anspare~ic\ and ."\~ountability Must be Guiding Force". Third Mh~1,l I<c,slrrgeti,.~. V, 1 1 i 5 ( 190.; I. I>)>. I ' )-20.

institutio~~al frarr~ework New intmmationalism is a multifaceted phenomenon:

cultural goups. ethnic minorities .ind sex groups all set up their own transnational

neh\orh\ over and abovc lclcal and national networks. 'Ihus, new internationalism

is a wn pluralistic and heterogeneous phenomenon. The kind of transnational

netuorkx that arc crealcd by such sroupings go beyond private interests and

stress or1 the protectioii and erlli~rgcment of peoples common properties and

restxircth I'he new intmmationalis~n that is emerging is created out of the

nehvorh of neu sociiil movements. I t means that this new internationalism is

people's ~ntemat~onal~s~n. It stand\ t i~r inore democratic rights, peace and

security. 111 this re~ard. i r is :;ignilicarit to note Richard Falk's point that.

n o + social mil\ cments sccin at present to embody our best

h{~pes stir challtnging established and oppressive political,

c~onornic. ant1 cultural arrangements at levels of social

colnplexity. fro111 the interpersonal to internationa~.~"

U c can s;i) t h r r new social rnoveinents produce a new paradigm in

Intemntioi~al Relations that enable us to grasp local-global linkages more

~;omprchcr~sivel\ hc\v internar~onalism is based on the plurality of

ideolosics and its instir\iti~mal ti.aincworks are diverse. Ecological, gender

and sub;~ltern pcrspccli~cs cnirrged as theoretical tools in this new

international relations. \Nc ha\c illready seen in Chapter I that the 'third

36 Kiclr;it-<I tKalk. -, I he (iltsh~l Promlsi. i,f Social Movements: Explorations at the Edgc ( 1 1 I'imc". 1 r 1 ' I 2 i 1'9x7). p. 173.

debate' providetl a ylacc for contesting ideologies in IR. The new

paradigm in 1R 15 a multi-framc movement perspective, which. in the spirit

of the th~rd deha~e, ch;rllenges the assumption of traditional conceptions of

IR such ;IS structural rculism and neoliheral institutionalism.

National Security and Societal Security

I ~ L . concept 0 1 ' iecurity is undergoing a lo1 01' revision due to the

emergence. ol' \ariou, new trends in the discipline of International

Relation5 Onc ,,I tht: oh\:ious sourcc of'the rethinking on security is the

critical iniights offerud hj. the USMs. The state-centric, military-oriented

conception of nittionill securit? is increasingly under critical scrutiny

through (he concepts such as comprehensive security. Different arenas of

human IIIL haw to ht. brought Into consideration while thinking about

security. The [LSMs ot'ter var~ed sets of insights that enable the

reconstitu~ion ol tht: concept ol' security in IK theory. New social

movcmcnLs belie\;e t ha~ ":iccurit> itself means different things to different

people". I)isar~~lamcrlt ~novenlents at national and transnational levels

widened the corlcepk ) I ' sccurit!. Anti-nuclear movements are central

ligurcs in this ne\\ art~~:ulation o f security. Zsuzsa Hcgedus comments that

37 %su/;i l iegeduh. 'r'hl: I 'hallenst. i l l the I'eacc Movement: Civilian Security and Ci\ i l i ~ i l l I~rnat~c~~xitio~i'~ i / / e r t ~ i ~ ~ ~ i , c Y. Val. I ? ( 1987).p.201.

these iilovenlents are not sinlply of' peace nor disarmament but a

"mo\c~r~cnt for humari securit!'. " He points out that. "civil society has

assertctl its des~re t b ~ ~ontrol and its capacity for initiative in a domain that

was ~ ~ C L I O U S ~ ~ ii~onopol~/ed b j the ~ t a t e . "~"

I lie conccpt 01 st:currt? '~ttains a wider meaning when ecological

concern, raised by V'Shls are hrought into its purview. According to

40 'l'homils IIomer-- Ilixoli. resource scarcity is a major threat to peace. Ele

argues tIicit cnv~ronmcntal change becomes a security issue, which can lead

to viole~ll conflicts bctwetn states I'his transforms traditional and orthodox

concepts on security ~ssues." ('111tural difference. disparities in resource

mobili/ation and unequal cap~tal distribution are threats to global security.

