The Global Activists' Manual: Acting Locally to Transform the World (Nation Books)

The Global Activists' Manual is a guide to transforming the corporate globalization movement. Two dozen authors look beyond the spectacular shutdowns and protests to introduce the reader to farmers in Iowa, industrial workers in Tennessee, and antisweatshop activists in Maine who connect global injustices to the issues in their own front yards. The authors range from movement "stars" to unsung heroes challenging the world's largest corporations. Since the Seattle protests, the globalization movement has been "localizing" its work. Global and local activists have joined forces to protest the prison-industrial complex, corporate campaign financing, and clear-cut logging. Whether the cause is antiracism, the environment, genetic engineering, human rights, immigration, labor solidarity, or reproductive rights, strategies are outlined to make a difference and change an attitude. "Localizing globalization" in this way presents its own challenges, however, and the book takes them up. After framing articles to set a context, case studies describe how activists across the country are meeting each challenge according to their local realities. Protest photos, cartoons, and outrageous quotes by world economic leaders provide an ironic running commentary to the text.