The evolution of African stateless societies and the diverse impact of their cultures, on political thought previous to and post-modernity, are not well understood. Scholars acknowledge the varied influence of precolonial African culture on the artistic, spiritual, and linguistic expressions of African-descended populations. However, observations regarding the impact of such acephalous societies on the political thought of the African Diaspora remain obscure. The organizational techniques of such societies are best described as a form of kinship-based anarchism. This study seeks to examine the persistence of such organizational techniques among African-descended populations in the United States. The political life and background of Ella Baker will be used as a historical case study to illustrate the possible strands of continuity that may exist between the organizational habitude of African acephalous societies, and modern African-American grassroots political structures.

« Retour du passé refoulé », « guerre des mémoires », « concurrence des victimes », depuis la fin des années 1990, les enjeux de mémoire collective sont au cœur du débat public, en particulier concernant la place occupée par les immigrés dans le roman national.L’idée qu’il existerait un « besoin de mémoire » rapporté à l’immigration, c’est-à-dire des immigrés et de leurs descendants, mais également de la société française dans son ensemble, s’est imposée comme une évidence, faisant l’objet d’une attention accrue des pouvoirs publics ainsi que d’une pluralité d’acteurs sociaux (universitaires, artistes, militants de la mémoire…).A partir d’une enquête comparative menée dans deux villes de la région Auvergne-RhôneAlpes : Saint-Etienne et Villeurbanne, notre thèse a pour but de saisir ce « besoin de mémoire » rapporté à l’immigration non pas comme un donné, mais comme un construit faisant l’objet d’usages politiques et sociaux.Dans ces deux villes marquées par une histoire industrielle forte, mais où la mémoire locale, en l’occurrence sa part immigrée, fait l’objet d’un traitement public différencié, il s’agit de se demander « ce qui se joue d’autre que le passé dans [des] politiques publiques censées y être consacrées » (Gensburger, 2010).A travers une démarche mêlant approche ethnographique et analyse documentaire, nous mettons au cœur de notre étude, non pas le rapport d’un groupe à sa mémoire, mais la notion de mémoire elle-même. Considérée comme une préoccupation majeure dans la sphère publique, elle est devenue une catégorie d’action et d’interprétation pour les pouvoirs publics mais également au principe de nouvelles mobilisations citoyennes. Il s’agit alors de restituer les conditions sociales de sa constitution en nouveau bien symbolique mis en circulation dans les territoires locaux ainsi que les enjeux politiques propres à la publicisation du passé migratoire.La traduction institutionnelle et militante des inégalités de traitement affectant les conditions d’existence des immigrés et leurs descendants dans les termes de la réparation symbolique renseigne sur la transformation des répertoires d’action publique, sur l’évolution des luttes autour de la cause de l’immigration, et donne à voir l’interpénétration croissante entre ces deux mondes. / “Resurfacing of the repressed past”, “war of memories”, “competitions of victims”: since the 1990s, the issue of collective memory has entered the public debate, especially when it comes to the role of immigrants in the national narrative.The idea that there would be a “need for memory” with regards to immigration —from immigrants and their offspring but also from French society at large— has become obvious. As a result, it has increasingly called the attention of public authorities and of a variety of social actors (academics, artists, memory activists, …)Based on a comparative study in the two cities of the Rhone-Alpes Auvergnes region: Saint-Étienne and Villeurbanne, this thesis aims at assesing this “need for memory” with regards to immigration without taking this need for natural. It is rather regarded as a construction that can be used for political and social purposes.While these two cities are marked by an important industrial history, local memory –namely that related to immigration– is treated in different ways. This context begs the following question: “besides the past, what else it at stake in those public policies that are supposed to be entirely dedicated to it?” (Gensburger 2010).Through an approach that brings together ethnographic and document analysis, this work does not center on the relationship of a particular group to its memory but on the very question of memory. Memory is now considered as a major issue in the public sphere and has become a category for action and interpretation by public authorities but also for grassroots activists. Thisthesis represents an attempt at unraveling the conditions for its constitution as a new symbolic good that circulates in local territories. In addition, this work looks at the political stakes that are inherent to the publicizing of the immigration past.The institutional and activist translation of the inequalities plaguing immigrants and their offspring into terms of symbolic reparation informs the transformation of public action, the evolution of the struggle over the question of immigration and ultimately sheds light on the inter-penetration of these two worlds.