New soc~;ll mo\clnenl:, cc)nceptualise that security is not merely a military

questloll hu t a c~lltural ethnic I ~ L I cnvironrnental question. It is a social

question in this regarcl social in<)\ ements are placing security issues within

a hunianitarian pcrspeLt~\c rather than a strategic perspective.

in Ibid.. 11 '0.3 ;Y Ibid . 11 .'04 40 Scc f'liiiip I d ,III<J I 'hoi i i ;~> Ilomer-L)ixon, "Environmental Scarcity and

Vii!lcn~ Conllici: fh i : (ase 111' ('hiapas. Mexico". ((Toronto: Project on En\irollinent. I'opuli;~t~on arid \ecurity. American Association for the Ad\anwtnenc o f Sciencc: ; I , I ~ the 1 ~libersity. 1996).

" Keith h~ausc. . ' I i leor~/~i~g Sccur~~?. State Formation and the 'Third World' in the Post-( ,lid War L1orld.' K ~ J ~ . I ~ . M ot i~r~~~rn~rriorz(rl Sfzro'ie.~. No.24 ( 1 998). p. 127.

\ocl,tl in(>\ crnents rcconceptualised security in a multi-frame

directioli Social moxclnents expressed the structural strains of the society

and instsied that the .;tart: has 1.0 assure peoples' security. The ncoliberal

institutit~rralisi trameuork sees :I reduced role for the state, while the NFF

and otho. new social mobements pursue to broaden its moral role and legal

powers. Kamakrlshnall claims thal statc is essentially thc protector of the

peoplc's right to life I ' NSMs assert their politics not only I a local and

decentraltsed di~rlens~ol~, but in rhc direction of macropolitics of the state.

The ecological. gendur and postcolonial discourses reconstruct traditional

security perspective. l'hcse threc perspectives through the frameset of

NSMs irtterlink 'ind nlerge with each other in evolving an alternate security

perspcctl\.e. l ' l ~ u \ stah: politic.; .~nd critical politics of the ecological,

gender and subaltern ille)vements arc organically connected by the NSMs in

evolv~ng < I peoplc centrcd perspcctlbe on security.

I t ie question o ~ i national iccurity is one of the major issues of

concerti li)r the reali>;t ,icl-loo1 in ilitcrnational Relations. The conventional

realists have systcmai~~rllly neglcc~cd questions of environment in national

security consideration\. l'lie research done with the co-operation of CIA in

'' A.h.K;~~~lakrislit~i~n, . .P~~o-lihe~.;~l~\~r~. Cilobalisation and Resistance: I'he Case of India' in k.i\111d t l ( ~ \ d e n and I ~lward Kcene (eds.), The Glohulizution of L i h c , ~ ~ i / ~ s m (Ha\~ngstol..c., 10021. pp -142- 62.

I < Gaza . wand;^"' and l'akistanLi revealed that the security question is

closcly related ~31 th cr~,vironmenlal issues such as resource scarcity, cultural

dispasit~cs, racc or c~1:iI.e discritninations. etc. Today the term environment

is not a closed one hut i t covers a wider meaning of social environment

too."' I hornas I lomcr-Dixon and others cmphasised that water resource is

one of the rnalor cause; tbr thc unending conflict in the Gaza Strip.

Ilixon':; method knon 1 1 ;is 'tn\,ironmental Scarcity Analysis' has become

a poweriul tool in 111c study o l national security problems. Dixon puts

forward cnvironlnental scarcitl and cultural scarcity as the major threats to

47 the inter-nal and extern,.~l securir! of a nation. New social movements,

which rased such ishrles at the grassroot level and at the national and

internat~onal lect.ls th~ough their rlct works, thus came to the centre stage

of secitrlt\ debatc. In \hart. thc new social movement frames of ecology,

I.; Kimbcriy Kell) and I honlas llo~ncr-Uixcm, Environme,ntrrl Scarcity and Violenl ' 0 1 1 f 1 1 1 h e ( I S .I/ I . (I t o : Project on Environment, Population and Securit?. Amer~can \ssociatior: t i ~ r the Advancement of Science and the LJnivc~.\~ty. IOO', I

