Activism Across Borders since 1870. Causes, Campaigns, and Conflicts in and beyond Europe By DanielLaqua. London and New York: Bloomsbury Academic. 2023. 366 pages. $34.95 (paperback). <scp>ISBN</scp>: 978‐1350262799

Daniel Laqua has written an excellent and historically ambitious book. In eight chapters, Activism across Borders tackles more than a century of transnationalism mostly from the political left and, which is noteworthy, sometimes from the right, as transnationalism pervades the entire political spectrum. Laqua's focus is primarily European but for obvious historical and empirical reasons his examination of twentieth century transnationalism extends “beyond Europe.” Anti-colonialism, anti-imperialism and anti-racism, humanitarianism, pacifism, feminism, gender and sexuality, class struggle, human rights, and the environmental cause are all progressive spaces of mobilization that transcend national borders, even if the causes, in a typical scale game, have strong national and local resonances. This book is easy to read and is likely to become a reference for scholars and students interested in the global history of social movements. Laqua uses “four major analytical lenses” (2) to investigate this international commitment: connection, transience, ambivalence, and marginality. The first lens is self-evident because transnational action connects people all over the world, but Laqua also underlines the “connectedness of causes.” Indeed, as pacifist and environmental activist Petra Kelly stated in 1982, “It's all interrelated” (quoted on 287). While this is not true for all causes, transnational mobilization often involves the intersection of multiple causes (e.g., pacifism and feminism, leftist internationalism and human rights, and green activism and pacifism). The second lens, which is closely related to the first, is the transitory aspect of transnationalism. Partnerships between causes are inherently transient and, as Laqua correctly points out, “sometimes end in discord” (14). Sandi Cooper and others have demonstrated that nineteenth century pacifists, for example, were unable to resolve the contradictions between their liberal-bourgeois and socialist orientations prior to 1914, and this tension resurfaced in the 1930s in response to the fascist threat. The third perspective explores the ambivalence of transnationalism. Laqua highlights “the manifold blind spots” and the “prejudice and exclusionary agendas” of some global efforts (14). This ambivalence is well known to peace historians. Many 1920s pacifists, for example, imbued with their own progressivism, welcomed the “mission civilisatrice” of European empires in Africa and elsewhere without questioning its imperial and racist base (37–45). Many other male pacifists dismissed the women's struggle for political rights and gender equality (107–110). The “ambivalence lens” is one of Activism across Borders' most valuable historiographical contributions, providing a critical perspective that departs from the apologetic tone which defines many studies on progressive causes. Laqua thus breaks away from the success or failure assessment of so many progressive stories, as his history is analytical rather than prescriptive or performative. This framing might be the reason why a common expression like “international civil society,” which often describes transnational movements, is nowhere to be found in this book. The fourth and final lens is “marginality.” Transnationalism sometimes operates as a leverage strategy for marginalized groups at the domestic level who use the bonds created abroad to amplify a national or local cause. Perhaps the most apparent illustration is early twentieth century feminism. The struggle for the right to vote is, by definition, national and local, but women's transnationalism is motivated by cross-border battles, such as abuse and trafficking in women (201–203). This book thus presents a clear interpretation of modern and contemporary transnationalism and offers a broad thematic and chronological panorama. Each chapter opens with a discussion of the historical roots of the transnational topic, typically in the nineteenth century and continuing into the twenty-first century, then proceeds chronologically. Laqua's tour de force is his ability to navigate with clarity through this multitude of cross-stories, which frequently operate concurrently, thanks to an extensive bibliography in five languages and an outstanding critical apparatus. Each chapter of 25–40 pages has between 150 and 200 notes (with a maximum of 269 for the longest 50-page chapter, “Class, Revolution, and Social Justice”). Laqua also refers to numerous archives and printed historical sources to support his book's narrative and to illustrate specific themes. For my part, I have already begun recommending Activism across Borders to my graduate students who work on peace and international relations history, and they appreciate this challenging and historiographically sound synthesis. While this work has undeniable strengths, the large synthetic approach inevitably leads to swift chronological sequences, which can occasionally create an impression of superficiality. An expert on a specific element of transnational mobilization might criticize the rapidity with which certain subjects are addressed and the resulting lack of nuance and complexity. Chapter 3 on pacifism (“Building a Peaceful World”) covers “socialist and communist perspectives on peace and war” from the late nineteenth century to the Cold War in just over two pages. While there are no notable errors or doubtful interpretations, this complex subject is indeed handled too rapidly. In Chapter 2, entitled “Humanitarianism in War and Peace,” Laqua highlights the governments' instrumentalization of humanitarian mobilization, and while addressing the case of North Vietnam in some detail (72), he then devotes just a few lines to the Sandinistas in Nicaragua in the following paragraph: without any context, without precisions on the supports and outcomes of such complex issues, this case falls flat. Finally, the very brief conclusion falls short of the book's ambitions, appearing more like an epilogue than a moment to properly consider the worth of the four perspectives through which Laqua has analyzed a century of transnationalism. These are very minor flaws compared to the overall high quality of the work. Daniel Laqua has produced a book that is both synthetic and analytical, with a high level of coherence and accessibility. Activism across Borders is likely to remain a must-read for graduate students who wish to acquire a comprehensive view of transnationalism, as well as a useful reference for any scholar interested in the history of social movements on the local, regional, and global scales. Carl Bouchard is a Professor of History at Université de Montréal. His research focuses on international relations, peace movements and ideas in the twentieth century. His publications include Cher Monsieur le Président. Quand les Français écrivaient à Woodrow Wilson (1918–1919) (2015); Beyond the Great War: Making Peace in a Disordered World (Toronto UP, 2022), coedited with Norman Ingram; and La paix, malgré tout. Un siècle de réflexions et d'actions contre la guerre (Septentrion, 2023).

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