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'In most discussions, the '''global citizens movement''' is a socio-political process rather than a political organization or party structure. The term is often used synonymously with the [[anti-globalization movement]] or the [[global justice movement]].<ref>George, Susan. 2001. [http://www.tni.org/archives/george/budapest.htm Global citizens movement: A new actor for a new politics] TNI</ref> Colloquially the term is also used in this imprecise manner. <br/> [[Global citizens movement]] has been used by activists to refer to a number of organized and overlapping citizens groups who seek to influence public policy often with the hope of establishing global solidarity on an issue. Such efforts include advocacy on ecological sustainability, corporate responsibility, social justice and similar progressive issues. <br/> In theoretical discussions of [[social movements]],<ref>Kriegman, Orion. 2006. [http://www.gtinitiative.org/documents/PDFFINALS/15Movements.pdf Dawn of the Cosmopolitan: The Hope of a Global Citizens Movement] Boston: [http://www.tellus.org Tellus Institute]</ref> global citizens movement refers to a complex and unprecedented phenomena made possible by the unique subjective and objective conditions of the [[planetary phase of civilization]]. The term is used to distinguish the latent potential for a profound shift in values among an aware and engaged citizenry from existing [[transnational citizens movements]]<ref>Guidry, J., M. Kennedy, and M. Zald (eds). 2003. Globalizations and Social Movements: Culture, Power, and the Transnational Public Sphere. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.</ref> which tend to focus on specific issues (such as the [[anti-war movement]]). ==Background== The concept of ''[[global citizenship]]'' first emerged among the [[Greek Cynics]] in the 4th Century BCE (9.6 ky), who coined the term “[[Multicultural|cosmopolitan]]” – meaning ''citizen of the world''. The [[Roman Stoics]] later elaborated on the concept. The contemporary concept of [[cosmopolitanism]], which proposes that all individuals belong to a single [[moral community]], has gained a new salience as scholars examine the ethical requirements of the [[planetary phase of civilization]].<ref>Appiah, K. 2006. Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers (Issues of Our Time). New York: W.W. Norton.</ref> The idea that today’s objective and subjective conditions have increased the latency for an emergent global civic identity has been argued by the authors of the [[Global Scenario Group]]’s final report [http://www.gtinitiative.org/documents/Great_Transitions.pdf Great Transition: the Promise and Lure of the Times Ahead]. Similar arguments for the existence of a latent pool of tens of millions of people ready to identify around new values of earth consciousness have been put forth by such authors as [[Paul Raskin]] (see [http://www.gtinitiative.org/documents/PDFFINALS/16WorldLines.pdf World Lines: Pathways, Pivots, and the Global Future]), [[Paul H. Ray]] (see [[Cultural Creatives]]<ref>Ray, P. and S. Anderson. 2000. The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People are Changing the World. New York: Three Rivers Press.</ref>), and [[David Korten]] (see [[Great Turning]]). Organizations, such as [[Oxfam International]] believe that a global citizens movement rooted in social and economic justice is emerging and is necessary for ending global poverty.<ref> Oxfam International. 2001. [http://www.oxfam.org/en/files/strat_plan.pdf Towards Global Equity] </ref> ==Visions of a Global Citizens Movement== In the last chapter of his book, ''[[Red Sky at Morning (Speth book)|Red Sky at Morning]]'', [[James Gustave Speth|Gus Speth]] describes the potential for a new type of social movement composed of "we the people, as citizens" rooted in the principles of the [[Earth Charter]] to lead the transition in consciousness and values necessary for the emergence of a new planetary civilization.<ref> [[James Gustave Speth]]. 2004. Red Sky at Morning. New York: Yale University Press </ref> Orion Kriegman, author of [http://www.gtinitiative.org/documents/PDFFINALS/15Movements.pdf Dawn of the Cosmopolitan: The Hope of a Global Citizens Movement], states, “Transnational corporations, governments, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) remain powerful global actors, but all of these would be deeply influenced by a coherent, worldwide association of millions of people who call for priority to be placed on new values of quality of life, human solidarity, and environmental sustainability.” Kriegman distinguishes this “coherent, worldwide association of millions” from the existing fragmented social movements active in the [[World Social Forum]]. These movements tend to be issue-specific – focused on labor, environment, human rights, feminist issues, indigenous struggles, poverty, AIDS, and numerous other interrelated but “siloed” efforts. Coherence among these movements would require a reframing of their work under the rubric of the struggle for a socially just and ecologically sustainable global society and the establishment of an institutional structure to defend the rights of humanity, future generations, and the biosphere. Kriegman asserts, “The upsurge of civil society activity, in the form of NGOs and social movements, over the past few decades can be understood as an early manifestation of the latency in the global system, and at the same time this