Resumo O governo federal brasileiro definiu oficialmente a agricultura familiar (AF) como uma agenda de política pública em 1996; entretanto, desde então, a política externa brasileira no campo da agricultura tem dado prioridade ao papel do agronegócio na exportação de commodities e sua contribuição para o PIB e o comércio do país. Questionando a narrativa governamental enraizada em uma estrutura agrícola dual (onde a AF e agronegócio seriam ambos igualmente relevantes), este artigo também destaca os processos de internacionalização da AF através da análise de diferentes fóruns da política externa brasileira. Nosso objetivo é entender como cada um deles contribuiu para o reconhecimento internacional da AF como “melhor prática”, mas também analisar os pontos fortes e a sustentabilidade do que rotulamos como resiliência da internacionalização da AF, particularmente quando consideramos o grave refluxo das políticas de AF no Brasil desde 2016.

Abstract Brazil’s federal government officially defined family farming (FF) as a public policy agenda in 1996; however, since then, Brazil’s foreign policy in the field of agriculture has given priority to the role of agribusiness in the export of commodities and its contribution to the country’s GDP and trade. While questioning the governmental narrative rooted in a dual agricultural structure (wherein FF and agribusiness would both be similarly relevant), this article also highlights the internationalisation processes of FF through the analysis of different forums in Brazilian foreign policy. Our goal is to understand how each of these forums and arenas has contributed to the international acknowledgement of FF as a ‘best practice’, but also to analyse the strengths and sustainability of what we label as the internationalisation resilience of FF, particularly when we consider the severe reflux of FF policies in Brazil since 2016.

Resumo Este artigo apresenta a dossiê intitulada “Transferência de políticas e cooperação Sul-Sul”. Muitas vezes, os programas de cooperação para o desenvolvimento, particularmente aqueles rotulados como parte da cooperação Sul-Sul (CSS), usam a transferência de políticas como uma de suas principais ferramentas de implementação. No entanto, independentemente das dimensões transversais e semelhanças compartilhadas, ambos os campos de práticas geraram tradições de pesquisa que seguiram trajetórias disciplinares específicas (e às vezes interdisciplinares) que raramente se encontraram. A transferência de políticas promovida por atores nacionais e internacionais, estatais e não estatais do Sul Global via cooperação para o desenvolvimento levanta várias questões que permanecem inexploradas e negligenciadas pela literatura acadêmica. Esta dossiê pretende promover um diálogo entre esses dois campos, analisando assim como a transferência de políticas por meio da CSS pode criar novas relações de poder, identidades, visões de mundo e práticas. Este artigo introdutório apresenta uma cartografia teórica e oferece na primeira seção uma breve revisão da literatura de ambos os campos de pesquisa; na segunda seção apresenta o histórico da CSS e as mudanças de papéis do Brasil nela; a terceira seção descreve possíveis conversas entre transferência de políticas e CSS; por fim, nas considerações finais trazemos algumas reflexões sobre futuras agendas de pesquisa.

Abstract This paper introduces the dossier entitled ‘Policy Transfer and South-South Cooperation’. Very often development cooperation programmes, particularly those labelled as part of South-South cooperation (SSC), use policy transfer as one of their key implementation tools. However, irrespective of cross-cutting dimensions and shared commonalities, both fields of practices have generated research traditions that have followed specific disciplinary (and sometimes interdisciplinary) trajectories which have seldom met. Policy transfer promoted by national and international, state and non-state agents of the Global South via development cooperation raises several questions that remain unexplored and overlooked by the scholarly literature. This dossier intends to promote a dialogue between these two fields, thus analysing how policy transfer through SSC may create new power relations, identities, world visions and practices. This introductory article presents a theoretical cartography and offers in the first section a brief literature review of both fields of research; in the second section it presents the historical background of SSC and Brazil’s changing roles in it; the third section outlines possible conversations between policy transfer and SSC; finally, in the concluding remarks we bring a few reflections about future research agendas.

Résumé: Les contradictions entre solidarité et intérêt qui imprègnent la coopération internationale pour le développement peuvent être comprises et analysées à partir des perspectives critiques de la colonialité du pouvoir, de l’hégémonie de l’Occident dans la définition des règles du jeu, mais aussi de la compréhension des relations asymétriques dans l’économie internationale et géopolitique. Ainsi, à partir de questions clés nourries par ces perspectives critiques et un cadre historique depuis la fin de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, les auteurs analysent le rôle de la Chine et du Japon et les tensions que les programmes de coopération au développement de ces deux géants asiatiques peuvent amener sur le continent africain dans la conjoncture critique actuelle du système international.

