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"Using the case of the anti-Nike sweatshop labour campaign, discuss the basis, the process and the problems faced by new transnational social movement coalitions. " In an increasingly globalized world Transnational Corporations (TNCs) have acquired unprecedented levels of power and autonomy. Spurred on by neo-liberal economic ideology, deregulation of markets and increasing international flows of capital, TNCs are relocating manufacturing to countries where labour costs are cheapest as a means of maximizing profits at the expense of social welfare. Whilst globalization has enabled TNCs to operate more freely in the international arena, it has also facilitated social interaction and social organization amongst actors by creating new channels of political participation and new identity discourses. Greater global interdependence and advancing communication and transportation technology has augmented relations between people across vast geographical divides leading to a growing awareness regarding the unequal relationship between the workers who produce goods and those that consume them. Resultant concerns amongst participants in international civil society about the lack of effective regulations controlling the activities of TNCs and the associated negative societal and environmental ramifications are finding expression in forms of globalized resistance against the hegemonic forces of neo-liberal capitalism. Consequently, increasing numbers of cross-boarder coalitions consisting of workers, activists and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are stepping into the void left by the retrenchment of nation-stare power.
The international campaign mounted against Nike Inc. , the worlds leading athletic shoe and sports-apparel company, to protest its involvement in sweatshop labour practices provides a useful example of the foundations, processes and difficulties that transnational social movement coalitions face when advocating for workers rights and greater corporate social responsibility. By using the case of anti-Nike campaign and applying theories relating to new transnational social movement coalitions (TSMC) this essay will attempt to provide an analysis of the organizational forms and manifold practices that activists and workers engaged in within the context of increasing globalization. Globalization and Transnational Social Movements The concept of globalization is subject to multiple interpretations and as such lacks a single universally accepted definition. Broadly speaking however, it encompasses a multiplicity of interlocking and contradictory dynamics unfolding on a global scale, with powerful processes promoting homogenization and similitude existing paradoxically with forces which encourage heterogenization and diversity. The contemporary era is characterized by an intensification of processes associated with globalization, manifesting in uneven and unpredictable ways across economic, political, and social landscapes, and affecting the most local to global of levels.
One of its most profound expressions has been the integration of national economies into a single, interdependent global market economy. Motivated by corporate-driven neo-liberal capitalism which privileges market-orientated approaches to economic advancement, these developments are accompanied by the relaxation of government regulations controlling transnational flows of capital and goods, and the relocation of economic and political power from local and national locales to the arena dominated by international financial organizations such as The World Bank, the WTO, and the IMF (Giddens, 1991; Dicken, 1998, Brecher, et. al. , 2002, cited by Carty, 2003). Meanwhile, Transnational Corporations (TNCs) are also gaining an increasingly dominant position in the new economic order. Their escalating utilization of international subcontracting in developing countries and propensity to relocate where labour costs are lowest has fuelled competition between countries, which in the interests of economic competitiveness and growth, have been deregulating, decentralizing and liberalizing their economies in hope of attracting financial capital.
The corollary has been an erosion of nation-states power to pursue national policies promoting local economic and social redistribution, and to regulate the activities of global corporate actors (Dickens, 1998, cited by Carty, 2003). Over the past twenty-five years such developments have generated widespread concerns regarding the corrasion of national autonomy and loss of representative power, accountability and agency (Baxter, 2003). A growing diversity of global citizens are expressing apprehensions about the anti-democratic nature of neo-liberal geopolitics and the ramifications of rapid globalization as evidenced by mounting insecurity, ecological imbalance, and the dismantling of public services (Post, 2004). Conversely, the processes of globalization have also triggered a nascent consciousness regarding new opportunities for representation and solidarity, and this burgeoning sense of universal interconnectivity is leading to an increasing awareness amongst civil society participants that a new global era necessitate global responses. Parallel to this has been the growth of transnational relations among nongovernmental networks, social movements and intergovernmental organisations, and it is these actors that are creating the basis for democratic global governance (Sklair, 2001, cited by Smith and Bandy, 2005). Emerging out of this intercontinental public sphere has been a proliferation of new transnational social movement coalitions (TSMCs), which are formed by sets of actors who are linked across country boundaries, bound together by shared values and issue focus, a common discourse, and dense exchanges of services and information (Keck and Sikkink, 1998; Khagram et.
