"Glocalization," Regionalism and District Elections. The Challenge of Glocalization The recent "Battle in Seattle" exposed the contradictions between the globalization of capital and the devolution of political power. San Francisco labor union members, environmentalists, and consumer advocates joined thousands of other activists to protest the World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting in Seattle. They demanded greater public access to the WTO's elite decision-makers and insisted that human rights and social justice be given the same priority as property rights in making trade liberalization agreements. The WTO (like NAFTA, GATT, and other supranational regulatory authorities) was created by national governments at the behest of multinational corporations and financiers to promote and enforce free trade.
Not only did that act of creation require a partial surrender of national sovereignty, it imposed restrictions on state and local governments inclined to meddle with the new world order. The Challenge of Creating a Regional Government. Cooperation, Coordination, and Collaboration. Why We Can't Shop Our Way to a Better Economy: Stacy Mitchell at TEDxDirigo. "Glocalization," Regionalism and District Elections.
The Three Uses of Glocalization.