The case against alternative currencies

Local Currencies, Local Exchange Trading Systems, and Time Banks are all part of a new social movement that aims to restrict money's purchasing power within a certain geographic area, or within a certain community. According to their proponents, these restrictions may contribute to building sustainable local economies, supporting local businesses and creating “warmer” social relations. This article inquires whether the overall enthusiasm that surrounds alternative currencies is justified. It argues that the potential benefits of these currencies are not sufficient to justify the restrictions they impose on money's purchasing power. Turning these currencies into effective channels of change, by increasing their scope and their strength, could severely hinder the pursuit of social justice, in a way that is probably not even necessary for achieving their objectives. The paper concludes that large-scale limitations of money's purchasing power are, therefore, undesirable.

SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE IN NIGERIA SDEMOCRACY (1999-2019)

The emergence of social movement can be traced early nineteenth century. Besides, the twentieth century also mark a watershed in the development of social movement at the global scale was the fascist and right-wings groups which were regarded as social movements rather than political parties because of their approach and strategies. This study seeks to examine the challenges of social movement in Nigerias democracy and to examine the implications of civil disobedience on Nigerias democracy. Moreover, this study is situated within the new social movement theory. Besides, data for this study were collected from various secondary sources such as textbooks, journals and internet sources and content analysis was used to analysed the data collected. The challenges of social movements revealed in this study include stiffer regulations guiding social mobilization inability to develop a unifying vision, building trust among various communities, prompting extensive involvement, managing comprehensible home-grown and countrywide strategies, training participants dedicated to peaceful action, and resisting suppression. However, the implications of civil disobedience on Nigerias democracy under present democratic dispensation have been treated with mixed-feeling, as it has resulted in the loss of lives and property.Lastly, this study suggested among other things that good and inclusive governance remain key in achieving sustainable peace and political stability in Nigeria.

Posthuman rights struggles and environmentalisms from below in the political ontologies of Ecuador and Colombia

In a decolonial determination to resist the modern ontological separation of nature from culture, political ontologies and posthuman legalities in Andean Community countries increasingly recognize natural and cultural forces as inextricably interrelated under the principle of the pluriverse. After years of Indigenous struggles, new social movement mobilizations and citizen activism, twenty-first-century constitutional changes in the region have affirmed the plurinational and intercultural natures of the region’s polities. Drawing upon extensive interdisciplinary ethnographic research in Ecuador and Colombia, the article illustrates how Indigenous, Afro-descendant and campesino communities express multispecies relations of care and conviviality in opposition to modern extractivist development through the concept of buen vivir. These grassroots collective life projects and life plans articulate rights ‘from below’ to support new practices of territorialization that further materialize natures’ rights and community ideals. Although human rights have modern origins, the implementation of third generation collective biocultural rights to fulfill natures’ rights may help to materially realize community norms, autonomies and responsibilities that exceed modern ontologies. The ecocentric territorial rights struggles and posthuman legalities we explore are examples of a larger emergent project of decolonizing human rights in a politics appropriate to the Anthropocene.

THE NEW-NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENTS: ARE SOCIAL MEDIA CHANGING THE ONTOLOGY OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS?

Our hypermediated societies affect the very nature of what a social movement is. This article identifies five core nodal points of what constitutes a social movement: Program claims, Identity construction, Connections, Actions, and Resolve (PICAR). Primarily using France’s yellow vest movement case, I assess the impact of social media on these nodal points. I find that social media afford opportunities as well as present challenges for contemporary movements which taken together amounts to a newly emerging ontology. This new-new social movement ontology is characterized by processes of discontinuity (open ideological positioning, fluid collective identities, weak ties, an online repertoire of action, and relative ephemerality) co-existing with continuity (the return of a class politics of redistribution, the continued importance of collective identity, offline repertoires, and cycles of protest). This analysis demonstrates the dynamic interplay between political and mediation opportunity structures, producing new emancipatory potentials and challenging constraints.

The meaning of Greta: a psychosocial exploration of Greta Thunberg

This article explores the social meaning of Greta Thunberg. Time magazine made her Person of the Year 2019, claiming she has become a social phenomenon, a "global sensation". This article utilises psychosocial theory and new social movement theory to explore the social meaning of "Greta". It asks what "Greta" evokes in our "social imaginary" (Taylor, 2009, p. 146). What conscious and unconscious identifications are projected onto "Greta" that have made her the unlikely famous person she is? These questions are not about exploring her individual psychological, leadership, or character traits, but focus on Greta (now eighteen years old) as a social object (Latour, 2005) with a vast social network following her, including over 4.2 million Twitter followers, a new documentary film about her, and mainstream media coverage across the globe. Part one of this article outlines the context and libidinal economies that Greta operates within, and the theoretical influences the article draws upon. Part two outlines five core messages that Greta transmits, and the meanings that emerge from observing social reactions to her. The article ends with a conclusion summarising the social meanings of Greta.

