G IUGNI, New Social Movements in Western Europe: A Comparative Analysis, Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, 1995 (Social Movements, Protest, and Contention, vol. K eck & Kathryn S lKKINK, Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics, Ithaca, Cornell University Press, 1998 Hanspeter KRIESI, Ruud K oopmans, Jan Willem D UYVENDAK, & Marco G.
By attributing blame to German (1) Margaret E. The prefect of the Isère département, charged by the Interior Minister with coordinating police action at the demonstration, spoke of a “second German occupation” of the region, and the rightwing press insinuated that “West German terrorists” from the Red Army Faction were among the demonstrators. This protest was plagued by a number of problems that were only marginally related to the transnational character of the mobilisation, but the French government played up foreign participation, notably by West German demonstrators, as a means of undermining the protest. At the international demonstration against the Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR) “Super-Phénix” in Creys-Malville, France on 31 July 1977, one demonstrator was killed, three people lost limbs and hundreds were injured when police used hand grenades against demonstrators. This paper will examine in detail one infamous instance of transnational activism gone awry.
Borrowed strategies and allies abroad can be turned to a movement’s disadvantage when they depart too much from the local context or are used to substitute for, rather than complement, a strong local movement. Though social scientists have amply described such positive aspects of transnational activism (the “boomerang effect”, political opportunities, diffusion) less attention has been paid to its occasional disadvantages, though these are by no means hidden from view. For activists working on local or national issues that have parallels abroad, perhaps the most important advantage of “going transnational” is that it allows them to see their own problems from a different perspective and learn from peers who may approach matters in a different way. For example, by working in cross-border networks, activists may be able to circumvent limitations in their own country, apply pressure from abroad against local opponents and select the best terrain for fighting for their cause from among various national and international venues.
Transnationality as a Liability? The Anti-Nuclear Movement at Malville Andrew TOMPKINS University o f Oxford In the literature on social movements, the specifically transnational dimensions of certain movements and mobilisations are often discussed primarily in terms of their advantages or potential advantages.
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