Exploring Connections Between Global Integration and Political Mobilization

journal of world-systems research, x, 1, winter 2004, 255–285 Special Issue: Global Social Movements Before and After 9-11 http://jwsr.ucr.edu/ issn 1076–156x © 2004 Jackie Smith The Seattle protests against the World Trade Organization and subsequent resistance to global trade and investment negotiations highlight the growing centralization of economic and political power in entities that transcend nationstates. Th ese protests challenge traditional understandings of social movements as bounded by national or sub-national political arenas. Globalization, or the expansion of social interactions across national borders, leaves few areas of social life untouched, and sociologists are beginning to pay closer attention to how it aff ects our understanding of social and political processes. While globalization is not new, its relatively recent acceleration and expansion to new social domains calls for greater sociological attention. Th is project builds upon existing sociological research and brings new data to the investigation of relationships between globalization, social movements, and political change. Jackie Smith