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Coalescing As New Combinations Chris Hurl BA Diversity of Tactics: Coalescing as New Combinations Chris Hurl B.A., University of British Columbia, 2001 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of Sociology and Cultural, Social and Political Thought O Chris Hurl, 2005 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. Supervisor: Dr. William K. Carroll ABSTRACT This paper explores the emergence of a "diversity of tactics" in the anti- globalization movement. From the protests against the WTO in Seattle, 1999 to the massive protests against the G8 in Genoa, 2001, the call to respect a "diversity of tactics" had been widely articulated by activists, especially in Canada and the United States. The emergence of this discourse in recent protests has been an expression of the changing context of struggle over the past thirty years. It reflects a hegemonic shift from representative modes of struggle towards a solidarity grounded in autonomy and decentralization. In a spectacular wave of protests, such decentralized organizing was able to flourish for a brief period and enable the ascendancy of a radical "anti-capitalist" network. However, the call to respect a "diversity of tactics" also reflects the limitations faced in these "summit- hopping" actions. Supervisor: Dr. W.K. Carroll, (Department of Sociology) Table of Contents Abstract.......................................... ------- ---- ..................................... ii ... Table of Contents....................................................................... -------- 111 The Beat of a Different Drummer (or) Sound and Fury Signifying Nothing?------ 1 Seattle was just the Beginning?-------------------------- ------------ ------ ---- ------ 23 A Statement of Fact?................................................ --------------- ---------48 Do ugh- ........................................................................ -- 75 The Beat of a Different Drummer (or) Sound and Fury Signifying Nothing? The Sun Machine is coming down and we're going to have a party. David Bowie, 1969, Memory of a Free Festival The huge bonfire danced underneath the overpass illuminating thousands of clandestine faces in a cavernous light. Thousands of bodies dancing, singing, screaming, banging out a rhythm that reverberated across the whole city. Some took rocks to the steel undergirding of the bridge. Others banged on oil drums, old water coolers, guardrails. Everything that could be salvaged was turned into music. I had taken a couple of sticks and was drumming out a beat on two uprooted "No Parking" signs like a hi-hat. There were hundreds of different beats clanging in their own time, with their own tempo. And yet there was a rhythm, a harmony slowly winding its way up the cliffs of the old town reaching towards the temporary fortress erected for the protection of global capital. It was the most beautiful music I have ever heard. For me, as for thousands of others, that night in Quebec City embodied the spirit of an emerging movement. There was a sense of solidarity that somehow resided beyond words, taking shape on the streets rather than through the painstaking articulation of equivalence by self-appointed "movement" representatives in lengthy coalition meetings. On my way back to my temporary lodging, getting whatever sleep I could on the floor of an abandoned police station, I saw people clustered at the intersections, hanging around, having a beer as music played from the window of a nearby apartment. An old trade unionist was deeply engaged in an impassioned discussion of Castro's Cuba. He stood out there, arguing the merits of state socialism with a group of young anarchists. They talked quickly and excitedly, discussing the revolution as a very real line of action. The possibility of overturning everything seemed so close. But "close" is a relative term. As I returned to my temporary residence, part of me couldn't help but feel uncertain. How was banging on guardrails an effective form of collective action? To what extent was this all just noise? We had been driven down below the overpass earlier that day after the police pushed us from the fence using tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons. A few brave activists attempted to make their way back, wearing gas masks, using stop signs as shields, but to no avail as tear gas cannisters were lobbed at the front, back and rolled underneath the large crowd. And so we made our way to our only real avenue of escape, a narrow staircase leading down the cliff to the old town. Somehow, everyone remained remarkably calm as we walked down those stairs. I was doubled over, gasping for air but finding only thick, acrid smoke. I couldn't see anything. But I felt my way slowly, one step after another, feverishly gripping the handrail. At the bottom, somebody sprayed me with a hose rinsing off the poisons that covered my body and told me to find someplace warm because April in Quebec City is still considered winter. As we were pushed down there like common trolls, I asked myself where do we go from here? It seemed quite evident that we could not keep on going like this. The police were learning our tricks. They had planned ahead. While in Seattle (1 999) only 400 police officers were on duty, desperately trying to maintain order, in Quebec City (2001) there were over 6,000, the largest security operation in Canadian history (that is to say, until the G8 protests in Kananaskis in 2002), and they were fully stocked with all the latest in "crime-fighting" technology (CBC News, 2001; Reid, 2002). I frequently heard people making allusions to Darth Vader's stormtroopers. The way the helicopter floodlights glinted off of their futuristic armor seemed to validate this impression. The intensifying police presence was making it difficult if not impossible to disrupt the meetings. Of course, this seemed like a moot point considering that the next World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting was being organized in the dictatorship of Qatar, and the next G8 meeting was scheduled to kick off at the remote mountain resort of Kananaskis. The strategy of "summit-hopping" was becoming tired, predictable, less effective and in many cases completely impossible. And yet, what were the alternatives? Were we just falling back on our own noise? It became increasingly clear that something needed to change. Movements Participating in the protests in Seattle and Quebec City, I felt like I was part of something much larger, a global "movement" that was actively redefining the range of possibilities. These were not the conventional protests that I had become accustomed to - - a well-ordered, peaceful march leading to a series of speakers and then gently dispersing. With its diverse and creative tactics, the wave of protests sweeping across the world under the broad banner of "anti-globalization" had recaptured the Left's imagination. The images and slogans from Seattle, Quebec City, Prague, and Genoa were plastered into a legacy, a fresh inspiration to replace the fading images of Weathermen in football helmets. The "new activism" as exemplified in the anti- globalization movement appeared as a paradigm shift away from stale social democratic policies and small Marxist-Leninist sects awaiting their turn to play vanguard. In contrast to the homogenizing impulse of global capitalism, resistance appeared to be irreducibly plural. The purpose of this paper is to trace the practical contours of the so-called "anti- globalization movement" in Canada and the United States. To what extent can this string of actions and events even be described as a "movement"? At what points does a "movement" converge and where does it diverge? There are certainly no clear boundaries surrounding "the movement". Following the confrontational and disruptive actions organized against the WTO in Seattle in November, 1999, the question of what should be considered to be a part of "the movement" became an open and hotly contested question. While some groups and individuals attempted to maintain clear guidelines around what actions would be considered acceptable, others argued for the need to respect a "diversity of tactics", acknowledging the autonomy of diverse groups in organizing actions. I will explore how the call to respect a "diversity of tactics" has been reflective of the changing context of struggle, shifting away from institutions of mediation and representation and towards decentralized and autonomous networks. However, this has been a contested and very concrete struggle rather than a smooth and linear transition. The identity of the "movement" has always been an open question. The label "anti-globalization", tacked on by the corporate media, never sat well with most activists. Many activists will tell you that they are not against "globalization" as such but are opposed to the way in which "globalization" is being implemented under a partial ideological program, the program of neoliberalism, freeing capital from the social and environmental costs of doing business. The response to neoliberalism has been varied. Certainly, some, most predominantly trade unions, have argued for the preservation of national borders in trade relations but others have argued for the elimination of borders altogether. Since the battles against the Free Trade Agreement in the 1980s, many groups have increasingly shifted to a position of internationalism, developing international networks,
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