al. , 2002). Describing them as transnational advocacy networks, Keck and Sikkink summarize the common threads running through this multitude of diverse groupings as: the centrality of values or principled ideas, the belief that individuals can make a difference, the creative use of information, and the employment by nongovernmental actors of sophisticated political strategies in targeting their campaigns (1998: 2). TSMCs are formed by an array of community-based organizations including NGOs and labour, human rights, student, ecclesiastical, and environmental groups. For Falk (1998) and Brecher, et. al. (2002, cited by Carty, 2003) these new TSMCs represent a systematic counter-balance to the neo-liberal forces associated with globalization from above. Acting in a countervailing manner, TSMCs embodying globalization from below believe that existing rules of global governance are slanted in favour of wealthy nations and TNCs, and access to global institutions needs to be improved for those whose interests are not being adequately represented.
Despite diverse agendas, their overarching goal is to make equality, sustainability and dignity as important as profitability and capital accumulation. Calls are made for human rights to be safeguarded, the environment to be protected, and for TNCs to exhibit greater social responsibility (Carty, 2001). Identity politics is viewed as the most effective way of contesting inequalities within the global system (Sklair, 1998, cited by Carty, 2001), and the framing of issues in order to make them comprehensible and attractive to target audiences is viewed as crucially important (Keck and Sikkink, 1998). What is novel about these networks is the ability of non-traditional international actors to mobilize information strategically to help create new issues and categories and to persuade, pressure, and gain leverage over much more powerful organizations and governments (Keck and Sikkink, 1998: 2).
Key to this is the forging of links between actors in civil society, international organizations, and states, which in turn multiplies the paths of access to global governance. Unlike older movements with revolutionary ambitions to seize direct control of state power these new social movements pursue reform via existing political structures outside the realms of the state, described by Cohen and Art as self-limiting radicalism (1992). Whereas the nation-state was the main focus and arena of political activism for older social movements, new TSMCs recognise that transnational organisations now rival nation-states in terms of power and therefore counter-hegemonic collective action needs to occur within the emergent global public sphere. With this in mind many TSMCs are incorporating a global perspective and relating local concerns with international issues (Marshall, 1994, cited by Lindenberg and Sverrisson, 1997). For Evans, this linking of the micro- and macro-level is crucial because it provides local actors with new prospects for success thus aiding local mobilization, which is a vital component of globalization from below (2000, cited by Carty, 2001). Advancements in electronic communication networks and the proliferation of affordable international travel have played an essential part in enabling TSMCs to bridge the micro / macro divide.
Communication technology has facilitated the strengthening of organizational strategies among many TSMCs by providing the environment and resources for cohesive resistance. Actors who were formerly isolated are increasingly able to communicate, collaborate and organise with each other transnationally (Castells, 1996; Sklair, 1998, cited by Carty, 2001; Giddens, 1991). Furthermore, the cost of participation in transnational networks is falling so now even small local groups have the potential to partake in global protest campaigns (della Porta and Throw, 2005), although poverty, gender inequality, and restrictions on travel and trade still exclude many from genuine involvement in global civil society (Lindenberg and Sverrisson, 1997). The Transnational Anti-Nike Sweatshop Campaign The international campaign mounted by a cross-border coalition of workers and labour activists united in condemnation of sportswear giant Nike Inc.
s unsatisfactory labour practices provides a vibrant example of how a transnational social movement coalition can successfully effectuate globalization from below. There are a number of reasons why Nike, as opposed to the numerous other multinational companies profiting from sweatshop labour, became the principal focus for the anti-sweatshop movement. For a start, Nike provides a microcosm of the broader economic changes effecting manufacturing under globalization thus making it a good exemplar for illustrating the negative effects of neo-liberal economic policy. Founded in 1964, the US-based company experienced tremendous growth from the 1970 s onwards, eventually becoming the global leader in its field. Crucial to this success was Nike's pioneering business strategy of squeezing wage expenditure by relocating manufacturing from the First World to countries with substandard and unregulated labour practices, including but not only, China, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Nike was also the first athletic footwear company to fully subcontract its production facilities, thus enabling it to avoid legal responsibility for working conditions and wages because factory workers were not direct employees of Nike. Whilst slashing production costs Nike was spending huge sums of money on high-profile branding campaigns, and it was this aggressive marketing strategy as well as the corporations poor labour practices that made it such a ripe target for activists (Shaw, 1999; Bullert, 2000; Klein, 2000; Locke, 2003; Bennett, 2004). Throughout the 1990 s discontented Nike-factory workers in various countries, including China, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Mexico, took to the streets in protest over poor work conditions and low wages. For the most part strikes were put down, often brutally, and activists sacked and blacklisted (Carty, 2001, 2003; Clean Clothes Campaign, 1998). This lack of success epitomized the experiences that workers in developing countries often have in combating corporate exploitation. This is because their ability to engage in protest is severely impeded by various obstructions including a lack of information regarding workers rights; fear of job loss; widespread military interference in labour negotiations; and risks to personal wellbeing including harassment, arrest, imprisonment, torture, and even murder (Herbert, 1996, cited by Carty, 2001).