'' Percibal. Valer~r and I iho~nas I Iolncr-Dixon. Lnvironmenlul ,Scarcip and Violent o n 1 The ( (I.W o/ I t ~ . ~ w w ( l n ( ' I i~ ron to : Project on Environment, Population and Securit!. A~ncr~can \isi>ciatiorl tor the Advancement of Science and the Ilnivei-\ity. .lunc 1995)

i s Peter t ~i~ehskl .~nd I tlomas Homer-llixon. Lnvironmentirl ,';curcity und Violent ( 'ofi /Ii~ i The ( iise 01 ;"lr~i,sta~i ( I oronto: Project on Environment, Population arid Sccurit>. !\~neri,.:ari i'\ssociac~(,t~ 17,r the Advancement of Science and the IJni\cl-\icy, Apnl 19?10

-I/, See. ( ;iloline hlcrcli;i~~r (cd.). h c i ('owepl.v in ('riticol Theory: E c o l o ~ (New Delhi. I'>96j.

47 c;ize\v\ki and I l ~ ~ n e r - l )xivr. n:i?

gender and subalternit> prwidc J n alternative perspective in understanding

interndtrorial relations ar~d in e l o h Ing new IR theoretical perspectives.

Sovereignty

hational sccurit!' and so\ereignty are closely related concerns in

International Relations. Ihe concept of sovereignty guarantees a citizen's

econornic and political fi-cedo~n 111 the domestic domain of the state. The

articulatron of peoplc:; will rellcct in the establishment of a sovereign

state. I the Arlstoteli;ln definition, sovereign is the supreme authority

within a community l3odin heltl the view that a sovereign ruler must

"posscs l l r l l power to nmke changes in the laws of the state"." 'Traditional

political philosophers consider illat sovereignty of the state has two distinct

realms 01 existence: tlornestic ar~d international. Our case study of the NFF

has sho\rrl that domestic factors such as social movements inlluence the

international realm anti vice versa, l 'he demands put forward by the NFF

for banri ing of trawling during Monsoon season and for the demarcation of

an exclusrve economrc zone ii)r traditional fish workers are examples of

NSMs' cfforts lor thc irnplemcntation of policies for the people at the

domchtii level challcrr!;ir~g tlie \\hims of the transnational interests. The

inclusiorl ol' the pr-elerential ri,ght of local colnrnunities on sea in

JX Eli I.;~uier I'achc. "S~~\treignt>-h,l!th o r Reality". In/ernrr/ionrrl Affirirs. Vo1.73. N o . I I \)97). p 1.38.

interna~ional agreemerlts is yet another example in this regard.""hus what

one cair obsc r~c is ii11 assertion ot' local sovereignty through the state by

questioning internatiililal attempts to undermine domestic sovereignty.

I conomlc and poht~cal lreedom of the people is one of the

manllcstdt~ons 01 so\cre~gnty 1 he globalisation process challenges national

sovereignty in [he clomcstic realm. l 'he irnplernentation of structural

adjust~nerit policies and nen Property Right Regimes (PRK) led to the

privatisa~ion 01' a largc chunk 01' common properties thereby resulted in the

undenll~nlng ot 'econc~~n~c freedom of the people. Muto Ichiyo points out:

the state legiti~nscy is being eroded when willingly it must

cr~li)rce tlccisiotis inadc b) IMP-World Bank, for instance,

or) and apinst., i t> own people. Most states no longer stay

st~vereign in thcir relationships with global power centre.'"

t selling out t xclusivc t..conomic Zone (EEZ) to the MNCs and

TNCs. pcoples' right on resources in such arcas is denied and the

sovereigrlcy of thc nalton is challenged. In this context. domestic political

dccisionb and local slr.i~ggles bccoine incapable of tackling the problem of

shrinking \overc~ynty ol'thc statc

"' .'I.!N aiiil the S C , I . l.',\ 11,-1.Y ."\ieit.\. \ 111.0. No.1 (1070). p.3 t o Mut,, I~ l i iyo . ".lllianc~ 01' Ilope ntld C'hallenges of Global Democracy". Paper

Presznicd at thr. Aiii,.~ncc of Hope: Encounter of I993 Regional Networks, Cicnev;~. 18-22 lt111e I 11(43