transnational activity helps deepen the latency. However, existing social movements have not found a way to effectively balance the creative tension between pluralism and coherence to provide a collective framework for theory and action. Without a shared framework, it is hard to imagine how the latent potential would coalesce into a global systemic movement. The development of a shared framework will depend on new forms of leadership to facilitate engaged dialogue inclusive of diverse voices.” ==Critiques of a Global Citizens Movement== The major critique of the notion of a global citizens movement centers around the potential for the emergence of solidarity on issues at the global level. Nationalism, racism, and the dominance of the [[Westphalian sovereignty|Westphalian state system]] are considered antithetical to the adoption of a global civic identity. However, some scholars point out that the historical emergence of nationalism must have felt just as improbable in a time of warring city-states,<ref> Anderson, B. R. 1991. Imagined communities: reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism. London; New York: Verso.</ref> and yet in retrospect it appears inevitable.<ref> Rajan, Chella. 2006. [http://www.gtinitiative.org/documents/PDFFINALS/3Politics.pdf Global Politics and Institutions]. Boston: [http://www.tellus.org Tellus Institute] </ref> A more radical critique stems from the arguments put forth by [[Michael Hardt]] and [[Antonio Negri]] in their book [[Multitude]] and enshrines Foucault’s notion of a “plurality of resistance”<ref>Foucault, M. 1980. The History of Sexuality. New York: Vintage Books.</ref> as the only legitimate path forward. This argument asserts that an organized movement among the vast multitude is both undesirable and impossible. Instead of leadership and organizational structures, Hardt and Negri put faith in the emergence of spontaneous coherence due to increasing self-organized networks among various autonomous resistance movements. They critique the notion that there could be legitimate leaders, democratically chosen through a formal network of grassroots structures, acting on behalf of a big-tent pluralistic association of global citizens to directly confront the entrenched power of transnational corporations and state governments. However, it remains unclear how a network of autonomous movements would differ in practice from the vision of an authentic global citizens movement. ==See also== *[[Global citizenship]] ==Notes== <references /> ==References== Florini, A. 2000. The Third Force: The Rise of Transnational Civil Society. New York: Carnegie Endowment. ISBN 0-87003-180-5 Gelder, Melinda. 2006. Meeting the Enemy, Becoming a Friend. Boulder: Bauu Press. ISBN 0-9721349-5-6 Kriegman, Orion and [http://www.gtinitiative.org/ Great Transition Initiative]. 2006. "[http://www.eoearth.org/article/Global_citizens_movement Global citizens movement]." [http://www.eoearth.org/ Encyclopedia of Earth]. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland. (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). Mayo, Marjorie. 2005. Global Citizens: Social Movements and the Challenge of Globalization. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9781842771389 Raskin, P., T. Banuri, G. Gallopín, P. Gutman, A. Hammond, R. Kates, and R. Swart. 2002. [http://www.gtinitiative.org/documents/Great_Transitions.pdf The Great Transition: The Promise and the Lure of the Times Ahead]. Boston, MA: [http://www.tellus.org Tellus Institute]. Smith, Jackie. 2007. Social Movements for Global Democracy. Themes in Global Social Change. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8744-4 == External links == * [http://www.gcclaurier.org Global Citizenship Conference] -- Interdisciplinary conference held at Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada to discuss issues pertinent to Global Citizens * [http://www.societyforglobalcitizens.com Society for Global Citizens] a youth forum on global citizenship * [http://www.GTinitiative.org Great Transition Initiative] -- the GTI Paper Series and framework offers further context for discussion of a Global Citizens Movement * [http://www.eoearth.org/article/Global_citizens_movement Encyclopedia of the Earth] -- has an entry on the Global Citizens Movement under the category of Sustainable Development * [http://www.earthsky.org/blog/50818/another-world-is-possible-but-how NPR Radio Show Earth&Sky]-- examines implications of potential for crisis in [http://www.earthsky.org/article/humanworld-whatis the Human World] (i.e. [[Anthropocene]]) for mobilization of humanity to create a better world * [http://www.earthsky.org/blog/51033/who-will-change-the-world Who Will Change the World?] – an article and discussion on Earth & Sky about a Global Citizens Movement * [http://global-culture.org/blog/category/global-citizen/ Global Culture] Essays on the influence of Global Citizens * [http://globalpublic.org Global Public] Finding ways to advance true democracy and world morals. {{Supranationalism/World government topics}} [[Category:International nongovernmental organizations]] [[Category:World federalists]] [[Category:Sociology]] [[Category:Community building]] [[Category:Political advocacy groups in the United States]] [[Category:Activism]] [[Category:Justice]] [[Category:Anti-globalization]] [[Category:Civilizations]] [[Category:Theories of history]] [[Category:Economic geography]] [[Category:Cultural geography]] [[ca:Xarxa ciutadana]] [[es:Red ciudadana]]'