Legalizing Transnational Activism: The Struggle to Gain Social Change from NAFTA's Citizen Petitions

Author:   Jonathan Graubart (San Diego State University)
Publisher:   Pennsylvania State University Press
ISBN:  

9780271033624


Pages:   184
Publication Date:   30 April 2008
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   To order   Availability explained
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.

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Legalizing Transnational Activism: The Struggle to Gain Social Change from NAFTA's Citizen Petitions


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Overview

The integration of national economies through the ongoing process that has come to be known as globalization has stirred much controversy, including outright resistance by activists who are concerned about globalization's negative impact on a variety of human values, such as protection of the environment and decent working conditions for labor. The political activism and social movements that have given rise to protests-like the violent demonstrations in Seattle at the WTO meeting in 1999-have been the subject of study by scholars, but less well known is the role that some institutional mechanisms associated with international trade agreements have played in providing ""political opportunity structures"" for activists to use in promoting their causes and gaining more support for them. In this book, Jonathan Graubart draws our attention to the citizen-petition mechanisms that form part of the neoliberal package of reforms known as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) implemented by Canada, Mexico, and the United States. He provides a comparative case study of the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC) and North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) and shows how they have functioned as avenues for activists to publicize their domestic grievances and bring more pressure on their governments to institute needed change.

Full Product Details

Author:   Jonathan Graubart (San Diego State University)
Publisher:   Pennsylvania State University Press
Imprint:   Pennsylvania State University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.00cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.408kg
ISBN:  

9780271033624


ISBN 10:   0271033622
Pages:   184
Publication Date:   30 April 2008
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order   Availability explained
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.

Table of Contents

Contents Preface and Acknowledgments Introduction: Transnational Activism, Soft Law, and Nafta’s Social Model 1. Legalizing Politics 2. Politicizing Law 3. The Rise and Decline of Nafta’s Labor Petitions 4. The Importance of Institutional Support: Nafta’s Environmental-Petition Mechanism Conclusion: Lessons Learned References Index

Reviews

This short, provocative study is a valuable contribution to the literatures on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), labor and environmental law, and transnational activism. M. E. Carranza, Choice


This short, provocative study is a valuable contribution to the literatures on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), labor and environmental law, and transnational activism. </p>--M. E. Carranza, <em>Choice</em></p>


Legalizing Transnational Activism is an invaluable contribution to our knowledge of Nafta and social policy. It presents important new findings based on original research and uses them to advance the broader debate on the social impact of Nafta. The work will interest anyone seeking to understand transnational legal issues, especially in the area of labor and the environment. -- Maxwell A. Cameron


This short, provocative study is a valuable contribution to the literatures on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), labor and environmental law, and transnational activism. --M. E. Carranza, Choice Within the pages of this densely argued and richly documented book, Graubart has effectively challenged both international lawyers and social movement scholars (not to mention political scientists) to take more seriously the incremental effects of soft-law on state legal autonomy in the hard times of international globalization. That is an achievement that social movement scholars who doubt the importance of the political process in the emergence and outcomes of contentious politics will need to contend with. --Sidney Tarrow, Mobilization A welcome contribution to the study of NAFTA, providing original insights into the operation and political significance of the agreement's 'side accords' on labor and the environment, and a rich empirical appreciation of how transnational social justice actors have struggled to leverage these controversial institutions. Graubart's ability to weave together the legal and the political, and the domestic and the transnational, brings to life a story of contentious politics that will be of keen interest to political scientists, legal scholars, and engaged citizens trying to understand NAFTA beyond the polemics. --Stephanie R. Golob, Baruch College-CUNY A welcome contribution to the study of NAFTA and its controversial labor and environmental 'side accords.' Graubart's ability to weave together the legal and the political, and the domestic and the transnational, brings to life a story of contentious politics that will be of keen interest to political scientists, legal scholars, and engaged citizens trying to understand NAFTA beyond the polemics. --Stephanie R. Golob, Baruch College-CUNY Legalizing Transnational Activism is an invaluable contribution to our knowledge of NAFTA and social policy. It presents important new findings based on original research and uses them to advance the broader debate on the social impact of NAFTA. The work will interest anyone seeking to understand transnational legal issues, especially in the area of labor and the environment. --Maxwell A. Cameron, University of British Columbia


Author Information

Jonathan Graubart is Associate Professor of Political Science at San Diego State University.

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