Davos, Porto Alegre this year's Dakar. Behind every great gathering for reflecting on how the world works, the underlying question: what's the point? At Davos, the organizers have a ready answer. Space for reflection, the World Economic Forum (WEF) is not a decision making body. This did not stop bragging about the signing of a declaration Greco-Turkish agreement in 1988 or Peres-Arafat in Gaza in 1994.
Member of the International Committee of the organization Attac, Christophe Aguiton a yearly trip to the World Social Forum (WSF). He will travel to Senegal. On the menu of this new edition, "the crisis of capitalism and civilizations." When asked about the concrete results of such a gathering, he recalled the ties that bind paradoxically the WSF Forum in Davos: "This is not decision-making structures.Davos and the World Social Forum have in common that they aim to develop and disseminate ideological responses. "It is the influence on the debate that premium," says Eddy Fougier moreover, a specialist anti-globalization.
"New issues on the international agenda"
Advances ideological cover three areas, Christophe Aguiton analysis. The WSF was first in his eyes a space for coordination of action. This is where the rally against the war in Iraq in early 2003. "The anti-war rallies-cons have created an alliance that could have influenced the current U.S. president. This alliance has strengthened the position of some countries, especially France, and participated in the overthrow of a public opinion (United Kingdom). Second "effect Porto Alegre, the emergence of new problems."Climate justice, the idea of thinking about climate problems by relying on humans to answer, was born in the forums, before being taken over by the UN," according to Christophe Aguiton. Finally, the action of anti-globalization has sometimes found an outlet policy. A member of Attac cites the alliance between social movements and governments. This is the case in Bolivia where she helped "improve the rights of indigenous people."
"The WSF has made the international agenda of topics relevant today as government debt or taxation through the tax on financial transactions," admits Eddie Fougier direct payday lenders. So much so that it is Nicolas Sarkozy who is now the project of a Tobin tax. More generally, the World Social Forum has helped to broaden the debate on globalization, long reserved for senior officials, business leaders and researchers, civil society."This was said by the anti-globalization has been validated by the financial crisis," said Eddy Fougier. "Often buried (after the violence in Seattle in 1999, 11 September), the global justice movement continues," the researcher analysis.
"We do not decide, we analyze"
But Eddy Fougier advanced several limitations after ten years of the WSF. Leading the disappointments, the overall objective to move from an anti-globalization anti-globalization. "There is currently no anti-globalization agenda," he said. On the way, the will that everyone can express themselves without hierarchy views (principle of horizontality of the debate) and the lack of paper at the end of each forum, do not establish an alternative Eddy Fougier adds.The anti-globalization is also crossed by a recurring debate: should, to advance his ideas through political action? Like a José Bové or Evo Morales, some have said yes.
"The software of anti-globalization is a bit dated, their critique of neo-liberalism is not really the current situation," says Eddy Fougier. Especially as the criticism is sometimes overtaken by anti-globalization critics that the researcher calls "internal". "When (Joseph) or Stiglitz (Paul) Krugman (two Econoler American Ed) bring into question the economic system, that Al Gore talks about climate, they are sometimes more visible, stronger," says it.
Ten years after its first manifestation, the WSF has not prevented capitalism to continue to rule the world. "We do not decide.We analyze policies and we make alternative proposals, "Diouf Mignane tempered recently, the coordinator of the executive secretariat of the Forum, in response to a question about the effectiveness of these annual meetings.
* Research Associate at the Institute of International and Strategic Relations, Eddy wrote, Fougier alterglobalism, Blue Rider editions, January 2008.
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