I<ccapturing si~lereignty ot' the state is the new challenge of new

social inovemeni\. 1 1 i,; to be noted that social movements interact with the

state in ,I dialecr~cal 111odt:. At one level, they attempt to minimise the entry

of the state in private realms. and at another level they apply pressure on

the sratc to intervene in the public domain in fzivour of the oppressed

groups 01 peoplt

%rates arc respctnsiblc ((1 galarantee people's right on their common

resourcch. Soh11 Ku~-~:iri called tbr the cstablishmcnt of a -Community

Propert? Right Kegin,,:' Ihr bas~c c~rnmunities.~' One can say that the

resource access of a i:~)l-nmunit> is the cardinal manifestation of a nation's

sovcrcignty. 1 .11~ stn~gglc of the NFF in this context has been a struggle for

the icgirirnation of statt: ioverelgnty in such direction that state's domestic

respons~hilities arc str.ehietl as supreme over its international affiliations.

Power

I he major ep~srcliiologi~;~l encounter of the new social movements

in the tl~>ciplinc of I K \\as in the reconceptualisation of power. Traditional

IK tlieorles viened pousr as a ~cntralised entity associated with the state

apparatus. I'he Marx~hts treat itic state as a class apparatus that preserves

5 1 John h ~lrian. 1'1 o p r r ~ Kigiil.~, \orrcc :Munc~gemmt crnd C;o~~e,euntmce: (.rufting cm I~i.\~ir~~~ion~rl b'r<rrnew'oili for (f/oti(ri' :W[rrine Fi.theries (Thiruvananthapuram, 1998), p.<)

and niai~itains class interests through international re~ations.'~ Thus

international relations IS ..I realm ol'clitist exercise of power. Realist theory of

IR conccptualises international relations as a game of power maximisation.

Liberal i~~stitutionalist theory. e\.cn though does not reject the concept of

power ci~unciateci b\ the realists. seeks a realm of cooperation in

international relations. I'hus, po\ver-sharing as an idea came to the centre

< : stage. I'hc Inglish School also gives predominance to state power.

Traditioi~;~l 1K tt,eorie\ in general. thus treat power as state-centred and

international relation:; ris the relat~ons between states and, therefore, non-

state actors were assurncd to pla! little role in policy management. For the

most part. traditional riotions ol' power in political science and IR dealt

with it in the context c~f administration and decision-making. 'The state's

class nature is inevitably rellected in thc slate's policies and decisions,

which pursue thc interts~ of the elites. l'hus. other groups of people are

consictcred to he outsidc the notion of power or they are termed as

h ~ , w soc~al mo\.cments like the NFI: brcak this conception of power.

As \\t. 1i;tvc noted in Chapter I l l . the N1.1: challenged the accuinulation of

" See Kalph Miliband. i:'icls,s I'r,~tc,t-,Yltr/e Power (London, 1983): and Nicos Poulan~zas. ( 'I,I!.V in ( I t n l ~ : n i p o r < ~ v ~ ( '?rl>itcrli.sm (London. 1979).

5' Sec. l es l ic f'aul I l l \ r l c . ..h/lahlng Ilen~ocracy Safe for the World: Social M o ~ e ~ ~ ~ e n t and ( ilobal Politics", l / i ~ ~ ~ ~ n ~ r / i v c s , Vo. 18 ( 1 993). pp.273-305.

poucr h! local clitc:, i111d raised the voice of the marginalized in the realms

of socicty and polic) rnanagcmcnt. 'The NFF holds the power of the

traditional fish~rrg co~rlmunih as the corc of alternative policy making and

it is a ~.onceptlon o t the generation of. 'power from below'. It places

society ai the centre (.)I pcjlicy management.

111 international rclatitrns. the redefinition of power in tenns of

culture. race anii gendcr paved i+ay for the emergence of a populist or new

internat~crnalisnl instc,.id of the traditional elitist internationalism, as we

have noted earlier in r h ~ i ; chapter. The NIT'S struggles in various fronts

and its demand> for .In E u c l u s ~ ~ c 1:conomic Zone (EEZ) for traditional

fishworh~.rs were. iri ;'act. the assertion of the claim that the sea is a

common properly ol thc com~rrunity. This reinforces the Gramscian

conccptrc~n that in iirtain junctures in history. the passive masses.

mobi1ist:cl in a d~stinct direction [ ( I capture political power. embark upon a

new cpocl~ 01' populisr intcrnationalis~~~.~'

Democracy

Another inajo~ rllcounler of wcial movements in IK is the

dc~nocrat~>ation 01' inrc~.nation;~l institutions like the Food and Agricultural

Organisations \I.;\O). I'hc cc-~ncept of democracy is broadened by social

movemcllr inter\ entio~i I h e NFE ' s involvement in fisheries policy

management is ,I procns of' democratisation of local, national and global

institul~ons. In thc redl~n l?f ' international relations. new social movements

put fi)rward the concept of thc "trans-border participatory democracy".

