Abstract

Are political activists connected to the global justice movement simplistically opposed to neoliberal globalization? Is their political vision 'incoherent' and their policy proposals 'naïve' and 'superficial' as is often claimed by the mainstream media?

Drawing on dozens of interviews and rich textual analyses involving nearly fifty global justice organizations linked to the World Social Forum, the authors of this pioneering study challenge this prevailing view. They present a compelling case that the global justice movement has actually fashioned a new political ideology with global reach: 'justice globalism'. Far from being incoherent, justice globalism possesses a rich and nuanced set of core concepts and powerful ideological claims. The book investigates how justice globalists respond to global financial crises, to escalating climate change, and to the global food crisis. It finds justice globalism generating new political agendas and campaigns to address these pressing problems. Justice globalism, the book concludes, has much to contribute to solving the serious global challenges of the 21st century.

Justice Globalism will prove a stimulating read for undergraduate and graduate students in the social sciences and humanities who are taking courses on globalization, global studies and global justice.
Justice Globalism could easily be used by academics in courses on globalization in programs ranging from Geography or Gender Studies to Economics or Anthropology, and would serve as a great primer for early career activists. In this way, its clear organization is very helpful. For the GJM organizations the authors studied and others, this book should serve as a valuable tool for understanding their movement and for building coalitions based on the ideas presented. This book does what many of us hope to do with our work, create a resource for academics, activists, and everyone in between.
Rebecca Dolhinow
The unprecedented social, financial, and ecological crises we face today have generated calls for a paradigm shift even from elites. This book documents and analyzes the ideological content of discussions in the World Social Forums to assess how well activists are responding to real world problems while articulating values and visions that can nurture "one world with room for many worlds." Careful research on central organizations in the WSF reveal how global justice proponents are challenging national identities and market globalism while piecing together their own understandings of preferred alternatives and methods for their achievement. This book is essential reading for those who wish to understand the growing movement against globalized capitalism. It challenges mainstream assessment of the movement as simplistic and lacking in solutions. It provides hope for those who recognize the limitations of the existing world-system and who need to know that another world is indeed possible.
Jackie Smith
Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Pittsburgh

In this seminal exploration of the ideas and policies of the global justice movement, Steger, Goodman and Wilson offer acute insights. The authors take a hard look at fresh evidence and present a groundbreaking analysis.
James H. Mittelman
University Professor of International Affairs, American University

The book argues for the existence of an emergent Global Justice Movement ideology that needs to be distinguished from other more familiar social movement ideologies. It has its own distinctive core concepts and core claims that respond to a broad range of specific political issues. A brilliant systematic and empirically based analysis of a rapidly mutating reality.
Saskia Sassen
author of Territory, Authority, Rights, and Professor, Columbia University

The book gives an excellent overview of the values, motives and political strategies of the global justice movement. It is a very timely book and a particularly valuable contribution to the academic debate on global justice as it takes it one step further by including the actual, political work on justice beyond the state into academic research on the topic. It will therefore be of interest to activists and scholars alike and an interesting read to graduate students interested in globalisation studies, transnational social movements and IPT (International Political Theory).
Nele Kortendiek, LSE Review of Books
The book is a very valuable contribution to the debate, and should not be missing from any reading list for an advanced globalisation studies class at universities and also at government, corporate and NGO staff training centres. For students and researchers in related fields including ‘liberation theology’, this slender volume is compulsory and worthy reading.
Arno Tausch
International Development Planning Review