Activism across Borders since 1870: Causes, Campaigns and Conflicts in and beyond Europe

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From the Occupy protests to climate change school strikes and the Black Lives Matter movement, the twenty-first century has been rife with activism. Although very different from one another, each of these movements have created alliances across borders and show that activists' concerns are not confined to individual nation states. In this book, Daniel Laqua shows that these global efforts are not just a recent phenomenon, and that as long as there have been borders, activists have sought to cross them. Activism Across Borders Since 1870 explores traces how individuals, groups and organisations have fostered bonds in their quest for political and social change, and considers the impact of national and ideological boundaries on their efforts. Focusing on Europe but with a global outlook, the book acknowledges the importance of imperial and post-colonial settings for groups and individuals that expressed far-reaching ambitions. From feminism and socialism to anti-war campaigns and green politics, this book approaches transnational activism with an emphasis on four features: connectedness, ambivalence, transience and marginality. In doing so, it demonstrates the intertwined nature of different movements, problematizes transnational action, discusses the temporary nature of some alliances, and shows how transnationalism has been used by those marginalized at the national level. With a broad chronological perspective and thematic chapters, it provides historical context, clarifies terms and concepts and offers an alternative history of the modern world through the lens of activists, movements and campaigns.

Author Bio

Daniel Laqua is Associate Professor of History at Northumbria University, UK. He has published widely on the themes of pacifism, socialism, anti-slavery, socialialism, anarchism, the historiography of humanitarianism and the interplay between the League of Nations and political activism. His publications include International Organizations and Global Civil Society, Internationalism Reconfigured and The Age of Internationalism and Belgium.