Editorial Type:
Article Category: Research Article
 | Online Publication Date: 21 Feb 2006
Building Bridges or Building Walls? Explaining Regionalization Among Transnational Social Movement Organizations
Building Bridges or Building Walls? Explaining Regionalization Among Transnational Social Movement Organizations
Page Range: 251 – 269
Before the mid-1980s, most transnational social movement organizations (TSMOs) organized across the North-South divide. However, since the mid-1980s data show that more TSMOs are organized exclusively within either the global North or South. To explain this pattern, I analyze ties between regionally organized TSMOs and other nongovernmental organizations. Groups in the global South were more likely than their Northern counterparts to maintain cross-regional ties. At the same time, Northern groups were significantly more likely to report only regional ties. Environmental and women's organizations were the most likely to maintain only regional ties while economic justice and human rights organizations were the most likely to report cross-regional ties. These findings suggest that the regionalization of TSMOs is best explained as a response to the institutional environment rather than a consequence of intramovement conflict and polarization.
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