Mogadam Valentine's article addressed both the negative as well as positive aspects of globalization.
I agree that globalization has awakened much of the western activist world to the broader, deeper, intersecting aspects of activism and how actions by the State impact communities a world away.
Valentine states that " Global civic society is 'the sphere of cross-border relationships and activities carried out by collective actors...they are cross border, moving from shared values and identities that challenge and protest economic or political power and campaign for change in global issues" (32).
I love reading, discussing and challenging globalization, the role of the State/the future of the State. I realize that with globalization, & the rise of the internet, activists have been able to realize their role as oppressors in a neo-imperial sense as well as challenge fundamentalism home and abroad.
But I struggle with this reality. It confuses me how globalization can have a enlightening as well as narrowing impact on society as a whole. I feel like we can go abroad & fight for justice, but when someone "different" or outside the normal power sphere, or normative ideal, seeks justice here in America there is a backlash or people in positions of privilege forget, ignore or are oblivious to their stories, issues etc. Cultural relativism & respect for a variety of experiences seems to apply abroad with global justice, but not here at home.
Is it just too hard to extricate ourselves from our own, intimate social fabric to see our own roles in the complex web of society in America and what needs to be done to change things here at home? Which might I add, no doubt will have ripples across the world.
I found this article, which is narrow in many ways, but offers a glimpse or at best a limited example of what I am trying to say.
http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2011/10/11/am-i-troy-davis-a-slut/
Abby, I 'm glad up the point that often students think of globalization as a way of expanding their worldview beyond the border, boundaries, and norms of the U.S. Often, globalization is only thought of as an exciting ways of learning about different places, cultures, and perspectives. Admittedly, our discussion of globalization is framed within the context of neo-liberalism, sucking the pleasure out of this learning experience. In GWSS, globalization is often understood as an alternative, but necessary way of understand global inequality. Thanks for your post, and thanks for challenging all of us to examine our complicities in equalities both at home and abroad, and trying to see how they are connected. Good work.