Negotiating the Culture of Resistance: A Critical Assessment of Protest Politics

Abstract

Both for those within the movement and the public at large, the anti-globalization movement has become increasingly defined by large-scale protests such as those opposing the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) in Quebec City. Such events successfully render visible the strength of the movement, expose an emerging global elite, politicize neoliberal restructuring, and capture the media and public's attention. Yet the privileging of large-scale protest for advancing anti-globalist politics is increasingly being questioned both by those involved in the movement and by the Left in general.