Globalisation, movements and the state.ppt
Download as PPT, PDF0 likes17 views
The document discusses the evolution of global anti-globalization movements from significant protests in the late 1980s to contemporary domestic movements in India, highlighting events like the Seattle WTO protests and the Arab Spring. It emphasizes various social movements, such as labor and anti-austerity protests, and explores government responses to dissent, including militarization and NGO involvement. It also reflects on the rise of fascism and communal riots in India and critiques the corporatization of media.
Globalisation, movements and the state.ppt
- 2. International anti-globalisation mobilizations Berlin88: Annual Meetings of the (IMF) and the WB in Berlin in 1988 saw strong protests that can be categorized as a precursor of the anti- globalization movement. Paris89: A counter summit against G7 was organized in Paris in July 1989. Madrid94: The 50th anniversary of the IMF and the WB, was the scene of a protest by an ad- hoc coalition of what would later be called anti- globalization movements. J18: One of the first international anti- globalization protests was organized in dozens of cities around the world on June 18, 1999, with those in London and Eugene, Oregon most often noted. The drive was called the Carnival Against Capital or J18 for short. The day coincided with the 25th G8 Summit in Cologne, Germany.
- 3. International anti-globalisation mobilizations Seattle/N30: The second major mobilization of the movement, known as N30, occurred on November 30, 1999, when protesters blocked delegates' entrance to WTO meetings in Seattle, Washington. The protests forced the cancellation of the opening ceremonies and lasted the length of the meeting until December 3. There was a large, permitted march and other unauthorized marches by assorted affinity groups who converged around the Convention Center. The protesters and Seattle riot police clashed in the streets after police fired tear gas at demonstrators who blocked the streets and refused to disperse. Over 600 protesters were arrested and thousands were injured. Genoa: The Genoa G8 Summit protest from July 18 to July 22, 2001 was one of the bloodiest protests in Western Europe's recent history.
- 4. Post 9/11 International Social Forums: The first World Social Forum (WSF) in 2001 Porto Alegre, Brazil. The motivation was to constitute a counter-event to the World Economic Forum held in Davos at the same time. The slogan of the WSF is "Another World Is Possible". The WSF became a periodic meeting: in 2002 and 2003 it was held again in Porto Alegre and became a rallying point for worldwide protest against the American invasion of Iraq. In 2004 it was moved to Mumbai to make it more accessible to the populations of Asia and Africa.
- 5. Post 9/11 Anti- war protests: Afghanistan 2001, Iraq 2003. Ten years ago, the February 14-16, 2003 global protests against the then looming US-led invasion of Iraq involved more than 12 million people in 700 cities around the world. A million people marched around Australia - 500,000 of them in a huge protest in Sydney that was so big that most participants could not move (let alone march) from Hyde Park.
- 6. Post 9/11 Anti-austerity protests: Prior to the 2010 European sovereign debt crisis, austerity programs were implemented by countries e.g., Portugal, Greece, Spain, leading to criticism that the citizens are forced to repay the debts of their oppressors. France, Spain, Greece, England (Students’ agitation Dec 2010).
- 7. Post 9/11 Arab Spring: Dec 2010- Tunisia, Algeria; Jan. 2011- Egypt, Yemen; Feb 2010- Bahrain, Libya. UN mandates attack on Libya on 19 March 2011. Initial revolts were progressive and spontaneous, the latter ones began being managed for serving interests of big powers.
- 8. Post 9/11 Occupy Movement: Occupy Wall Street in New York City's Zuccotti Park, which began on 17 September 2011. By 9 October, Occupy protests had taken place or were ongoing in over 95 cities across 82 countries and over 600 communities in the US. The Occupy movement was partly inspired by the Arab Spring. "We are the 99%" slogan. The top 1 percent of income earners nearly tripled after- tax income over the last thirty years according to a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report of the US.
- 9. Domestic peoples’ movements 1. Against militarization of the state Kashmir: The Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), a body fighting cases of those who went missing during the past two decades, on Thursday submitted 507 documented cases of "enforced" disappearances before the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC). North- East: Manipur- Thangjam Manorama, a 32 year old woman raped and murdered by 17 Assam Rifles in July 2004; Decade long Hunger strike by Irom Sharmila against AFSPA.
