Introduction

The anti-globalization movement in the United States has received considerable attention over
the past few years, invigorating tens of thousands of protesters to meetings of international
economic institutions and bringing globalization to the attention of millions previously unaware of
the fixtures and policies of global capitalism.1 Though largely unrecognized by many scholars
discussing the anti-globalization movement, anarchism has been, as anarchist scholar David
Graeber has observed, “the heart of the movement, its soul; the source of most of what’s new
and hopeful about it.” 2 An examination the three most recent large-scale anti-globalization
protests in the United States reveals that anarchists have played a crucial role in organizing these
actions. Further, anarchist ideals (including non-hierarchical organizing, consensus process, and
spokes council meetings) have been the means by which most of the movement has advanced
and mobilized.