Contested future(s): The social opposition to the OECD-MAI

This thesis concerns the social opposition to international negotiations for a Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) that took place between 1995 and 1998 at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The results obtained from the collection of data and the application of three theoretical frameworks support the following arguments: (i) the MAI negotiations were initiated within historical and intellectual contexts that rendered the treaty controversial due to its meaning as a symbol of economic globalization; (ii) as such, these negotiations gave rise to transnational social movement networks that oppose (corporate) economic globalization; (iii) these MAI opponents in coalition with other non-state actors exercised direct influence on the MAI draft text and indirect political influence on the negotiations that contributed to their demise; and (iv) the growth of the movement and its activities since the end of the negotiations are likely to have an ideational impact on societies and the processes of economic liberalization that will affect international economic relations. In order to support these findings, the research relies upon insights from three existing theoretical frameworks and the process tracing methodology. Social movement theory provides tools of analysis with which to understand the evolution of this novel non-state actor and its likely societal influences regarding our understanding(s) of economic globalization. Social constructivist frameworks used in the study of international relations illuminate how such non-state actors influence international outcomes. Finally, critical analytical frameworks of international relations provide a historical explanation of the emergence of such opposition to economic globalization. The contested future(s) we have witnessed in the numerous protests against the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank can thus be understood as a response to the increased liberalization of domestic markets which has been associated with the policies emanating from these organizations.