Abstract

The start of the twenty-first century has been marked by global demands for economic justice. From the pink tide and Arab spring to Occupy and anti-austerity, the last twenty years have witnessed the birth of a new type of mass mobilisation.

Where Are The Unions? compares, for the first time, the challenges faced by movements in Latin America, the Arab world and Europe. Workers’ strikes and protests were a critical part of these events, yet their role has been significantly underestimated in many of the subsequent narratives.

This book focuses on the complex interactions between organised workers, the unemployed, self-employed, youth, students and the state, and critically assesses the concept of the ‘precariat’. With contributions from across four continents, this is the most comprehensive look at the global context of mass mobilisation in the twenty-first century.

‘This superb collection combines a radical, activist-inspired vision with up-to-date scholarship and theoretical insight. Bringing together in-depth analyses of specific case studies from different national contexts, the book makes a significant contribution to our understanding of current labour conflicts.’
Pnina Werbner, co-author of Debating Cultural Hybridity

‘This may be the single most important set of studies to come out of recent worldwide mobilisations. It tells us what the Left has to learn about labour if we are to take on the spectre of the populist Right.’
Don Kalb, University of Bergen

‘This book is pivotal to understanding global social movements. Sian Lazar has impressively drawn examples from around the world, demonstrating that resisting union bureaucracy and government authoritarianism is essential to creating enduring democratic structures. Essential for students of social movements.’
Immanuel Ness, City University of New York

‘This desperately needed collection turns a crucial analytic lens on our current era of global uprisings. Richly comparative and with a broad historical frame, it makes clear that workers will remain pivotal to movements for other possible futures.’
Maple Razsa, author of Bastards of Utopia: Living Radical Politics after Socialism

Sian Lazar is a lecturer in the Division of Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge. She is the author of El Alto, Rebel City: Self and Citizenship in Andean Bolivia (2008) and the editor of The Anthropology of Citizenship: A Reader (2013). She has conducted field research in Bolivia and Argentina, with a focus on collective politics and political subjectivity.