Transnational Social Movements

Abstract

Transnational social movements have been a growing focus of attention in academic literature in the context of the globalization of world politics in the period since the end of the Cold War. Like social movements in general, transnational social movements are characterized by mobilization of people in a sustained manner for the promotion of social and political change objectives. However, transnational social movements are distinctive in that either or both their activities and their objectives cross national boundaries. Transnational social movements include the work of a subcategory of international nongovernmental organizations: those concerned with political and social transformation, known as “transnational social movement organizations.” They also include the work of broader coalitions of transnational social movement organizations, as well as more loosely arranged networks of people promoting political and social transformations beyond the confines of individual states. The range of objectives promoted by transnational social movements is diverse, including democracy, environmentalism, feminism, human rights, labor standards, peace, and religious goals, among others. Academic literature on the topic sheds light on the ways in which social movements organize transnationally, disseminate ideas across borders, shape understandings of global issues, and wield influence in intergovernmental and transnational arenas. Each of these aspects is covered in this bibliography, which focuses specifically on the transnational dimension, since domestic social movements are covered in other Oxford Bibliographies articles. While much of the literature on transnational social movements consists of single case analyses, this bibliography pays particular attention to works with wider significance, and to the contrasting perspectives on each of these aspects.