- 10. Domestic peoples’ movements 2. Rich- peasants movement Cut in farm subsidies, Government of India withdrew Quantitative Restrictions on 714 items out of 1,429 items just before his visit and promised to withdraw restrictions from the rest of the items in March 2001, twenty-two months ahead of the WTO’s dictated date. Jan 2005: Days before the WTO deadline for opening up markets, a million farmers came together under the banner of the National Coordination of Indian Farmers Movements, an effort led by Bharatiya Kisan Union's Mahendra Singh Tikait and Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, (KRRS) President Prof.M.D.Nanjundaswamy, Vijay Jawandia (Shetkari Sanghatana, Maharashtra).
- 11. Domestic peoples’ movements 3. Labour movement Privatization- BALCO, Maruti, Modern Foods, VSNL, etc. BALCO (Bharat Aluminium Company Limited) offloaded to Sterlite 2001- SC held ‘the government’s economic policy was not generally amenable to judicial review unless there was extreme illegality." Decline of established Trade Unions. Maruti workers strike since June 2011, possibility of a new wave?
- 12. Domestic peoples’ movements 4. Anti-Mega Projects movement SEZ- Raigad (Ambani) 2009, Mangalore 2009, Goa Movement Against SEZs (GMAS) 2007, Singur (Tata) 2006, Nandigram (Indonesian Salim Group) 2007, Lalgarh (Jindal) 2009 Nuclear plants- Jaitapur, Kudankulam. Mines/MoUs- Tatas + Essar (Bailadila), Jindals, Birlas, global steel and mining giants like Arcelor Mittal, POSCO, Vedanta Resources (Niyamgiri and Khandadharo), Surguja, Surjagad (Iron), Jharsuguda (gold), Jadugora (Uranium mines), Kalinga Nagar (Tata).
- 13. Domestic peoples’ movements 4. Anti-Mega Projects movement (Contd.) Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), a collaborative venture between the governments of India and Japan, and their respective corporate partners, and has been proposed by the McKinsey Global Institute. The DMIC website says that approximately 180 million people will be “affected” by the project. Can it possibly be a peaceful process?
- 14. Domestic peoples’ movements 5. Maoist movement Formation: Naxalbari1967, set-back in 1970s, birth of movements in 1980s, consolidation in 1990s to 2004 Ideology: Marxism-Leninism-Maoism; New Democratic Revolution in India by overthrowing the semi-colonial, semi- feudal system under the neo-colonial form of indirect rule, exploitation and control; Armed agrarian revolutionary war, i.e. protracted people’s war with the armed seizure of power remaining as its central and principal task, encircling the cities from the countryside and thereby finally capturing them. Armed struggle: Three tri-junctions of Chattisgarh-Maharashtra-AP, Chattisgarh-Odisha-AP, Jharkand-Odisha- WB.
- 15. PEOPLES’ MOVEMENTS AND THE RESPONSE OF THE STATE (A CLEARLY DEFINABLE AMERICAN LED MODEL POST 9/11)
- 16. …AND THE RESPONSE OF THE STATE Special laws: Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act: banning of organizations. Arrests: No tolerance for dissent. Dilution of Human Rights principles: Torture- Water- boarding, Guantanamo, Abu Gharib; Encounters; Disappearances; Death penalty.
- 17. …AND THE RESPONSE OF THE STATE Low Intensity Conflict: Carrot and stick strategies. Defined by the US Army as: “... a political-military confrontation between contending states or groups below conventional war and above the routine, peaceful competition among states. It frequently involves protracted struggles of competing principles and ideologies. Low-intensity conflict ranges from subversion to the use of the armed forces. It is waged by a combination of means, employing political, economic, informational, and military instruments. Low-intensity conflicts are often localized, generally in the Third World, but contain regional and global security implications.” Amended Land acquisition bill, MGNREGA, Right to Information Act (RTI), Forest Rights Act (FRA) and schemes like National Rural Livelihood Mission? Building roads, distributing transistors, bicycles and solar lamps. Integrated Action Plan (Gadchiroli).