Media and transnational social movements : a content analysis of The Globe and Mail's coverage of the 2009 Tamil protest in Toronto

By using theoretical frameworks of Medium theory and New Social Movement Theory, this study analyzed how The Globe and Mail news articles published from January to May 2009 depicted the transnational social movement efforts of the 2009 Tamil protest in Toronto. The method of content analysis was applied to the following research question: How do new articles from The Globe and Mail newspaper portray the transnational social movement (TSM) efforts of the Tamil Diaspora in Canada? This study found that (1) overall there was a negative coverage of the Tamil transnational social movement; and (2) the emphasis was mostly placed on the Tamil protest's alleged affiliation and support for a banned terrorist group. This paper will conclude that the news articles of The Globe and Mail presented a distorted message of the Tamil protest in the articles to attract readership rather than inform the audience, in a neutral method, about the protest events that were occurring at that time. Hence, future research should seek to expand on this study by doing a longitudinal and comparative analysis of the relationship between media and the Tamil transnational social movement.

Media and transnational social movements : a content analysis of The Globe and Mail's coverage of the 2009 Tamil protest in Toronto

By using theoretical frameworks of Medium theory and New Social Movement Theory, this study analyzed how The Globe and Mail news articles published from January to May 2009 depicted the transnational social movement efforts of the 2009 Tamil protest in Toronto. The method of content analysis was applied to the following research question: How do new articles from The Globe and Mail newspaper portray the transnational social movement (TSM) efforts of the Tamil Diaspora in Canada? This study found that (1) overall there was a negative coverage of the Tamil transnational social movement; and (2) the emphasis was mostly placed on the Tamil protest's alleged affiliation and support for a banned terrorist group. This paper will conclude that the news articles of The Globe and Mail presented a distorted message of the Tamil protest in the articles to attract readership rather than inform the audience, in a neutral method, about the protest events that were occurring at that time. Hence, future research should seek to expand on this study by doing a longitudinal and comparative analysis of the relationship between media and the Tamil transnational social movement.

The Role of Bye-Bye Plastic Bags in Realizing Bali Provincial Government Policy Regarding the Restriction of Plastic Bags in 2013-2018

Bye Bye Plastic Bags is an environmental movement that emerged due to the unrest of two young people named Isabel Wijsen and Melati Wijsen regarding the problem of using plastic on the island of Bali because plastic waste on the island of Bali turned out to be found in rice fields and beaches which caused clogged gutters and filled the river. This is a problem in the reality of the environment in Bali should be a concern for local governments and communities. Therefore in this study an analysis will be made on the role of Bye Bye Plastic Bags in realizing the policy of the Provincial Government of Bali in limiting plastic bags in 2013-2018. Theories used in this study are environmental political actors, new social movements and environmental movements and non-government organizations. The method used in this research is a qualitative descriptive approach to explain the journey of Bye Bye Plastic Bags in carrying out its programs and activities so as to realize the policies of the Bali government. The results of the analysis show that the successful activities carried out by Bye Bye Plastic Bags in 2013-2018 in realizing the policy of the Provincial Government of Bali regarding the limitation of plastic bags, namely Spreading Awareness and Education, Creating Policy and Regulation with Government, Showing Solution, and Growing the Movement.Keywords: new social movement, environmental movement, environmental politics. AbstrakBye Bye Plastic Bags merupakan gerakan lingkungan yang muncul akibat keresahan dua anak muda bernama Isabel Wijsen dan Melati Wijsen terkait masalah penggunaan plastik di pulau Bali karena sampah plastik di pulau Bali ternyata terdapat pada beras. sawah dan pantai yang menyebabkan selokan tersumbat dan memenuhi sungai. Hal ini menjadi masalah dalam realitas lingkungan hidup di Bali yang harus menjadi perhatian pemerintah daerah dan masyarakat. Oleh karena itu dalam penelitian ini akan dilakukan analisis tentang peran Kantong Plastik Bye Bye dalam mewujudkan kebijakan Pemerintah Provinsi Bali dalam pembatasan kantong plastik tahun 2013-2018. Teori yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah para aktor politik lingkungan, gerakan sosial baru dan gerakan lingkungan serta lembaga swadaya masyarakat. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah pendekatan deskriptif kualitatif untuk menjelaskan perjalanan Kantong Plastik Bye Bye dalam menjalankan program dan kegiatannya guna mewujudkan kebijakan Pemerintah Bali. Hasil analisis menunjukkan bahwa keberhasilan kegiatan yang dilakukan Kantong Plastik Bye Bye tahun 2013-2018 dalam mewujudkan kebijakan Pemerintah Provinsi Bali mengenai pembatasan kantong plastik yaitu Penyebaran Kesadaran dan Edukasi, Membuat Kebijakan dan Regulasi dengan Pemerintah, Menunjukkan Solusi, dan Menumbuhkan Gerakan.Keywords: gerakan sosial baru, gerakan lingkungan, politik lingkungan.