Global Injustice Symbols and Social Movements

Global Injustice Symbols and Social Movements theorizes how transnational social movements create symbols of injustice in order to foster and sustain the solidarity necessary for their success. Olesen examines our collective moral and political maps, dotted with symbols shaped by political dynamics beyond their local or national origin, and offers the first systematic sociological treatment of this important phenomenon. Using "symbol theory", empirical data collected from media archives, official documents, and internet sources, Olesen seeks to answer how global injustice symbols are formed, how they are employed by political actors, and to what ends.

Thomas Olesen is Associate Professor of Political Science and Government, Aarhus University, Denmark. His research interests lie in the intersection of social movements, globality, solidarity, communication, and media. He has contributed widely to the fields of social movements and global sociology in journals such as Mobilization, Research in Social Movements, Conflicts, and Change, and International Political Sociology.