The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics

by Clifford Bob

Overview

This book is an eye-opening account of transnational advocacy, not by environmental and rights groups, but by conservative activists. Mobilizing around diverse issues, these networks challenge progressive foes across borders and within institutions. In these globalized battles, opponents struggle as much to advance their own causes as to destroy their rivals. Deploying exclusionary strategies, negative tactics and dissuasive ideas, they aim both to make and unmake policy. In this work, Clifford Bob chronicles combat over homosexuality and gun control in the UN, the Americas, Europe and elsewhere. He investigates the 'Baptist-burqa' network of conservative believers attacking gay rights, and the global gun coalition blasting efforts to control firearms. Bob draws critical conclusions about norms, activists and institutions, and his broad findings extend beyond the culture wars. They will change how campaigners fight, scholars study policy wars, and all of us think about global politics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521145442
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	02/27/2012
Series:	Cambridge Studies in Contentious Politics
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	242
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Clifford Bob is Associate Professor of Political Science at Duquesne University. He is the author of The Marketing of Rebellion: Insurgents, Media, and International Activism, which won the 2007 International Studies Association Best Book Award, co-won the 2007 North Central Sociological Association Scholarly Achievement Award and was named a 'Top Book of 2006' by The Globalist. His edited volume, The International Struggle for New Human Rights, was released in 2009 and he has published widely in political science, sociology, law and policy. His scholarly interests include human rights, globalization, nongovernmental organizations and transnational advocacy networks. He holds a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a JD from New York University and a BA magna cum laude from Harvard University.

Table of Contents

1. Clashing networks in world politics; 2. Making and unmaking policy; 3. Culture wars gone global: gay rights vs the Baptist-burqa network; 4. Litigating for the lord: American attorneys and European sexualities; 5. Shootout at UN plaza: dueling over global gun control; 6. Battlefield Brazil: national disarmament and international activism; 7. Conclusion.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Clifford Bob is the first person to show how contentious movement politics on both the left and right has moved to a global stage. Tracing transnational networks within a range of movements, both religious and secular, he shows how countermovement struggles have expanded far beyond national boundaries. The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics is indispensable reading for understanding globalization and contemporary politics.”—David S. Meyer, University of California, Irvine

“Clifford Bob debunks a deep-seated myth that ‘global civil society’ consists of progressive NGOs that successfully pressure governments to bring themselves in line with liberal norms incorporated in human rights treaties. As is so often the case, the received wisdom turns out to be wishful thinking, and the truth is complex. Bob’s carefully documented case studies reveal that international politics, like domestic politics, is an arena of ideological conflict where right-wing groups have shown that they can hold their own. This is a thoroughly satisfying and persuasive exercise in myth-debunking; it will reorient the literature and influence scholars for some time to come.”—Eric Posner, University of Chicago Law School

“Clifford Bob is one of the scholarly community’s most counterintuitive thinkers on transnational networks, politics, and advocacy. His first book, The Marketing of Rebellion, highlighted understudied problems of scarcity, conflict and competition among local and international activists. With this new book, Bob once again forces us to think in new ways about important topics. The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics highlights neglected dynamics of claim and counter-claim, showing that liberals and left-wingers often share the global stage with equally committed conservatives. The unflagging left-right struggle that Bob uncovers shapes each side's goals, tactics, and achievements. As a result, this book offers exciting new insights on the world of transnational policymaking.”—James Ron, Harold E. Stassen Chair of International Affairs, Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Science, University of Minnesota

“The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics is a very important book. By detailing the influence of right-wing activist networks in the battle for policy influence, it takes the gloss off the idealistic view of activism as always for the ‘right’ (meaning left wing) ideas that are seen to prevail through persuasion and deliberation. As such, it ‘rights’ the balance in the literature on global politics, by showing how right-wing ideas travel across the globe, carried by social activists who win through conflict and contestation, in pitched battles in both global institutions and national arenas. Best of all, the cases it discusses make for fascinating reading.”—Vivien A. Schmidt, Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration, Professor of International Relations and Political Science, Boston University

Editorial Reviews

Clifford Bob is the first person to show how contentious movement politics on both the left and right has moved to a global stage. Tracing transnational networks within a range of movements, both religious and secular, he shows how countermovement struggles have expanded far beyond national boundaries. The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics is indispensable reading for understanding globalization and contemporary politics.”—David S. Meyer, University of California, Irvine

“Clifford Bob debunks a deep-seated myth that ‘global civil society’ consists of progressive NGOs that successfully pressure governments to bring themselves in line with liberal norms incorporated in human rights treaties. As is so often the case, the received wisdom turns out to be wishful thinking, and the truth is complex. Bob’s carefully documented case studies reveal that international politics, like domestic politics, is an arena of ideological conflict where right-wing groups have shown that they can hold their own. This is a thoroughly satisfying and persuasive exercise in myth-debunking; it will reorient the literature and influence scholars for some time to come.”—Eric Posner, University of Chicago Law School

“Clifford Bob is one of the scholarly community’s most counterintuitive thinkers on transnational networks, politics, and advocacy. His first book, The Marketing of Rebellion, highlighted understudied problems of scarcity, conflict and competition among local and international activists. With this new book, Bob once again forces us to think in new ways about important topics. The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics highlights neglected dynamics of claim and counter-claim, showing that liberals and left-wingers often share the global stage with equally committed conservatives. The unflagging left-right struggle that Bob uncovers shapes each side's goals, tactics, and achievements. As a result, this book offers exciting new insights on the world of transnational policymaking.”—James Ron, Harold E. Stassen Chair of International Affairs, Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Science, University of Minnesota

“The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics is a very important book. By detailing the influence of right-wing activist networks in the battle for policy influence, it takes the gloss off the idealistic view of activism as always for the ‘right’ (meaning left wing) ideas that are seen to prevail through persuasion and deliberation. As such, it ‘rights’ the balance in the literature on global politics, by showing how right-wing ideas travel across the globe, carried by social activists who win through conflict and contestation, in pitched battles in both global institutions and national arenas. Best of all, the cases it discusses make for fascinating reading.”—Vivien A. Schmidt, Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration, Professor of International Relations and Political Science, Boston University

"Bob has made another excellent contribution to the understanding of transnational relations. Summing Up: Recommended." -P.J. Stoett, Concordia University, CHOICE Magazine

“In his new book, The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics , Bob, a political scientist, strips away the myths that have allowed liberals and progressives to believe that the growth of civil society will inevitably aid their cause.” -Walter Russell Mead,Bard College, Foreign Affairs

From the Publisher