Global Showdown

On 29 November 1999, few people knew what WTO - World Trade Organization - stood for. The next day, however, after the Battle of Seattle, the WTO became a household name, particularly in Britain on May 2001, after the Mayday protests included violent clashes in London. Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke, veteran activists both in the convention centre and in the streets, provide, for the first time, a deep political analysis of the WTO. They see it as a government of, by and for transnational corporations, a government that is threatening the freedom of nations and citizens in the 21st century. The paperback is notable for the discussion by Barlow and Clarke on the effects of the terrorist attacks on anti-globalisation movements and they emphasise that this should give rise to a new spirit of non-violence in future protests.