Transnational Temporalities: Capitalism, Crisis, Social Movements

Abstract

The article reconsiders contemporary internationalist experiences in relation to the multiple temporalities that characterized key cycles of struggles in the 2010s. Although these cycles are heterogeneous in social and political composition, they have resulted in significant synchronizations. The article's specificity lies in linking a reinterpretation of internationalism to an examination of the role that multitemporalities play both in longue durée capital development and in the various phases that characterized the post-2008 world. The series of crises that have marked the past decade have in fact led to contradictory outcomes, on the one hand opening the door to the rise of post-fascist forces, while on the other hand triggering unusual and powerful struggles. These outcomes have contradictory political orientations but are united by the fact they all have temporalities that are discordant with those initially imposed by capitalist processes. With regard to social movements, the article shows how the diversity of the geographies, practices, and claims animating them can be understood as unfolding “within and against” the post-2008 global scenario. It illustrates how contemporary social movements exhibit complex and contradictory rhythms and temporalities, arguing that the tuning between these multitemporalities is vital for rethinking the renewal of internationalism today.