Globalization and the policing of protest: the case of APEC 1997

The policing of protest at international events conflicts with the politica l and policing culture of the host nation. Previous research shows a trend toward softer, more tolerant styles of policing protest within various West ern democracies. We present a case study of an exception: the repression of protest at an international event ill which one Western democracy hosted r ulers of less democratic regimes in a ritual celebration of economic global ization. We explore reasons why, in the face of protests about undemocratic regimes elsewhere, the Canadian government and police were willing to use blatantly undemocratic tactics popularly believed to be more characteristic of those other regimes. Implications are discussed concerning protest poli cing, economic globalization, the nation-state and social movements.