Accordiilg to Muro 1cii1'~o

it 1s a permanent democratisation process based in

"~lcmocrac,v 011 rhc spot'' emancipatory transformation of

e~crydaq ~rclatio~~ships in the family, community, workplace

ant1 other. ~ns t~ lu t~ons 01' l ~ f e - extending beyond social,

cultural and stiile barriers and reaching, influencing and

~lltimatel) conlrolling the global decision making

~nechanisn~s wh~,rcver the? are located."

I Iris denioerat~\'~tion proccss is visualised as operating from the

grass-roilti to the tra~,~snational level and as breaking the boundaries

between cveryda! lifc 'ind the public realm. The transnational alliance of

people can be considered 3s a med~um of the establishment of new sites of

democrilc!. 1 hi\ typr of the democracy is evolved through the struggles of

people ,ind through ~1ic11 global sol~daril) to oppose oppressive local,

nationill and global s v s ~ ~ ~ : ~ n s . 5 " I hc case of NFI: revealed this very clearly.

56 See (ilcli Willlalns. I . ilohal l r adc ilnionism ". ,Vew Inirrnrriionulisl. No.1 17 (19821. pp.7-'1 Klr;ilil Hassan. "The Future of the Labour I.eftV, http.:i\\i~w.tind;~rticl~:> :oln and 1)avid Bacon, "World Labour Needs Indcpe~i Jence atid Soliilarily". i i t lp ~<.i1~1~fit7io.licle.s.corn.

I ocal unit\ o~ iht fishworkcr\' trade unions in its initial stage

challenged the lcudal wcial structures, and demanded from the state the

establ~shinent ol a pcople-friendlq tisheries policy. In the context of

globalis;~tion. thcy entt:red into ~ l o b a l politics and policy management

realms. I he N1.l . a rlon- state ent~ty. participated in F A 0 conferences and

regional conventions i ~ n d procla~tned that the democratisation of such

global inhtitutionb is liital. 'The new structural transformation of the global

system insists tha~ mo\cments take up the global structure as a unit of their

analyses ' I hoinas k.ochery. thc Chairperson of the NFF, reframed the

dictum 01 the neu socl,il movements. '-think globally and act locally" into

-'think globall) dnd a ~ t globall! . - x lhis turn marks the necessity of the

struggle\ to ensure glohal democrat~c involvement of the people. '-Peoples

Forest l31ll"'". ..l'copic\ 'lribunal on f luman ~ i ~ h t s " ~ " etc. are voices of a

global el\ 11 socicty and the cry ot bottom-up democracy at the global level.

Globalization. Social Movements and the Nation-State

1 1 1 ~ initial decades of modern social movements in the third world

countrie\ appro21ched the state 111 a confrontational mode. Rut. gradually,

59 Sec I)c\~nond I ) . Al)!t.d. Peoldc (ind l.i~re.c.ts. the Forest Bill (2nd New Forest PO/IL:I I Ueu 1)clIii. 10x5 I .

hO Set. I)<~curnent. 'Statctncnt ot tlic International Poeples' Tribunal on Human Right5 and tlic Environmenr: Sustainable Development in the Context of Cilohal~sation". Iltern,i,fivt,.t VuI.:!i 1 1998). pp. 109-146.

they acq~~ired $tate l'eg~tirnac! and became institutionalized. In these

countrich. modern socl;,l lnovements introduced themselves as anti-colonial

movemc~its with a developmental imperative. After independence, it was

realized that the soc~al niovemcnts are creative agents for promoting the

developlilent agcndas put for~bard by the nation-state. They are able to

creatc democratic \pace with111 the development programmes. For the

state. ~ h c mucelllent!; ,Ire cons~dcretl as a corrective force and the state

assume. the rolc , ) fa i~roral agent tor the ernpowennent of the people.

'1 hc modurn stale regarded itself as a felicitator of development.