Abstract: The contradictions between the solidarity and the interests that drive international cooperation for development may be understood and analyzed from the critical perspectives of the coloniality of power, the hegemony of the West in defining the rules of the game, and also based on an understanding of the asymmetric relationships that define geopolitics and the global economy. Drawing on key questions informed by these critical perspectives, and a historical framework dating back to the Second World War, the authors analyze the role of China and Japan and the tensions that the cooperation for development programs of these two Asian giants may produce in the African continent at the current critical moment for the international system.

Resumen: Las contradicciones entre la solidaridad y el interés que permean la cooperación internacional para el desarrollo pueden ser entendidas y analizadas desde las perspectivas críticas de la colonialidad del poder, de la hegemonía de Occidente en la definición de las reglas del juego, y también desde la comprensión de las relaciones asimétricas en la economía y la geopolítica internacional. Así, a partir de cuestiones clave informadas por esas perspectivas críticas y de un marco histórico desde fines de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, los autores analizan el papel de China y Japón y las tensiones que los programas de cooperación al desarrollo de estos dos gigantes asiáticos pueden suscitar en el continente africano en la actual coyuntura crítica del sistema internacional.

Resumo O presente artigo compara e analisa os projetos de inserção internacional do Brasil e da África do Sul após os regimes civil-militar e do apartheid, respectivamente. Para tal, lança luz à discussão sobre raça e formação nacional, de forma a entender a relevância da temática dos direitos humanos para a construção de novas narrativas de política externa. A renovação das credenciais diplomáticas em um cenário pós-Guerra Fria estimulou a assinatura dos principais tratados de direitos humanos por ambos países nos anos 1990. Na década de 2000, Brasil a África do Sul desempenharam papel fundamental no debate geopolítico do Sul e alçaram maior protagonismo no cenário global. Todavia, a atual crise política e econômica revela as limitações dessas narrativas e a fragilidade institucional dos processos de democratização que as embasaram.

Abstract This article compares and analyses foreign policies of Brazil and South Africa in the aftermath of the civil-military dictatorship and the apartheid regime, respectively. To this end, it sheds light on the debate on race and national formation in order to understand the relevance of the human rights issue for the construction of new foreign policy narratives. The renewal of the diplomatic credentials in a post-Cold War scenario fostered the signature of the main human rights treaties by both countries in the 1990s. In the 2000s, Brazil and South Africa played a key geopolitical role in the South, thus becoming more prominent in the global scenario. However, the current political and economic crisis reveals the limitations of these narratives and the institutional fragility of the democratization processes which underpin them.

Estudos sobre a cooperação internacional para o desenvolvimento (principalmente nas suas vertentes Norte-Sul e Sul-Sul) têm demonstrado que existem tipos distintos de experiências históricas que mobilizam diferentes atores domésticos e priorizam agendas temáticas com base em motivações políticas e desenhos institucionais variados. Este artigo centra-se nas estratégias do Brasil como fornecedor de cooperação no campo da educação, analisando suas tendências gerais, agendas e atores, contradições e tensões entre interesses públicos e privados. Empiricamente, o artigo também analisa essas questões a partir da atuação brasileira nos Países Africanos de Língua Oficial Portuguesa (PALOP), com foco no caso de Moçambique e considerando as percepções dos países com os quais o governo brasileiro coopera.

Studies on North-South and South-South development cooperation have demonstrated that there are distinct types of historical experiences, with multiple domestic actors being involved and thematic agendas being reinforced based on different political motivations, as well as various institutional designs conceived by national governments in order to implement their international development cooperation (IDC) strategies. This paper focuses on Brazil’s strategies as a provider of IDC in the field of education (IDC/ED), analysing its general trends, institutional design, agendas and actors, but also presenting an overview of Brazilian IDC/ED in Portuguese-Speaking African Countries (PALOPS), with a case-study on Mozambique, and taking into account the perceptions of beneficiaries.

Des études sur la coopération internationale au développement (Nord-Sud et Sud-Sud) ont démontré qu’il existe différents types d’expériences historiques, avec de multiples acteurs nationaux étant impliquées et des agendas thématiques fondées sur des motivations politiques différentes, ainsi que des modèles institutionnels conçus par les autorités nationales afin de mettre en œuvre leurs stratégies de coopération internationale au développement (CID). Ce document met l’accent sur les stratégies du Brésil en tant que fournisseur de CID dans le domaine de l’éducation (CID/ED), en analysant ses tendances générales, la conception institutionnelle, des agendas et des acteurs, mais présentant également un aperçu de la CID/ED du Brésil dans les pays africains de langue officielle portugaise (PALOP), avec une étude de cas sur le Mozambique, et ceci en tenant compte des perceptions des bénéficiaires.

