The Movement That Dare Not Speak its Name: The Return of Left Nationalism/Internationalism

Before France pulled out of the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI), thus killing the deal, it issued the Lalumiere Report. The report argued that the MAI marks a step in international economic negotiations. For the first time, we are witnessing the emergence of a 'global civil society' represented by non-government organizations, which are often active in several countries and communicate across borders. This is no doubt an irreversible change. After making this bold claim, the report does a volte-face and argues that the main basis for civil society's objections to globalization is the threat to national sovereignty.1 Paul Hawken, writing about the World Trade Organization (WTO) battle in Seattle sixteen months later, makes a similar point: