This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by SMITH, J. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Global Civil Society?

Transnational Social Movement Organizations and Social Capital

State University of New York-Stony Brook

The growth of international political and economic institutions has both facilitated and demanded cooperation among social change activists from different countries, contributing to the rapid expansion of transnationally organized social movements. But to what extent do these increasingly visible movements manifest a "global civil society"? Do transnational social movement organizations (TSMOs) help cultivate the social capital relevant to a politically engaged global civil society? Building on Minkoff's analysis of national SMOs, this article argues that TSMOs contribute to the formation of social capital that is relevant to the global political order, even if these organizations do not generate routine, face-to-face contact among members. They do so by providing an infrastructure that facilitates transnational communication and action, by cultivating transnational identities, and by developing a global public discourse. This analysis of the role of social movements in the global polity relates to more general debates on civil society and democracy.

American Behavioral Scientist, Vol. 42, No. 1, 93-107 (1998)
DOI: 10.1177/0002764298042001008


CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. Ganapati Critical Appraisal of Three Ideas for Community Development in the United States Journal of Planning Education and Research, June 1, 2008; 27(4): 382 - 399. [Abstract] [PDF]

				G. Yang The Internet and the Rise of a Transnational Chinese Cultural Sphere Media Culture Society, July 1, 2003; 25(4): 469 - 490. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M. W. FOLEY and B. EDWARDS Beyond Tocqueville: Civil Society and Social Capital in Comparative Perspective: Editors' Introduction American Behavioral Scientist, September 1, 1998; 42(1): 5 - 20.

				B. EDWARDS and M. W. FOLEY Civil Society and Social Capital Beyond Putnam American Behavioral Scientist, September 1, 1998; 42(1): 124 - 139. [Abstract]