A major turning point in the struggle came in 1989 when the Asian-American Free Labor Institute gave Jeff Ballinger, an American labour rights advocate and lawyer, funding to conduct a survey on working conditions in Indonesian factories. Ballinger and his team uncovered systematic violations of employees rights, including numerous instances of health and safety violations; verbal, physical, and sexual abuse; forced overtime; use of child labour; and the obstruction of workers efforts to bargain collectively and join independent trade unions. Furthermore, over half of the employees surveyed during 1989 were being paid under Indonesia's daily minimum wage of $ 1. 00, meaning that the labour costs for producing one pair of Nike trainers retailing at $ 80 worked out at a mere 12 cents (Bullert, 2000; Carty, 2001; Locke, 2003; Spar and La Mure, 2003). Until the mid- 1990 s the campaign against Nike had gotten little mainstream media coverage.
This changed after Ballinger teamed up with Global Exchange, an NGO dedicated to promoting socially responsible business practices. The goal was to gain publicity for Ballinger's research in order to raise public awareness about Nike's poor business practices. Employing media-savvy PR techniques, Global Exchange coordinated publicity, arranged high-profile media events and gave the campaign a media framing and focus it previously lacked (Bullert, 2000; Locke, 2003). Corporations are increasingly reliant on branding to sell products in a global marketplace, labour activists like Global Exchange have recognized this and are mounting evermore sophisticated media campaigns aimed at negatively affecting the profits of TNCs by publicizing bad behaviour. The desired effect is to embarrass organizations into altering their activity, referred to as a mobilization of shame (Khagram el. Al. , 2002), and to persuade socially conscious consumers to purchase socially responsible products.
The anti-Nike campaign was extremely successful at framing sweatshop issues in terms of individual consumer choice as a reflection of personal identity politics. The clever parodying of Nike's own projected corporate image, built around notions of style, happiness, and personal transformation, captured the mainstream media and general publics attention. Referred to as culture jamming (Klein, 2000), Nike's brand image was hijacked and reflected back in a distorted likeness that gave a counter-message starkly at odds with the original. Nike's famous slogan of Just Do It was refashioned as Do It Justly, their swoosh logo recast as the swooshitika (Shaw, 1999; Bullert, 2000; Klein, 2000; Carty, 2001). For Bennett (2004) the anti-Nike campaign illustrates how branding of political messages can be a powerful networking instrument because it aids positive mass media access and helps attract more sympathetic coverage than when messages are presented in a traditional ideological terms. Furthermore by making political protest fun it becomes more appealing to consumers (Bullert, 2000).
The high-profile media campaign against Nike helped attract a diversity of transnationally situated groups to the movement, with Western activists identifying with sweatshop workers across a range of identity-based affinities. The resulting anti-Nike coalition took on what Carty describes as a form of globalized identity politics (2001), expressed through the creation of a rainbow coalition made up of smaller groups and campaigns, which appealed to assorted actors for different reasons (Shaw, 1999). Whilst female activists could relate to the difficulties facing the predominantly female factory workforce, trade unionists empathized with problems stemming from constraints on collective bargaining, and non-white groups identified with the racist nature of the global division of labour. Faith-based and human rights activists sympathized on ethical grounds, whilst young people felt solidarity with workers of a similar age (Carty, 2001).
This emphasis on identity can be interpreted as an expression of new social movement politics, which is theorized as involving a shift away from older concern relating to class inequalities towards new issues pertaining to the construction of cultural and personal identities around categories such as gender, ethnicity, and sexuality (Cohen, 1998). For Ingle hart the involvement of youth activists in anti-sweatshop campaigns can be interpreted as an expression of post-materialist valu...
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Research essay sample on Transnational Social Movements And The Campaign Against Nike