Partindo da perspectiva de que a política externa é uma política pública (o Estado e o governo em ação no plano internacional), este artigo discute os desdobramentos conceituais e políticos da nova configuração da política externa brasileira. Ao considerarmos a política externa como política pública, rompemos sua associação automática com as versões mais cruas do realismo e a trazemos para o terreno da politics, ou seja, reconhecemos que sua formulação e implementação se inserem na dinâmica das escolhas de governo que, por sua vez, resultam de coalizões, barganhas, disputas, acordos entre representantes de interesses diversos. Portanto, retiramos a política externa de uma condição inercial vinculada a supostos interesses nacionais autoevidentes e/ou permanentes (protegidos das injunções conjunturais de natureza político-partidária) e a despimos das características geralmente atribuídas (ou preconcebidas) ao que se chama de política de Estado. Por fim, sugerimos caminhos de investigação inovadores, tais como: avançar no debate sociológico, organizacional e institucional sobre o papel da agência diplomática, seu processo de aprendizado e de transformação, bem como a necessidade de definir novos arranjos institucionais; repensar o lugar da agência diplomática na administração pública; e incorporar a perspectiva comparada no tempo e no espaço, com vistas a alargar nossa capacidade analítica a respeito dos distintos contextos e tensões, buscando entender as variáveis sistêmicas e a presença de múltiplos atores, estatais e não estatais, domésticos e inter/transnacionais, nas agendas de política externa, mormente em países com características semelhantes às do Brasil.

Starting from the perspective that foreign policy is a public policy (i.e. the state and government in action at the international level) this article discusses t he conceptual and political implications of the n ew configuration of Brazilian foreign policy. By considering foreign policy as public policy, the authors break its automatic association with crude versions of Realism and bring it to the field of politics, thus recognizing that its formulation a nd implementation f all w ithin the dynamics of governmental choices which, in turn, stem from negotiations within coalitions, bargaining, disputes and agreements between representatives of diverse interests. As a result, the text removes foreign policy from a condition linked to inertial and supposedly self-evident and/or permanent national interests (protected from injunctions of cyclical nature related to partisan politics) and strips it of features generally attributed (or preconceived) to so-called state policies. Finally, the authors suggest avenues for an innovative research agenda, such as (i) advancing sociological, organizational and institutional debates on the role of diplomatic agency, the process of learning and transformation, and the need to establish new institutional arrangements; (ii) rethinking the place of diplomatic agency in public administration; and (iii) incorporating comparative spatial and temporal perspectives in foreign policy analysis, in order to broaden our analytical capacities on contexts and contradictions. These moves allow the reader to understand how systemic opportunities, different national and historical contexts, multiple state and non-state actors, domestic and inter/transnational agendas play a role in foreign policy, especially in countries with characteristics similar to those of Brazil.

Considerando a cooperação internacional para o desenvolvimento (CID) como campo político cujas bases filosóficas - a crença no progresso, a esperança como tarefa política ou imperativo, o desenvolvimento como meta - alimentam relações de assimetria, hierarquia e dependência, são apresentados e discutidos, neste artigo, os resultados de uma pesquisa empírica realizada em Duque de Caxias (região metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro) entre setembro de 2010 e janeiro de 2012, a fim de responder a duas perguntas principais: 1) o que revelam as práticas das agências internacionais atuantes no desenvolvimento local de Duque de Caxias? 2) o que o contexto local desse município da região metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro ilustra acerca das tendências analisadas pela literatura mais crítica sobre o papel da cooperação para o desenvolvimento? Valendo-se de autores críticos sobre o papel político das organizações da CID - B. Cooke, W. Easterley, A. Escobar, T. Hayter, G. Rist, entre outros - e, da pesquisa, de natureza qualitativa, é descrito e analisado o modo de atuação das agências internacionais, sejam elas governamentais multilaterais ou bilaterais, empresas privadas, organizações filantrópicas ou associações, na definição e implementação de estratégias de desenvolvimento em Duque de Caxias. Conclui-se que as organizações internacionais raramente atuam no plano municipal de Duque de Caxias, limitando-se a agir mais indiretamente na concepção de projetos pontuais de apoio ao desenvolvimento e exercendo seu poder de influência sobre as agendas de políticas públicas de âmbito local.

