ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how social movement activists – mainly those representing food producer constituencies – experience their engagement in the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) arena. It argues that social movements – despite the immense challenges faced by peasants engaging in a world dominated by state bureaucracy and expressed in the languages, codes and norms of the UN arena – do not automatically follow the 'classical path' of institutionalisation, leaving little room for innovation and agency. The chapter also argues that the autonomous Civil Society Mechanism (CSM) functions to a high degree as a laboratory for developing innovative ways to support the agency of 'newcomers' to the CFS. It shows how committed and skilful interpreters play a fundamental role in overcoming some of the structural barriers related to language and translations. The chapter ends with a call for more research to further explore the unfolding structure-agency dynamics arising from social movements' participation in this transnational policy space.