This rcnlarkable character of thc nod em state enabled it to be designated

as a --\\elfare' s ta tc" Fhe terlii -welfare' represents the notion of

developnlent. Kqni Kothari def'encis four major characteristics of a welfare

state. "liberator. iqualrst:r. ~nodernlser and mobiliser." He states:

u c need t , ~ re-e~amine our assumptions about the state and

it5 persunred role as lihe~.ator, cqualiser, modernizer and

~nohilizer .thc stdte t i a s a mediator in ameliorating

I~iirshncss \if traditional social structures for the purpose of

er~suring justice and equality. a protector of vulnerable

peoples and libcrator of oppl.cssed arid colonized populations.

r l r ~ c l an engine ol gl.owth ant1 tlcveloprnent that would usher

in ,I ncu i.~vil wdcr hascd on progress and prosperity and

~~ ~

h l Ponna M 13naraja. ..Kethir~l,in: I)e~clop~ncnt and [)emocracyV in Wignaraja. n.7,

colrfer rights to l i t > and liberty. equality and dignity on the 1 1 ~ people at large

I lrese charactt:r. ;ire espre\sed under the developmental paradigm

and ~rr~tlei the concept of progres\ivism. The capitalist progressivism and

developnicnt ga\c wa! t ~ ) pri\nt~\atlon of common resources at a time

when glohalisat~on charigtd thc naturc of nation-state to a monitoring agent

of the tl-,insnational agcnc~cs."' I he newly emerging global market force

also cluc\t~oned the agc-old national centralized power blocs. John Silver

points oilt

the deve1opmt:nt of thc libcral economic order has brought

about a nrore ~ornplex s?stem. of what is better termed

-11-ansnational rclations' or those relationships that involve

b o ~ h states and nc)n-state ;rctors.""

f<,~makrishnan ~1r~uc.s that the spread of market-centric neoliberalism

"doctrinally and ideologically. strcsscs the need for a minimum role of the

nation-cta~c not t)nly 111 colnincrcc and economy but in the other human

endea\our\ as ~~tsll.""' I he weakening ofthe nation-state at this juncture is

62 Rejlli kdhar i . "hlasse~ C'lasse!. and the State" in Wignaraja (ed.). n.7, p.62

"' Gibhirlr. John I< & 3 . Kcimcr-. 1 1 1 ~ I'oli/ic.v ofPost Modernity: An Introduction to ( ' o ~ i ~ ~ ~ r n ~ x v u r ~ ~ P o l ~ i i ~ . s (lnd ( 'r11111re (New Delhi, 1999). p.3 1 .

/>J Jot111 Sliver. ~'lri~'rnai~~.~naI lirlatli~ri:, I'hcory". Paper Presented at the Department of I ' < ~ l ~ \ ~ c a l Scicnce. I, :~ii\crsit) ~)i S~ellenbosh, Republic of South Africa.

the rctlcction ol the czpansion ol'the bourgeois public sphere as observed

by (;ra~nici and llaber~nas. Thc NSMs addressed the politics of the nation-

state ant1 "the! lry 11) grapple nith the dialectic of civil society and state

and to engage i i l macro-politics irl their own ways". 66 NSMs like the NFF

demand htate ics i t in~a~y to pre~bent the over-expansion of the bourgeoisie

in public realms I'he ;i:isertioll ( i t ' nation-state politics is thus becoming one

of the main concerns oI'KSMs in the era of globalisation. This goes against

the grain of earlier allti-state positions of many movements. The NFF's own

engagenlcut in thc state politics i l l order to get state enquiries and reports on

the fisheries sector a~~ci to obta~n policy measures in favour of traditional

fishworhcrs denotes the ,>lgnificancc. of macro-politics for NSMs.

Alter the cnd ot tht: cold \c,lr. a number of-periphevrrl socio-political

question\ came to thc centre 01 ' International Relations. Jan Aart Scholte

pointed out in the early 1990s that "the -Second World' has suddenly

disappeared" and that ' class structures and gender relations are said to be

undergoing substanti;rl shifts" " Scholte regards that "social change sits

high on ihc agc~ida c . 1 1 current \\orld affairs"." New social movements,

,,h Ibici. p . ' i h . 07 Jan /\art Sch~>lrc .'Frt>111 lic,wer I'c~l~t~cs to Social Change: An Alternative Focus of

International Stuclics". /i~.i;icn' of lri;~~rtrrrl~oncil Stzr~lit.~. Vol. 19. No. 1 . ( 1 993). p.3.