Considering that international development cooperation is a political field whose main philosophical tenets (the belief in progress, hope as endeavor or policy imperative, the development goal) bring about relationships of asymmetry, hierarchy and dependence, this article presents and discusses the results of an empirical research conducted in Duque de Caxias between September 2010 and January 2012 in order to answer two major questions: what do practices of international agencies currently active in Duque de Caxias reveal in political and institutional terms? What does the local context of this municipality situated in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro illustrate about the trends analyzed by the more critical literature on the role of development cooperation agencies? Building upon the work of critical analyses of international agencies' political role (such as B. Cooke, W. Easterley, A. Escobar, T. Hayter or G. Rist), this qualitative research describes and analyzes modes of actionof these agencies, be they bilateral or multilateral governmental organizations, private foundations, charitable organizations or voluntary associations in the definition and implementation of development strategies in Duque de Caxias. This article concludes that international agencies seldom act at the city level, limiting themselves to participation in the design of specific development projects and exercise of their power to influence public policy agendas at the local level.

O principal objetivo deste artigo é, com base nas limitações críticas apontadas à experiência histórica da Cooperação Norte-Sul (CNS), analisar alguns dos dilemas com que se confrontam as atuais estratégias de Cooperação Sul-Sul (CSS), concebidas e desenvolvidas por países comoBrasil, México, Índia, China, Turquia ou África do Sul. O autor defende a hipótese de que a diferenciação entre CNS e CSS é fundamentalmente empírica, devendo, porém, também ser pensada à luz do legado do ativismo multilateral de alguns desses países e do novo papel econômico e político que desempenham no cenário internacional. O argumento é construído no sentido de que, por terem sido (e ainda serem) beneficiários da CNS, tais países deveriam atentar para os riscos de reprodução de um modelo de cooperação que eles próprios criticaram no passado recente. O que haveria de singular e distintivo nas práticas de CSS desses países? Quais seriam os riscos de que suas práticas de CSS sejam menos solidárias do que as promessas anunciadas por seus dirigentes e representantes políticos?

Based on the critical limitations that were pinpointed regarding the historical experience of the North-South Cooperation, (NSC), the main objective of this paper is to analyze some of the dilemmas that the current strategies of South-South Cooperation (SSC) have to face, which were conceived and developed in countries such as Brazil, Mexico, India, China, Turkey or South Africa. The author defends the hypothesis that the differentiation between NSC and CSS is basically empiric, but that it can also be considered in the view of the multilateral legacy of activism in some of these countries and the new economic and political role they play in the international scenario. The argument is based on the fact that since they were and still are NSC beneficiaries, the aforementioned countries should be aware of the risks of reproducing a cooperation model that they have recently criticized. What is unique and special in the practices of the SSC in these countries? What are the risks that the SSC practices would show less solidarity than the promises announced by their leaders and political representatives?

L'objectif principal de cet article, en tenant compte des limitations critiques de l'expérience historique de la Coopération Nord-Sud (CNS), est d'analyser quelques dilemmes auxquels les stratégies actuelles de Coopération Sud-Sud sont confrontées alors qu'elles sont conçues et développées par des pays tels que le Brésil, le Mexique, l'Inde, la Chine, la Turquie ou l'Afrique du Sud. L'auteur part de l'hypothèse que la différenciation entre CNS et CSS est fondamen-talement empirique mais doit cependant être pensée à la lumière de l'héritage d'un activisme multilatéral de certains pays et du nouveau rôle économique et politique qu'ils jouent sur la scène internationale. L'argument se base sur le principe que, du fait d'avoir été (et d'être encore) bénéficiaires de la CNS, ces pays devraient rester attentifs au risque de reproduction d'un modèle de coopération qu'eux-mêmes critiquèrent dans un passé récent. Qu'y aurait-il de singulier et de différent dans les pratiques de la CSS de ces pays? Quels seraient les risques de voir leurs pratiques de CSS moins solidaires que les promesses annoncées par leurs dirigeants et représentants politiques?

