Core-Periphery Divisions Among Labor Activists at the World Social Forum

Bibliographic Data

ID6304888
AuthorsRoy Kwon (0000-0002-4799-1097, University of California, Riverside), Ellen Reese (0000-0002-0505-4601, University of California, Riverside), Kadambari Anantram (University of California, Riverside)
Year2008
Volume13
Issue4
Pages411-430
Publication date2008-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueMobilization An International Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1086-671X • E-ISSN: 1938-1514
PublisherMobilization Journal (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.17813/maiq.13.4.2107l2l1086467q5
OpenAlexW2406563428
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited15

This article examines, through a quantitative analysis of survey data, the extent to which union members and labor activists attending the World Social Forum from different world system zones vary in their political goals and activities. Consistent with world systems theory, we find that labor activists from the semiperiphery protested most frequently whie their counterparts from the periphery protested the least frequently. We also found that union members and labor activists from the periphery were significantly more supportive of reforming (rather than abolishing and replacing) capitalism and international financial and trade institutions compared to their counterparts from other zones, although this finding disappears after local (Kenyan) participants are excluded from the analysis. Finally, we find that representatives of organized labor from the semiperiphery were the least supportive of proposals for creating a democratic world government, while those from the core were the most supportive of global/international strategies for social change

Capitalism · Democracy · Economics · Government (linguistics · Kenya · Labor union · Labour economics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · International Development and Aid · Law · Political Conflict and Governance · World Systems and Global Transformations