From Local to Global

This booklet, published by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), explores how links between local and global groups are forming effective social movements for campaigning and advocacy. It examines how the internet and other communication technologies are helping to speed up international mobilisation for causes and campaigns and are contributing to changes in governance structures. In addition, it highlights why social movements benefit from a better understanding of the inter-relationships between the different forms of political and economic power. It was produced following the fifth in a series of special seminars entitled 'Engaging Citizens', organised by the ESRC in collaboration with the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) in the United Kingdom (UK).

From local to global draws on presentations at a seminar given by John Gaventa, professor and research fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK, and Christopher Rootes, Professor of Environmental Politics and Political Sociology at the University of Kent, UK. Their research has identified the challenges and benefits of achieving international engagement and global citizenship. John Gaventa outlines the need for civil society organisations and other activists to understand the changing nature of governance worldwide. His research highlights the importance of acting at multiple levels and of forming vertical alliances to achieve effective global outcomes. Christopher Rootes concludes from his research that, despite advances in communications, the obstacles to the realisation of global citizenship are considerable. Increasingly, the public engage strongly with global issues (e.g. local groups contributed substantially to Make Poverty History). However, building organisations that are genuinely global in scope, or that effectively embrace global issues, is constrained by limited resources, cultural differences, and the under-development of political structures to assist the process.