Shows how a broad group of civil society organizations came together to contest free trade negotiations in the Americas.

Marisa von Bülow is currently Professor of Political Science at the University of Brasilia, Brazil. She has published many works on transnational collective action and social movements. Professor von Bülow has done research throughout the Americas, including in Mexico, Chile, Peru, Canada, the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.

Part I. Civil Society Organizations and their Pathways to Transnationality: 1. Introduction; 2. Multiple pathways to transnationality; Part II. The Politicization of Trade: 3. The contentious nature of trade debates; 4. New regionalism in the Americas; Part III. The Dynamics of Networks: 5. Trade protest networks; 6. The origins and dynamics of trade challengers' networks; Part IV. Organizational Pathways to Transnationality: 7. The creation and demise of transnational coalitions; 8. Diffusion and differentiation of national coalitions; Part V. The Search for Ideational Pathways: 9. Alternatives for the Americas; 10. Transnational collective action in dynamic political contexts; 11. Conclusions: agency, networks, and collective action; Appendix A: lists of interviews; Appendix B: social network questionnaire (United States).