- 18. …AND THE RESPONSE OF THE STATE Clear, Hold and Build Model: This doctrine is derived from the used by the US Army in Iraq and Afghanistan, translates into the "Clear, Hold, Develop approach to tackle Naxalism" of the Central Government. Used in Sri Lanka. Operation Greenhunt: To crush the Maoist movement and to silence all the struggling masses the Indian government has sent more than 250,000 armed personnel to these regions backed by its air force and navy. Of the total of 207 CRPF battalions, around 37 to 38 percent forces have been deployed in the Maoist affected areas of the country alone, followed by 33 percent in Jammu and Kashmir, 28 percent in the northeast region and remaining in various parts of the country.
- 19. …AND THE RESPONSE OF THE STATE Private armies: Like the contras in Latin America. Salwa Judum, Kaimur Shanti Sena , Harmad & Bhairav Bahini. The Chhattisgarh state Police employs tribal youths as SPOs (Special Police Officers), which are essentially 4,000 youth, both ex-Naxalites and those drawn from Salwa Judum camps in the Bastar region, who are paid an honorarium of Rs 1,500 (Rs 3000 in 2011)per month by the state government, were trained in arms. Salwa Judum is also accused of burning and evacuating out 644 or more villages, making 300,000 people flee their homes. By 2008, there were 23 Salwa Judum camps in Bijapur and Dantewara districts of Bastar region.
- 20. …AND THE RESPONSE OF THE STATE National Counterterrorism Centre (NCTC): The counter-terrorism model of the US primarily addresses foreign-grown terrorism. Much of India’s terrorism problem is home-grown and many of the terrorism challenges are manifestations of the failure of the Union Government and the State Governments to ensure good governance and resolve long-standing political problems.
- 21. …AND THE RESPONSE OF THE STATE Entry of NGOs & Cooption: With the cutting back on public spending on health, education, childcare, development, NGOs have moved in. The Privatisation of Everything has also meant the NGO-isation of Everything. Privatisation of schools- NGOs run BMC schools. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): The Ford Foundation runs a law school in the Congo. The New India Foundation funded by Nandan Nilekani, financed by profits from Infosys, gives prizes and fellowships to social scientists. The Sitaram Jindal Foundation endowed by Jindal Aluminium has announced five cash prizes of Rs 1 crore each to be given to those working in rural development, poverty alleviation, environment education and moral upliftment. The Reliance Group’s Observer Research Foundation (ORF), currently endowed by Mukesh Ambani, is cast in the mould of the Rockefeller Foundation. Of the millions of NGOs, some stage resistancel work. Eg. one of Arvind Kejriwal’s many NGOs is generously funded by Ford Foundation. Kiran Bedi’s NGO is funded by Coca Cola and Lehman Brothers.
- 22. …AND THE RESPONSE OF THE STATE Biased media coverage due to Corporatisation: The global media system is dominated by nine giant firms. The five largest are Time Warner (1997 sales: $24 billion), Disney ($22 billion), Bertelsmann ($15 billion), Viacom ($13 billion), and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation ($11 billion); TCI, the largest U.S. cable company that also has global media holdings; General Electric (1997 sales: $80 billion), owner of NBC; Sony (1997 sales: $48 billion), owner of Columbia & TriStar Pictures and major recording interests; and Seagram (1997 sales: $14 billion), owner of Universal film and music interests.
- 23. …AND THE RESPONSE OF THE STATE Communal riots/ Rise of Fascism: Divide and Rule policy. Gujarat (2002), Kandhamal (2008), Assam (2008)… Gujarat has emerged as the most lucrative investment destination attracting the highest number of investment proposals worth R16.28 lakh crore in 2011, according to a study done by industry body Assocham. In Odisha as of May 2010, MoUs of Projects were signed totaling a cost of Rs 4,41,471.14 crores
- 24. “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” — George Orwell