The article analyzes how actors from the business sector (CEB) and organized civil society (REBRIP) worked to defend their interests in order to influence Brazil's international trade negotiation strategy-making between 1995 and 2010. The study also seeks to understand the extent to which non-state actors succeeded in affecting the Brazilian government's definition of its official positions and priorities. The main conclusions are the following: a) a convergence of interests between business sectors and institutional actors vis-à-vis the choice of trade negotiation forums; b) the essentially protectionist profile of interests coordinated by CEB in the main negotiations; c) the role of REBRIP, organized primarily in the field of challenging the principles of the negotiating strategy itself, with only a marginal direct contribution to shaping the agenda for negotiating regional or multilateral trade agreements; and d) the involvement of REBRIP as an element for democratization of the foreign trade policy agenda in Brazil.

Dans cet article, on examine comment des acteurs du monde des entreprises (CEB) et de la société civile organisée (REBRIP) ont cherché à défendre leurs intérêts afin d'influencer, entre 1995 et 2010, la mise em oeuvre des stratégies internationales de négociation commerciale au Brésil. On cherche aussi à comprendre dans quelle mesure le travail d'acteurs non institutionnels a réussi à produire des effets dans la définition de choix et de priorités officielles du gouvernement brésilien. En conclusion, on souligne: a) la convergence d'intérêts entre secteurs des entreprises et acteurs institutionnels en ce qui concerne le choix des forums de négociation commerciale; b) le profil plutôt protectionniste des intérêts coordonnés par la CEB dans les négociations les plus importantes; c) le rôle de la REBRIP fondé essentiellement sur la contestation des principes de la stratégie de négociation, rendant ainsi marginal son apport direct dans le calendrier de négociations des accords commerciaux, aussi bien au niveau régional que multilatéral; d) l'engagement de la REBRIP considéré comme un facteur de démocratisation de l'ordre du jour de la politique étrangère du Brésil en matière de commerce.

Based on the broader context of globalization as politics, this paper adopts the following assumption: cities through their transnational cooperation networks and economic projects are the expression of a new political actor that has shifted its scale of operations, and have thus partly emancipated themselves from the monopoly of the nation-state in the deployment of transborder public action. In pursuance of developing this assumption, this paper approaches the discussion on municipal paradiplomacy in three parts: firstly, it presents the historical and theoretical background of paradiplomacy in Brazil; secondly, it looks into the empirical reality of several Brazilian municipalities and their international actions; thirdly, it presents a series of critical questions for analyzing cities and their transnational networks as new political actors in the global arena. Empirically, this paper raises key issues related to the multiple ways in which municipalities throughout Brazil develop transnational activities, whereas analytically it aims to provide a better understanding of their soft-border approach, as well as their pragmatic association between a renewed identity in the global scenario and an innovative strategy of local international management.

Os anos pós-Guerra Fria possibilitam uma renovação do debate latino-americano sobre as tensões entre meio ambiente, ética e política internacional. Defensores da idéia de que as relações internacionais emergem exclusivamente da interação entre entidades políticas soberanas e independentes contrapõem-se aos que sustentam a centralidade na agenda ecopolítica de muitos outros atores para além do Estado. Ou seja, os princípios da soberania incondicionada e da não-ingerência ordenadores tradicionais do sentido das "relações internacionais" são questionados pela crescente transnacionalização das reivindicações, por redes e movimentos ambientalistas, de condutas éticas e responsáveis no campo ambiental. É com base nesses pressupostos que o presente artigo se estrutura em duas partes: (1) uma discussão sobre o processo de internacionalização da problemática ambiental e das tensões contemporâneas entre meio ambiente, ética e política internacional na América Latina; (2) uma análise dos questionamentos trazidos pelo campo do ambientalismo latino-americano operando no seio da contestação transnacional do Fórum Social Mundial.

In the aftermath of the Cold War, there has been a renewal in the Latin American academic debate on tensions between environmental protection, ethics and international politics. Those who defend the idea that international relations stem from an exclusive interaction between sovereign and independent political entities are confronted with those who reaffirm the relevance of many other players beyond the state in the global ecopolitics. That means that the tenets of unconditioned sovereignty and non-intervention, which have traditionally built the sense of 'international relations', are questioned by the growing transnationalization of political demands by environmental movements in favor of ethical and responsible patterns of action and behavior. Rooted in these premises, the present article is structured in two parts: (1) a discussion on the process of internationalization of the environmental problematique, and contemporary tensions between environment, ethics, and international politics in Latin America; (2) an analysis of political demands by Latin American environmental movements associated with transnational antiglobalization contention in the World Social Forum.

