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This book crafts an insider's look at international trade disputes at one of the most important institutions in the global economy: the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO regulates the global rules for trade, and—unique among international organizations—provides a legalized process for litigation between countries over trade grievances. Drawing on interviews with trade lawyers, ambassadors, trade delegations, and trade jurists, this book details how trade has become increasingly legalized and the implications of that for power relations between rich and poor countries. The author looks closely at who uses the system to initiate and pursue disputes, who settles and on what terms, and the relative disconnect between pursuing a dispute and what a country gains through efforts to gain compliance with WTO dictates. Through this inside look at the process of disputing, the author provides fresh perspective on how and why the law authorizes the use of specific resources and tactics in the ever-unfolding struggle for control in the global economy.

Hong Kong is one of the very few places in the world where the common law can be practiced in a language other than English. Introduced into the courtroom over a decade ago, Cantonese has significantly altered the everyday working of the common law in China's most Westernized city. This book explores how English and Cantonese respectively reinforce and undermine the practice of legal formalism. This first-ever ethnographic study of Hong Kong's unique legal system in the midst of social and political transition, this book provides important insights into the social nature of language and the work of institutions. The author contends that the dilemma of legal bilingualism in Hong Kong is emblematic of the inherent tensions of postcolonial Hong Kong. Through the legal dramas presented in the book, readers will get a fresh look at the former British colony that is now searching for its identity within a powerful China.

What happens when social movement ideals meet market principles? Based on a three-year ethnography of a technology movement, this book shows how social movements make and shape markets. To illustrate how movements shape markets this book tells the story of the “Circuit Riders,” a group of social justice activists dedicated to sparking a technology revolution among grassroots and nonprofit organizations. The movement enrolled and mobilized many activists, growing 10,000 strong in just a few years. But market forces soon derailed the revolution. With the support of multinational corporations, a new organization recognized a nascent market in the wake of the Circuit Rider movement. Called NPower, this social enterprise combined social values, like helping nonprofit organizations and market practices, like charging fees for service and developing complex performance metrics. NPower experienced nearly instant success tapping foundation funding and corporate support to forge a market for technology services in the nonprofit sector. Even in decline, the Circuit Riders continued to shape the market they inadvertently created. By mobilizing open source technologies and offering low-cost technology to those in need, the Circuit Riders became a necessary check on otherwise unfettered market forces.

Asked to name an activist, many people think of someone like Cesar Chavez or Rosa Parks—someone uniquely and passionately devoted to a cause. Yet, two-thirds of Americans report having belonged to a social movement, attended a protest, or engaged in some form of contentious political activity. Activism, in other words, is something that the vast majority of people engage in. This book examines these more common experiences to ask how and when people choose to engage with political causes. It shows how individual characteristics and life experiences impact the pathway of political participation, illustrating that the context and period in which a person engages are critical. This is the real picture of activism, one in which many people engage, in a multitude of ways and with varying degrees of continuity. This book challenges the current conceptualization of activism and pushes us to more systematically examine the varying ways that individuals participate in contentious politics over their lifetimes.