Conclusion

Abstract

In this book I have examined the civil society based campaign for the cancellation of third world debt in order to explore the question of how transnational non-state actors can mobilize to challenge the rules and practices governing international finance and what impact they have had. The two case studies on the campaign for the cancellation of third world debt provide a way to explore how new actors, transnational net-works and innovative political strategies made possible by advances in transportation and communication are shaping global politics. At the moment this question is of particular interest because it bears on the question of how and with what degree of success civil society actors might mobilize in the future. The period from 1980 to 2005 examined in this research was characterized by increasing levels of engagement and activism by civil society actors from the local to the transnational. They embraced new political strategies and innovative tactics but, because they worked outside the conventionally defined lines of authority of the state system, these CSOs and NGOs had to develop alternative means of legitimizing their claims and enhancing their authority and influence.