Les années de l'après-Guerre Froide ont permis le renouvèlement du débat latino-américain sur les tensions entre l'environnement, l'éthique et la politique internationale. Les défenseurs de l'idée selon laquelle les relations internationales émergent exclusivement de l'interaction entre des entités politiques souveraines et indépendantes s'opposent à ceux qui soutiennent l´importance de bien d'autres acteurs outre l'Etat sur la scène écopolitique mondiale. Autrement dir, les principes de la souveraineté inconditionnée et de la non-ingérence (qui ont traditionnellement construit le sens des « relations internationales ») sont remis en cause par une croissante transnationalisation des revendications politiques des réseaux et des mouvements écologistes en faveur de conduites éthiques et responsables à l´égard de l'environnement planétaire. Partant de ces présupposés, cet article se structure en deux parties: (1) une discussion concernant le processus d'internationalisation de la problématique écologique et des tensions contemporaines entre l'environnement, l'éthique et la politique internationale en Amérique Latine; (2) une analyse des questions soulevées par les réseaux de mouvments écologistes latino-américains agissant au cœur de la contestation transnationale du Forum Social Mondial.

Este artigo parte de um pressuposto básico: a participação social tornou-se, nos anos 1990, um dos princípios organizativos, aclamado por agências nacionais e internacionais, dos processos de formulação de políticas públicas e de deliberação democrática em escala local. Fomentar a participação dos diferentes atores políticos e criar uma rede que informe, elabore, implemente e avalie as políticas públicas são, hoje, peças essenciais nos discursos de qualquer política pública (auto) considerada progressista. Os anos 1990 foram marcados pela institucionalização da consulta da "sociedade civil organizada" nos processos de formulação de políticas públicas locais. No entanto, os instrumentos participativos devem ser questionados sob, pelo menos, duas óticas críticas principais: quem participa e que desigualdades subsistem na participação? Como se dá o processo de construção do interesse coletivo no âmbito dos dispositivos de participação? Este artigo analisa, a partir de pesquisas realizadas sobre 10 experiências de participação na América Latina (Argentina, Brasil, Costa Rica e República Dominicana) e na Europa (Alemanha, Espanha, França e Itália), em que medida elas representam inovações nos modos de formular, implementar e monitorar políticas públicas locais.

This article is based on the key argument, praised by national and international agencies, that social participation has become, in the 1990s, one of the main organizational tenets in policy-making and democratic deliberation at the local level. Stimulating the participation of different political actors and creating a political network that informs, elaborates, implements, and evaluates public policies currently constitute an essential part in discourses of self-proclaimed progressive policy-makers. The nineties have been characterized by the institutionalization of consulting "organized civil society" in the processes of defining local public policy. Participation has become a criterium of good local government. Nonetheless, participatory mechanisms must respond to at least two main critical challenges: first, who participates and what inequalities remain within participation? Second, how is collective interest built within participatory mechanisms? This article analyzes, based on research undertaken in 10 experiments in Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic) and Europe (France, Germany, Italy, and Spain), how they represent innovations in the formulation, implementation, and monitoring of local public policies.

Globalization is not merely a competition for market shares and well-timed economic growth initiatives; neither is it just a matter of trade opportunities and liberalization. It has also evolved into a social and political struggle for imposing cultural values and individual preferences. Based on this broader context, this paper adopts the following assumption: transnational networks of social movements are the expression of a new social subject and have shifted their scale of political intervention since the 1990s in order to make their fight for social justice a politically pertinent action. Global social justice has become the motto of transnational social movements in world politics, where political decisions no longer rely exclusively on nation-states. In pursuance of developing this assumption, this paper approaches the discussion in two general parts: firstly, it presents a theoretical and methodological approach for analysing transnational social movements; secondly, it looks into the World Social Forum as one of their key political expressions.

Abstract Globalization is not merely a competition for market shares and well-timed economic growth initiatives; neither is it just a matter of trade opportunities and liberalization. It has also evolved into a social and political struggle for imposing cultural values and individual preferences. Based on this broader context, this paper adopts the following assumption: transnational networks of social movements are the expression of a new social subject and have shifted their scale of political intervention since the 1990s in order to make their fight for social justice a politically pertinent action. Global social justice has become the motto of transnational social movements in world politics, where political decisions no longer rely exclusively on nation-states. In pursuance of developing this assumption, this paper approaches the discussion in two general parts: firstly, it presents a theoretical and methodological approach for analysing transnational social movements; secondly, it looks into the World Social Forum as one of their key political expressions. welltimed well timed initiatives liberalization preferences context assumption s action politics nationstates. nationstates nation states. states nation-states parts firstly secondly expressions