Anti-globalisation organisation as a fourth generation people's movement

Abstract

Worldwide opposition to different aspects of globalisation indicates the emergence of a global social movement that typically targets the international bodies that regulate global trade and global finance, as well as the regulations themselves. The significance of the movement calls for a synthetic analysis that moves beyond the currently used fragmentary descriptions. A more profound conceptual framework will enable researchers to better understand the full dynamic of the movement within its global context In this article we explore the possibilities of applying David Korten's ideal-typical notion of fourth generation development to the anti-globalisation movement. We ask whether anti-globalisation organisation exhibits so-called Fourth Generation characteristics and activities. Our goal is to determine the extent to which the movement as a whole, and the individual organisations which constitute it, conform to the fourth generation development conceptual framework. We conclude with seven provisional conclusions that ultimately point to the need for advancing actual alternatives as basis for an alternative social order.