The reliance upon and depletion of fossil fuels as an energy source puts pressure on individuals, communities, energy companies, and policy-makers. Hydraulic fracturing – known colloquially as fracking – as a method of drilling for oil and natural gas temporarily alleviates this pressure since it allows for the extraction previously inaccessible fossil fuels in shale rock deposits deep beneath the Earth’s surface. This has resulted in a nationwide “fracking boom,” which has come with its share of economic benefits. However, the process of fracking can be detrimental to human and environmental health. In reaction to the increasing development of this practice, many communities across the country are mobilizing against fracking. This thesis will focus on the grassroots activism against fracking in New York, where fracking was banned in December 2014, and in California, which is largely slated as the next frontier for the expansion of fracking and thus battleground for the fight against fracking. Using grassroots academic literature, media coverage of fracking and activism in each state, and interviews from organizers working in each state, this thesis will examine the motivations, frameworks, strategies, and tactics used in each grassroots campaign in order to offer lessons in successes and opportunities for improvement within these anti-fracking efforts and others across the country.

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Known for its fertile soil and ideal climate, California has been one of the most agriculturally productive areas in the world. Often left out of this picture are the farmworkers who make it possible. Within this farmworker community, females are a sub-class that has been even more marginalized. This thesis investigates the gendered aspects of fieldwork and exposes female leadership working towards changing these specific struggles, such as sexual harassment in the fields, domestic abuse, pesticide exposure, and the perpetuation of submissive gender roles in the household and workplace. An in-depth case study of Lideres Campesinas, a community- based grassroots organization, is highlighted in order to share members’ stories and explore how an organization run by women farmworkers addresses gendered issues in the fields. A discourse on these obstacles will begin specifically in the fields of Coachella Valley.

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This thesis offers a micro-level analysis of labour and women’s organizing in the context of globalization through the case study of the Comité Fronterizo de Obrer@s (CFO) from 1978 to 2009. We will see how one organization’s journey can give us insights into the complexities of local organizing and transnational networking in the context of globalization. This case study can be seen as a lens through which we can examine the changing context of labour and women’s organizing in the distinct maquiladora environment. My work positions itself in the “globalization from above” and “globalization from below” debate, specifically around the question of transnational social movements that form the “globalization from below” category in the context of a political economy analysis. However, where my thesis differs from a more traditional analysis of the resistance to globalization, such as that found in the global justice movements or alter-globalization movements, is in its focus on the complexities of organizing at the local level and the pressures that these local organizations feel from “above” from their transnational partners. What this thesis adds to the literature are the stories from the actual members of the organization, about the structure, the decision-making process of their organization, the role of the leadership and the connections between the local organizing and the transnational civil society partners. The complex history of an organization that has been there since the beginning of the maquiladora industry allows us a better understanding of the changing conditions and struggles these workers have faced. This journey through the history of the CFO, the richness of this empirical data encompassing more than 30 years of organizing in the maquiladora zone of Northern Mexico also allows us to explore “globalization from below” through different lens. This thesis brings in a micro-detail analysis of a specific organization in a specific context where we can see clearly transnational civil society linkages and the impact of globalizing capitalist neoliberal economy. As such, this research can offer us new insights into the intricacies of local-global linkages and thus contribute to an area often neglected or underdeveloped in international relations (IR).

This thesis offers a micro-level analysis of labour and women’s organizing in the context of globalization through the case study of the Comité Fronterizo de Obrer@s (CFO) from 1978 to 2009. We will see how one organization’s journey can give us insights into the complexities of local organizing and transnational networking in the context of globalization. This case study can be seen as a lens through which we can examine the changing context of labour and women’s organizing in the distinct maquiladora environment. My work positions itself in the “globalization from above” and “globalization from below” debate, specifically around the question of transnational social movements that form the “globalization from below” category in the context of a political economy analysis. However, where my thesis differs from a more traditional analysis of the resistance to globalization, such as that found in the global justice movements or alter-globalization movements, is in its focus on the complexities of organizing at the local level and the pressures that these local organizations feel from “above” from their transnational partners. What this thesis adds to the literature are the stories from the actual members of the organization, about the structure, the decision-making process of their organization, the role of the leadership and the connections between the local organizing and the transnational civil society partners. The complex history of an organization that has been there since the beginning of the maquiladora industry allows us a better understanding of the changing conditions and struggles these workers have faced. This journey through the history of the CFO, the richness of this empirical data encompassing more than 30 years of organizing in the maquiladora zone of Northern Mexico also allows us to explore “globalization from below” through different lens. This thesis brings in a micro-detail analysis of a specific organization in a specific context where we can see clearly transnational civil society linkages and the impact of globalizing capitalist neoliberal economy. As such, this research can offer us new insights into the intricacies of local-global linkages and thus contribute to an area often neglected or underdeveloped in international relations (IR).