Olesen, Thomas. International Zapatismo: the construction of solidarity in the age of globalization. Zed Books, 2005. 243p bibl index ISBN 1-8427-7386-0, $69.95; ISBN 1-8427-7387-9 pbk, $25.00. Reviewed in 2006jan CHOICE.
The 1994 Maya uprising in southern Mexico triggered a minor cottage industry of publications on the indigenous neo-Zapatista guerrillas. For example, Neil Harvey places the uprising in a context of land struggles in The Chiapas Rebellion (CH May'99, 36-5314); John Ross provides a narrative summary of the uprising in The War against Oblivion (CH Jul'01, 38-6364); and Shannan Mattiace examines issues of class and ethnicity in To See with Two Eyes (CH Jul'04, 41-6707). Olesen (political science, Univ. of Aarhus) takes a new and different approach by analyzing the global solidarity network that grew up around the Zapatistas. Utilizing resource mobilization and framing theories, he examines four main themes: global consciousness, neoliberalism, democracy, and the Internet. These factors facilitated the development of loose and informal networks that provided the Zapatistas with political space and had positive repercussions on international solidarity movements in general. In particular, Olesen emphasizes the role of the Internet as a tool in organizing a global resistance movement. An undercurrent throughout the book is the importance of intermediaries for the success of any great social movement. This book is crucial for understanding the internal and external workings of transnational solidarity networks. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All academic levels/libraries. -- M. Becker, Truman State University