Bob Clifford. The Marketing of Rebellion: Insurgetns, Media, and International Activism

Cambridge University Press, 2005. — 255 p.How do a few political movements challenging Third World states become global causes c´el`ebres, whereas most remain isolated and obscure? The Marketing of Rebellion rejects the common view that needy groups readily gain help from selfless nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Even in the Internet age, insurgents face a Darwinian struggle for scarce international resources – and, to succeed, they must aggressively market themselves. To make this argument, Clifford Bob systematically compares two recent movements that attracted major NGO support, Mexico’s Zapatista rebels and Nigeria’s Ogoni ethnic group, against similar movements that failed to do so. Based on primary document analysis and more than 45 interviews with local activists and NGO leaders, the author shows that support goes to the savviest, not the neediest. The Marketing of Rebellion develops a realistic, organizational perspective on social movements, NGOs, and “global civil society.” It will change how the weak solicit help, the powerful pick clients, and all of us think about contemporary world politics.
Clifford Bob is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and the Graduate School of Social and Public Policy at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He specializes in transnational politics, social movements, human rights, and ethnic conflict. His published work includes articles in Foreign Policy, Social Problems, International Politics, American Journal of International Law, Journal of Human Rights, and PS: Political Science & Politics.