Challenging Global Finance ─ Civil Society and Transnational Networks

Elizabeth Friesen shows how transnational civil society networks can mobilize to challenge the power of global finance. Through two case studies, one on the grass roots campaign and the other on the elite World Economic Forum, she tells the fascinating story of how, in the period leading up to the G8 summit at Gleneagles, transnational civil society actors reframed the morality surrounding the concept of debt, altered the dominant discourse and successfully challenged the rules and practices governing debt cancellation. The transnational campaign for the cancellation of third world debt made innovative use of the political possibilities presented by a globalizing world. Today, in a world where civil society actors continue to challenge states and international institutions, and the debate over the rules and practices governing international finance continues to rage, these findings have a powerful resonance.

ELIZABETH FRIESEN Lecturer in Political Science at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. Her research explores the role of social and normative forces in supporting, as well as contesting, the rules and practices which govern international economic relations.