ATTAC Norway : an anthropological study of the Norwegian branch of a transnational social movement

Abstract

ATTAC (Association for the Taxation of financial Transactions for the Aid of Citizens) is a fast growing transnational movement that mainly aims towards democratic control over the financial markets. ATTAC was founded in France in 1998 and has now spread to more than 35 countries in Europe, Latin- America, Asia and Africa. ATTAC Norway (ATTAC Norge/Noreg) was formally established in of May 2001.

The main purpose of this thesis is to investigate the identification processes that legitimate and motivate collective action during the establihment phase of ATTAC Norway. I explore to what extent the identification processes are influenced by the fact that ATTAC is a transnational social movement. I also scrutinise to what extent the identification processes are influenced by Norwegian political practices and cultural meanings. Towards the end of the thesis I lift the focus out of ATTAC Norway and explore the identification processes ATTAC is involved in when operating on transnational political arenas

On the basis of fieldwork conducted at several levels of the organisation during 2001 I argue that the identification processes during the establishment of ATTAC Norway were influenced by a Norwegian political culture where the ideology of equality has a strong position. At the same time the establishment was hugely inspired by the transnational ATTAC movement with its political platform, slogans, symbols etc. ATTAC, in fact, becomes a transnational imagined community for many members of ATTAC Norway.

I conclude my study that ATTAC Norway has emerged in the crossroads between the transnational and the local. The transnational ATTAC movement has played a vital part in shaping collective identities within ATTAC Norway. And when members of ATTAC Norway operate on transnational arenas, they become part of a wider transnational community of social movements united in their opposition to neo-liberal globalisation. At the same time the forming of ATTAC Norway is rooted in the how s and why s of Norwegian political context and cultural meanings