Few scholars have attempted to document the nature of coalition building within the anti-globalization movement, and this study is an attempt to analyze part of this complex and important social movement. This study is a synopsis of Northwest Ohio’s anti-globalization movement and concentrates on the nature of alliances across movements and the numerous dilemmas they encounter. The major assumption of this project is that neoliberalism dominates the globalization process through the policies and practices of various governance institutions and that the anti-globalization movement arose as a counter-movement in response to neoliberal changes. Based on thirteen interviews conducted within Northwest Ohio’s activist community, this study is a qualitative research project that explores the motivations of labor, peace, farm worker, environmental, and anarchist activists, their concerns about the nature of globalization, and their experiences with cross-movement alliance building.
The objective of this study is, first, to provide some historical context on globalization, political and economic thought, coalition building, anti-globalization’s antecedent movements and the broader national and international movement; second, to explain how and why various social movements in Northwest Ohio became part of the anti-globalization movement and identify the problematic issues of cross-movement alliances. The study begins with a review of literature on coalitional movements, anti-globalization activism, and the antecedent movements of Northwest Ohio’s anti-globalization movement. I also provide a history of contending liberalisms and the process of globalization. Finally, interviews with Northwest Ohio activists are analyzed to examine personal recollections of the emergence of concerns about the nature of globalization, anti-globalization activism, and experiences with coalition building across movements. The findings of this study center around the dilemmas of coalition building and the utility of theories on neoliberalism for explaining anti-globalization activism. Northwest Ohio’s anti-globalization movement is not a cohesive movement based on a collective anti-globalization identity but rather a diverse group of activists joined together by the perceived threats of neoliberal globalization. As they attempt to form alliances across movements, differences in social characteristics, group structures, leadership styles, decision-making models, and tactics pose considerable challenges.