The global justice movement and struggles over knowledge

This dissertation argues that knowledge is a vital site of contestation for the global justice movement. In shaping scientific and technological developments actors alter political, economic, and social systems, just as these in turn alter knowledge systems. Struggles over knowledge are therefore vital to the work of the global justice movement. This thesis is elaborated through examination of two case studies: the opposition to genetically-modified crops in India, and the digital liberties movement. The former exemplifies some of the ways in which movements in the Global South have struggled over knowledge by calling for an end to the theft of their biodiversity and for traditional knowledge systems to be accorded legitimacy. The emerging digital liberties movement, based predominantly but not exclusively in the Global North, addresses attempts by government and business elites to (re)gain control over information and communications technologies. These attempts create threats to the ability of the global justice movement to organise and communicate. Both of these movements make vital and parallel contributions to the global justice movement's attempts to build a more democratic and diverse world. Examination of these contributions extends the existing literature in three important respects. Firstly, it demonstrates the vital role that struggles over knowledge play in the global justice movement by exploring commonalities in the analysis and work of movements previously seen as disparate. Secondly, it argues for the value of a complex conceptualisation of the way in which movements, groups, and individuals relate and contribute to the global justice movement. Thirdly, it provides a critical analysis of the emergence of the digital liberties movement, and adds to existing work on the Indian opposition to genetically modified crops.