Jackie Smith is Professor of Sociology at the University of Pittsburgh and the editor of the Journal of World Systems Research. Her research addresses the relationships between economic globalization, social conflicts, and popular struggles. She is involved locally with Pittsburgh’s Human Rights City Alliance and coordinates the Pitt Human Rights Initiative, which engages in educational and research activities aimed at promoting and defending human rights locally and beyond. Her books include Social Movements in the World System: The Politics of Crisis and Transformation (with Dawn Wiest); Social Movements for Global Democracy; Coalitions across Borders: Transnational Protest and the Neoliberal Order (with Joe Bandy, ed.); and the Handbook of World Social Forum Activism (with Scott Byrd, Ellen Reese and Elizabeth Smythe, eds.).