ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book addresses a fundamental question that is rarely posed in the industry of globalisation-from-below literature: the body of literature that emerged after the so-called Battle of Seattle in USA in 1999; but before it, the Zapatista movement in Chiapas, Mexico, in 1994. It describes the source of agency of the subalterns; namely, the impetus for their resistance or non-resistance. The book is an effort at understanding the complex nature of subaltern agency and the paradoxes of their political behaviour issuing from that complexity. It elucidates the importance of doing a delicate balancing between the pessimism of the intellect and optimism of the will. The book argues that the point of departure to doing realist historical analysis is to be realistic about the prospects and challenges of resistance from 'below' by delving deep into the historical track record of subaltern resistance.
