Network Movement in the Czech Republic: Peturbating Prague

Abstract

The prominence of global fault lines organised around the environment and social justice revealed through global social movement activity has significant implications for established approaches to political and social science. In particular, the rise of network analyses and the increasing attention to complexity theory within the social sciences represent profound challenges to established paradigms. This paper engages with this intellectual terrain utilising the 2000 Prague IMF/WB action to illustrate the unintended and largely unobserved political consequences and implications of global movement for established approaches within the political and policy sciences. It is argued that the default assumption that social movement activity automatically revolves around nationally defined political opportunity structures overlooks the significance of movement capacity building activities within this ‘shadow realm’—the most visible element of which can be seen in the activities of the European Social Forum. The paper draws on data gathered under an ESRC small grant and a Leverhulme Fellowship on Leadership within movements.

Notes

Correspondence Address: Ian Welsh, Cardiff University School of Social Sciences, Glamorgan Building, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3WT, UK. Email: [email protected]

See: http://www.nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/agp/en/

See The Guardian, September 23, 2000, p.19. This term had been previously used to signify the UK direct action movement's emergent affinity with carnival as a cultural analytic (see Chesters, 2000).

The Prague Post, September 27‐October 3, 2000, p.A11.

The Guardian, September 23, 2000, p.15.

For a discussion of the historic and symbolic significance of Prague, and Wenceslas Square in particular, see Holy (1996, 34 et. seq.).

This data was gathered as part of an ESRC small grant (R000223486) project which focussed on pre‐event, event and post‐event frames of participants. Respondents were selected from within hubs key to the event including KSCM, INPEG, and the third element, London RTS, Tactical Frivolity, and OPH legal rights monitors. Wider points relating to global movement networks draw upon research on leadership (Leverhulme: SRF/2002/0065) within movements conducted by my colleague, friend and collaborator Dr Graeme Chesters to whom I am grateful.

(www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2003/09/278096.html)

(www.ce‐review.org/00/32/culik32.html)