Conventional wisdom holds that civil society building always strengthens democracy, and that civil society gains by undermining the state. Many studies have taken the case of democratic countries, such as the United States and India. However, the emerging civil society within authoritarian China raises an interesting question to the neoclassical hypothesis. Does civil society building necessarily leads to democracy? How do we evaluate the work of local civic groups and why does that matter? This thesis seeks answer through a case study of women’s organizing around the issue of domestic violence in China, exploring to what extent the growth of women’s organizing challenges or strengthens the hegemony of state, and in what ways transnational feminism facilitates the development of feminist activism in China. The case study finds a positive correlation between the increasing women’s organizing around the issue of domestic violence and the level of state intervention. Through closely examining the work of local women’s groups in China, it identifies the structural barriers and the state regulations limiting women’s organizing, but it also explores mobilizing strategies by women’s groups and the changes they have made despite the authoritarian setting. Ultimately, this thesis attempts to argue that civil society building is a political process structurally depended on the political economy of the state, and that the state also plays a significant role in “producing” certain kind of civil society. A situated analysis suggests that local groups adopt certain political strategies and prioritize certain issues over others under political, economic, and social constraints of their living environment, meaning that the strategies and focuses of civil society groups under the authoritarian setting in China will be different from the groups in the developed, democratic countries. Meanwhile, transnational feminism provides women activists with alternative discourses on gender issues and alternative sites for mobilization.

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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).

No description available.