Research Note: Surveys Of World Social Forum Participants Show Influence Of Place And Base In The Global Public Sphere

In: Mobilization: the international quarterly review of social movement research, Band 13, Heft 4, S. 431-445

Abstract

This article examines survey findings on the political characteristics of attendees of the 2005 and 2007 World Social Forum meetings and the 2007 U.S. Social Forum in Atlanta. At each meeting, social forum attendees were generally less satisfied with the major institutions shaping the global economy and more active within social movements compared to the general population. Nevertheless, there was considerable variation in the political views and activities of attendees across these three venues, attesting to the importance of the forum location and local organizers for shaping participant composition. Differences between respondents from the host city and country and international respondents varied across venues, but local respondents were generally less radical, had fewer affiliations to political organizations, and protested less compared to other respondents. Adapted from the source document.