Abstract
The objective of this study is to investigate the cooperation of activists in transnational social movements. Previous studies argue that core participants in such movements are the 'victims' of social problems. However, social problems are based on complex factors in the global era, and we cannot define the core participant in the anti-globalism movement nor can we apply the perspectives of previous studies. This research focuses on the participants and repertoires of the protest against the 2008 Hokkaido Toyako G8 Summit. The author tries to distinguish the core participants and cooperation among activists in anti-globalist movement through interview data obtained from 50 participants who were concerned with various repertoires and the process of gathering resources in the summit protest. We found that core participants were resident activists in Hokkaido and were transmitted repertoires from overseas activists, and from Tokyo. Looking closely, we can see that they applied the predetermined set of repertoires in the protest; however, they did not always apply 'global' repertoires in the stages of preparation such as with regard to serving meals for activists. As a result, we can find three points about the global social movement: [1] The places where social movements are held are important in defining the 'core participants'. [2] 'A predetermined set of repertoires' plays a significant role in the diffusion of transnational movements' repertoires. [3] Through not only repertoires but also the preparation process can core participants express their political ideals. This paper finds that place plays more important role than the offender-defender dichotomy in transnational social movements. We provide new insight into previous research that analyses the cooperation of social movements, and examines the core participants and methods of transmission in global social movements.
