Paradoxes of a Transnational Civil Society in a Neoliberal World: The Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras

Abstract

Our current moment of contention over globalization is only the latest phase of conflict between an expansionist model of liberal capitalism and resistance movements. In today’s neoliberal moment, a variety of movements are articulating grievances against polarizing inequalities, unaccountable corporate power, and declining social and environmental health. As states limit their redistributive and regulatory functions, these movements are coalescing into cross-border networks (Keck and Sikkink 1998;Guidry, Kennedy and Zald 2000;Smith and Johnston 2002a). In the process of sharing frameworks of grievance and action, these movements are shaping transnational civil societies,¹ public spaces that span geographic, cultural, and political borders (Basch, Glick Schiller and Szanton Blanc 1994: 7), and are relatively autonomous from governments and market actors (Alvarez, Dagnino and Escobar 1998: 16–17; Florini 2000). While transnational civil societies vary, those challenging neoliberalism typically offer a counter-hegemonic globalization, or a ‘globalization from below’ (Falk 1998; Brecher, Costello and Smith 2000).

An earlier, longer version of this chapter was published as: Bandy, J. (2004). ‘Paradoxes of a Transnational Civil Society in a Neoliberal World: The Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras.’ Social Problems. 51(3). Social Problems is published by the Society for the Study of Social Problems, Inc. and the University of California Press. All rights reserved.