Solidarity without Borders? The Flemish Third World Solidarity Movement and Transnational Coalitions

摘要

Solidarity without Borders ? The Flemish Third World Solidarity Movement and Transnational Coalitions Social movement theory attributes considerable importance to interorganisational networks as a prerequisite for the formation of transnational social movements. The case of the Flemish (national) Third World solidarity movement, however, puts the network-to-movement hypothesis in perspective. This article demonstrates that ‘ top-down’ and ‘ bottom-up’ approaches to interorganisational network formation are not mutually exclusive, but function together. Secondly, this contribution shows how national social movement organisations in the Flemish Third World solidarity movement have been integrating in transnational interorganisational networks since the 1970s. These networks are not so ‘ transnational’ as they appear and potentially hamper transnational social movements. This leads to the introduction of ‘ instrumental coalitions’ within a typology of such interorganisational networks.