""bid.

considcrcd as the velitcic fi>r social change. thus come to play a prominent

role in internati~~nal reatrons ,\s the state has been the central arena of

operatior1 of' traditiolral iiltenlarional relations, NSMs like the NFF also

find i t an important ag.cncy for protecting common resources and interests

of the people. I t con\entional I K theories like realism concentrate on state

in its cslcrnal rolc, thc NSMs \iew it as a democratically oriented entity

that look\ afier thc in~el-esls of society internally.

The Civil Socie9 Turn in lnternational Relations Theories

Concerns of c i ~ i sr)cietv began to gain wide currency in the field of

IR in thc 1980s 'I'h15 was the time when the self-characterisation of

democrak~c mo\ctnenls around the world was oriented towards the civil

societ) p;tradigrn."" Ilc information revolution provided new tools for

forging connections uid cmpouering ci t i~ens. '~ Transnational political

entitics such as. market, infonnaticm technology, transnational NGOs, social

movemenls. ctc. paveti t l~c \\a? lo break traditional political forces and

empouer civil society l i i ni:w \\a?s. Such a moment has been captured by the

discipline of 1K h! reortenting its principal theoretical preoccupations during

the third tlebare.

'>V Mu.;tal'lla Kanii~i Pastr;i and [>a\]J I . Hlaney. "Elusive I'aradisc: The Promise and Peril ~ .~f( i lohal ( ivil 5ociety". . l l ~ c ~ ~ . r ~ c i / i v e . ~ . No.23. (1998). p.420.

l raditional political philosophy neglected civil society in many

ways. but as .lea11 Cohen and ,Andrew Arato point out. in the new context,

"the conccpt of civil society reappears in some of the most important works

of social theop. ''I I he contributions of Antonio Gramsci and Jiirgen

Haber~n;~\ are relnarkahly inforl~iative in capturing the civil society turn.

Gramsci', view 1s extremely ir~srructive regarding the potential of civil

societ?. [<andall I ) . Cierrr~ain and Michael Kenny observe that "Gramsci's

ideas olio\+ us to reconnect the ~nt l~v~dual to the state"."

A~cording to the~n. the ign~ficance of the Italian school

lies in cor~s~dering c i ~ i l society at the international or

global le\ el.. . 1 Iert: civil bociety as both a social space and a

SCI of voluntar! associat~ons hegins to live behind its prior

a\sociation w~th ;I pi~rticular nation- state. Global civil

soclet). ~ I I thi?, sense, exists outside the political space

boundcd hy tht. parameter\ of the nation-state system. The

sl~~itial boundar~cs of global civil society are different,

bccause its autol,lomy froni the constructed boundaries of the

stitic sysI~1n allo\hs for the construction of new political

7 1 Jean ( , )hen aiiii Antlr2w Aratt~. . ' l ' i~litics arid Reconstruction of the Concept of C i b i l 4,)ciet)' In /'rxi.l Honnc~h and rhomas Mc (eds.). (:ullurcil-Political Inrc,~.vti;lion.s Iri 1 ,'nfi?firi~.\hc~l P r o i c i ~ k (Cambridge. 1992 ). p. 122.

72 Ralicl;~ll L). (;erlnair~ md Michaci Kcnn). "Engaging Gramsci: International Kelariolls I ancl the Ne\\ ( iernians". Review of' Inlerncrlionul Studies. Vol .24. No.1. (1998). 11 5

I lcre we obscr\c the elnponerment of civil society in two distinct

realms: that is. national and transnational realms. In many ways, the

transnational acuvitieh r c closel? linked with national politics. In another

sense. thc constructic)ri i ) t ' national identities or local identities are now

produccd due t c ~ tranz,national ir~teraction. 'Black', 'Subaltern', etc. are

increasingly a transnat~onal construction. At the same time, at the local

level. self-other cc~nstruction\ occur. In this sense, the 'self is not a

national or local construction. hut a transnational one. Activities of the

transnat~onal organizau~ons arc global in a sense, but they cause drastic

changes in the local arena. I n this context. the motto of new social

movements "th~nk glob~ally, act locally" comes to the central location of

world polltics

( I \ 1 1 wc~cty lrhrtlatlve\ redefined traditional IR theories in many

ways. Aciord~ng lo 0 13r1cn:

