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).

2016年的英國脫歐公投，最終以51.89%比48.11%的差距，決定了英國脫歐的命運。各界紛紛揣測各種可能造成民眾投下脫歐一票的原因，包含個人經濟狀況、政黨認同、受民粹操控、反菁英、對歐洲認同等。本文針對既有研究中尚存在之空缺，聚焦「議題投票取向」對選民投票抉擇的影響，探究脫歐陣營對資訊的扭曲是否對選民的投票抉擇有顯著影響。論文就脫歐派針對國民健保、移民、脫歐後的英國對外經貿、失業率、勞工權益保障與是否能無條件持續享有歐盟單一市場好處這六項議題，透過「二分勝算對數模型」進行分析，從個體層次行為來瞭解資訊扭曲對選民在脫歐公投中投票行為的影響。 研究結果顯示，在移民潮來襲、民眾高喊反全球化與選民不安全感高漲的大環境背景下，脫歐陣營對選民所關心之議題的煽動與對資訊的操控使選民在做出投票抉擇時受到明顯誤導。此外，模型結果亦顯示，選民的個人社經背景與心理態度認知同樣對選民投票行為產生影響。總結而言，本研究透過微觀層次的分析，針對促使選民投下脫歐一票的因素做出深入探討，並以「資訊扭曲」作為重要變數，補充議題投票相關研究之不足。 / In the Brexit referendum held in June 2016, 51.89 per cent of the voter voted Leave and 48.11 per cent voted Remain. The result sealed the fate of the UK as an outsider of the European Union. While the reasons behind voter’s choice to leave the EU remain disputed, individual voter’s socio-economic status, party identification, populism, anti-elite mood, and identity toward European were among the most frequently listed factors. In order to fill the gap that existing researchs has left, this thesis focuses on the significance of “issue voting” in voting behavior. It discusses if the distortion of information by the Leave campaign had a significant impact on people’s voting choice. It uses the “logistic regression model” to analyse six issues brought about by the Leave campaign. They include the NHS, immigration, trading arrangements with other nations, unemployment, working conditions for British workers, and unconditional maintaining of all the benefits from the EU. By focusing on the individual level, I try to investigate how the distortion of information has impacted upon people’s voting behavior in the Brexit referendum. The study shows that against the background of an increased flow of immigrants and heightened anti-globalization mood, voters had a strong sense of insecurity. Under such circumstances, the Leave campaign exploited the opportunity to incite voters on issues they cared most about, manipulated information during the demagogic campaign, and misled people on their voting decision. In addition, the model also demonstrates that voters’ socioeconomic status and mental cognizance have the same effect on people’s voting behavior. In the nutshell, this thesis uses micro-level analysis to investigate voter behavior in the Brexit referendum. It brings in “information distortion” as a key variable in explaining voter behavior, a variable largely neglected in the existing literature on issue voting.

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).