Creative Destruction: Local Outcomes of G20 Summit Protests in Pittsburgh and Toronto

• In Event: 303 - Section on Political Sociology Paper Session. The Consequences of Social Movements

Abstract

How do transnational summit protests affect local activists, organizations and movements in a host city? Using Sewell’s concept of ‘eventful temporality’ to illustrate how events can transform social life, we examine the outcomes of the G20 summits on movements, activists and organizations in Pittsburgh (2009) and Toronto (2010). Field notes and interviews with 46 activists are analyzed to identify the short term and longer term effects of the summit protests on the political landscape and the movements themselves. The mobilizations in both cities increased the skills of and density of connections amongst local activists and movements, changed local tactical preferences and affected new local campaigns. They mobilized new activists, but they also led to burnout and exhaustion amongst existing activists. The findings suggest that a more nuanced, and temporally sensitive framework for understanding outcomes must be utilized.

Authors

• Lesley J. Wood, York University

• Suzanne Staggenborg, University of Pittsburgh

• Glenn Stalker, Brock University

• Rachel V. Kutz-Flamenbaum, University of Pittsburgh