Critical Theories, International Relations and 'the Anti-globalisation Movement': The Politics of Global Resistance

This book explores the interface between diverse social movement resistances to neoliberal globalisation and a range of critical theories in the discipline of International Relations (IR). From the Zapatistas to Seattle and beyond, the so-called 'anti-globalisation movement' or 'global backlash' has been grabbing headlines and capturing political imaginations worldwide. If indeed these diverse resistances constitute a movement, then it is one that seeks to challenge globalised power relations, create transnational solidarities, and generate distinctive claims to knowledge about the world, in ways that could challenge the fundaments of the IR discipline. As such, 'the anti-globalisation movement' should be of central concern to critical theories in IR, which have long focused on the ways in which knowledge is shaped by power and can promote resistance. Yet critical theorising on this topic has thus far been limited.