The Internet and the Seattle WTO Protests

As the Internet’s structure and scale have evolved, various forms of social justice activism have become more prominent, challenging and altering the landscape of political discourse and advocacy. The Internet’s potential for social justice campaigning has been appreciated for at least a decade, although in recent years activists have increasingly targeted international structures, institutions and treaties. In particular, a range of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) has addressed the politics of international trade as a notably contentious subject. Nowhere else was this opposition more publicly vented than at the recent World Trade Organization (WTO) summit, held in Seattle in late 1999. Although Seattle is remembered as a triumphant moment in modern popular protest, with widespread reporting by the world media, it also marked an important watershed for Internet-mediated activism. It is crucial to understand the making of Seattle through cyberspace because it offers an example of future social justice action. For instance, how was the Internet used as a campaign tool by activists? How did the Internet affect relations between activists? What alternative protest strategies did the Internet offer?