Alternative Futures of Globalisation

* Dissertation: Alternative Futures of Globalisation. A Socio-Ecological Study of the World Social Forum Process. José María Ramos. May 2010

Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. To Queensland University of Technology Division of Research and Commercialisation. May 2010

Abstract

"Inspired by the initial World Social Forum in Porto Alegre Brazil, over the past decade over 200 local and regional social forums have been held, on five continents. This study has examined the nature of this broader social forum process, in particular as an aspect of the movement for 'another globalisation'. I discuss both the discourses for 'another world', as well as the development of an Alternative Globalisation Movement. As an action research study, the research took place within a variety of groups and networks. The thesis provides six accounts of groups and people striving and struggling for 'another world'. I provide a macro account of the invention and innovation of the World Social Forum. A grassroots film-makers collective provides a window into media. A local social forum opens up the radical diversity of actors. An activist exchange circle sheds light on strategic aspects of alternative globalisation. An educational initiative provides a window into transformations in pedagogy. And a situational account (of the G20 meeting in Melbourne in 2006) provides an overview of the variety of metanetworks that converge to voice demands for global justice and sustainability.

In particular, this study has sought to shed light on how, within this process, groups and communities develop 'agency', a capacity to respond to the global challenges they / we face. And as part of this question, I have also explored how alternatives futures are developed and conceived, with a re-cognition of the importance of histories and geo-political (or 'eco-political') structures as contexts. I argue the World Social Forum Process is prefigurative, as an interactional process where many social alternatives are conceived, supported, developed and innovated into the world. And I argue this innovation process is meta-formative, where convergences of diverse actors comprise ‘social ecologies of alternatives’ which lead to opportunities for dynamic collaboration and partnership."

Contents

Prologue: Emergence of a Planetary Self

Chapter One: The World Social Forum Process and Alternative Globalisation Movement

Chapter Two: A Theoretical Framework for Social Complexity in the Alternative Globalisation Movement

Chapter Three: A Journey of Action as Inquiry for Social Change

Chapter Four: Hegemonic and Counter Hegemonic Contexts of the World Social Forum Process

Chapter Five: Analysis of Fieldwork

Chapter Six: Social Complexity in the WSF(P) and the Movement for Another Globalisation

Jose Ramos:

"In the next chapter I offer some of the conceptual foundations for understanding this area of inquiry. I begin by looking at discourses for alternative globalisation. To begin to understand the WSF(P)-AGM complex, we must begin with the discourses that help frame the debate. I thus look at nine models for AG. I then develop a constructivist understanding of embodied cognition and the WSF(P) epistemology, which shows the way in the WSF(P) expresses its positions in relation to neo-liberal globalisation. I further develop the idea of the WSF(P) as domain development, in particular as counter public sphere. I develop the explanatory and analytic framework used throughout this thesis, based on five interrelated windows that address socio-ecological dimensions of the study. These five dimensions are: of cognitions (knowledge systems and epistemic considerations), of actors (and their expressions of agency), of geo-structures (the structural coupling of geography with political-economy-culture), of histories (‘ontogenies’ / histories of becoming), and of futures (aims, visions, teleologies, and prefigurations).

In Chapter Three, I discuss the methodology I have used in this research project. I begin by explaining the disciplinary domains the research has drawn from: Critical Futures Studies, Critical Globalisation Studies and Community Development, and the trans-disciplinary basis of the inquiry. I provide some epistemological grounding interests in scholar activism. I explain the initial design of the research, which was instrumental in identifying and developing ‘Alternative Globalisation’ as a key discursive domain. I go on to explain my approach to field research, informed broadly from the Action Research tradition. I discuss the approach and process I have used in documenting the field research, forming textual accounts. Finally I discuss the various groups I have worked with and the accounts themselves.

In Chapter Four, I set the historical context for the thesis. I trace the historical origins of the WSF(P) by looking at the key factors that led to its development, the hegemonic context of neoliberal globalisation which the WSF was an initial response to, and the history and social processes of the actors that form much of the initial tapestry of the WSF. I then examine the processes by which the WSF was invented, including what it was intended to do, and its birthing experience. Next, I explore the processes of innovating a WSF, including factors that have led to its success, and ways that it has been modified and transformed by stakeholders, constituents and participants. Through this I describe the emergence of a WSF as process – the ‘WSF(P)’.

Chapter Five of the thesis analyses the projects and processes I’ve been part of. The analytic framework developed in Chapter Two is used to shed light on dimensions of the accounts: 1) the agency of actors, 2) their cognising processes, 3) the histories that they embody, 4) the futures they struggle for and represent, and 5) the geo-structures they are implicated in. I analyse each account and correlate across the accounts looking for patterns and insights. Using this framework I analyse five accounts: the Melbourne Social Forum, Plug-in TV, Oases, Community Collaborations and the G20 Convergence.

In Chapter Six I return to my original concerns. I ask, what are the possible futures for a WSF(P) and what implications does this have for the AGM? I develop four scenarios that help to integrate and synthesise many of the questions, tensions, concerns and issues that run through this thesis. These scenarios and the concluding discussion aim to contribute to a broader understanding of themes that emerge in the thesis project."