ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the trajectory of the social movements that in the last two decades have addressed global issues with cross-border mobilizations. The global dimension of transnational social movements is analyzed with a focus on their transnational activities, on the history of their emergence, on their model of organization and political action, on their shared identities and common strategies. The key characteristics of the global justice movements (GJMs) at the global level shed light on the wider context in which their national developments take place. Whereas the other chapters of this book concentrate on the national level, we focus on the global dimension, analyzing the specificity of transnational networks, as distinct from domestic mobilizations, in terms of political environment, strategies, and actors’ characteristics. Transnational networks and social organizations are characterized as global in relation to the issues they address, the political centers of power they challenge, and the way they are constituted and operate. Each of these elements sets them apart from traditional national social movements.