tlic global c i ~ i l iociet? concept goes against the basic

o n ~ o l o g ~ of ~ r ~ i ~ s t international relations litcrature. The

tri~tlitional tnternatio~ial relations approach to 'international

soiiety' has bet11 speak ol ,I society of states . . . l'his leaves

ntl room lor tli>cussion :) I civil society because non-state

ilctors arc dclinztl O U I of society. While traditional

irrtcmational scholi~rsh~p niay reject the notions of global

c ~ \ i l socicty a ~ ~ t l global social movements because of its

stille centric approach. othcrs will raise doubts about the

e\rstencc of ,I global crvil society and global social

movement in tY11: absence ot a global state. 74

' I he prescnce (,I!' p,lobal social movements reveals that there is a

global crvil scrc~cty i l l place. ( )n the other hand, global institutions

represent the global cl\ 11 iociet) /\ccording to O'Brien,

c i ~ i l society arrtl social InoLements have always been defined

in the context ol'a relationship with the national state. It is the

sphere ol public dctivit) amongst a bounded colnmunity

M lthin thc reac1.1 o l a particular state. 'The logic seems to be

that if thcrc is no overarching global state. there can be no

global conimurrity and therefore no global civil society and L

7 5 no global wcial inovernenth,

W e havc see111 tilt: assertion of traditional fishworkers' identity by

the Nl.'F' over ant1 abo\c n;ltional sites. This denotes that a geopolitical state

is not a rrecessary precondition lor a global civil society or new social

movelnerii. At the sarllc time. a:, \ \e have noted earlier, there is an attempt

by the NSMs to thc lezitinlatc statc sovereignty. The complexity of

political assertions of N1i'.;bls is \\orth-noting.

'' Roheri O'Hrit.11. Anlli hlarie < i o ~ : t ~ . Jan Aart Scholte and Marc Williams, ('ot71~,.vrr~g (;lohi11 ( t o 1 cr.~~oncc,. \lrrl/ilrricr.~~l Economic Institutions c~nd GIohul Socitrl \lovrmentr. (he\v 'I'ork. 20011). p. 13.

' lbid

Such ncu a:$bi:rtions ot rnovelnents and global civil society

necessitttte the rethinking of IIZ theories. We know reconstructive projects

demand ; I new orienta~iori to understand the world, which must generate

knowletlse abix~t war-lcl and he able to critically and constructively

approach a political sitmtion. A \vide range of civil activities including the

one init~ated h) the hF1; provldcd such an understanding to us, which

points out to the +;ape arid lirnit.ations of traditional theoretical

orientat~ons. It is herr that a "net\ social movement paradigm" in IR theory

gains sigrtt ficancc

' I tic 'third debole' in IK prcscnted a discursive framework, which

providetl an inter-disc~plinaq. approach to the theoretical discipline of

International Kelatiouih. as we h a ~ c seen in Chapter 1 'fhe civil society turn

that is li~iked to ti non-!;late approach can be visualized as one ofthe central

areas 01 car11 2 1 " certl.ur> IR thcorymaking. Common people are coming

to the ccntre s t ~ g c ol pC,,licy management globally and locally. New social

moverriellts or peoplc-." moLcntcnts are in the forefront of the new

internationalism (hat >lre!is on [tic politics from below. New theories in

Intem~ttional Kclatic~ri. that ;ire closely related with the feminist,

envirortrnental and sttb;iltzrn perspectives are providing substance to the

social-tno\:e~nenr parad~gm in IK

111 \hart. with tllc entn ol Lransnational capital, globalization and

peoples' ~noverncnts. ;i ncw soc~al movement theory is gaining importance

in 1ntet.national Kelations. In Habermasian perspective, the

transnationalisat~on of' bourgeois public sphere transformed social structures,

while. al the sanic timc ~arious other public spheres emerged and began to

respond to thc ncw tra~isf,rmutio~rs. which facilitate the formation of new

institutiotls at local, na~ional and .. global Icvels. Social movements like the

NFF represent a proletarian public sphere at the transnational level. The

NFF's ~r~volven~ents ir l global institutions like the F A 0 and its

transnational nclworkh like the WFF provide dynamism to the new

internationalism