About the Book
This absorbing memoir by a legendary public intellectual from the Global South vividly recounts his journey from student activist to a global figure on the international left.
It traces Walden Bello's life trajectory from a leader of the movement against the Vietnam War at Princeton to Salvador Allende's Chile, where he provides a startling take on its "peaceful road to socialism".
His participation in the US-based movement to cut off US assistance to the Marcos dictatorship led to iconic acts of protest - using Sesame Street's Miss Piggy and Kermit to depict the Filippino leadership; infiltrating a Lincoln Center event as officials, greeting Imelda Marcos warmly in English followed by "We're going to get you bastards" in Filippino, as the audience remained oblivious; and a celebrated heist of 6000 pages of confidential documents from the World Bank that were then turned into the best-selling international expose Development Debacle: The World Bank in the Philippines.
Bello provides a detailed account and analysis of the anti-dictatorship movement in the Philippines, where the leading National Democratic Front led by the CPP was eventually marginalized following the so-called "EDSA Uprising" that ousted Ferdinand Marcos, Sr, in 1986. He exposes the Reagan administration officials' maneuvering that prevented the Left from coming to power, and the subsequent CPP runaway purge that triggered his departure from it.
Bello became one of the leaders of the of the global struggle against neoliberalism and its key institutions, the WTO, IMF, and the World Bank. He captures the din and smoke of the historic street battles of the 2000's--in Seattle, Prague, Genoa, and Cancun--then gives an engaged intellectual's analysis of the anti-globalization and anti-empire movements.
While an elected official in the Philippines Congress, Bello engaged in parliamentary battles over family planning and agrarian reform. The New Slave Trade chapter addresses his efforts to assist trapped Filipino domestic workers. He outlines his efforts to make the Philippines steer an independent course between the United States and China.
In 2015 he resigned from the Philippine Congress in 2015 after 6 years' service--the only recorded resignation on a matter of principle in the history of the Congress.
Truly, a life well lived, with much to offer by way of hope and example.
"A thinker and philosopher with the courage to live according to his values, Walden Bello is the only Filipino to resign from Congress because of his principles. In Global Battlefields, he reflects on his lifelong fight for justice and equality, and why some of the movements he helped lead failed. This is not just a feel-good story of activism; it's a raw and honest examination of what it takes to challenge power and money - essential reading for anyone working for a just world." -- Maria Ressa, recipient of Nobel Peace Prize, 2021
About the Author :
A former member of the Philippine House of Representatives and recipient of the Right Livelihood Award (aka the Alternative Nobel Prize) in 2003, Walden Bello was named in 2023 the Most Distinguished Defender of Human Rights by Amnesty International Philippines. He was co-founder and is currently co-chair of the board of the progressive research and advocacy institute Focus on the Global South. He is currently International Adjunct Professor of Sociology at Binghamton and author or co-author of 25 books,
Review :
"In this riveting memoir, Walden Bello transports the reader from street battles in Salvador Allende's Chile to the deepest recesses of the World Bank's document vaults, the din of Seattle's anti-globalization protests, and clandestine meetings with Hamas and Hezbollah in Beirut. At the center of this narrative is the author's candid recounting of his role in the long struggle against the Marcos dictatorship as a cadre of the Communist Party of the Philippines, his painful break with the organization, and his subsequent career as a democratic activist and crusading congressman. Bello's tumultuous political journey is emblematic of that global 'boomer' generation of activists that is still making an indelible imprint on world history."
Al McCoy Professor of History, University of Wisconsin at Madison
"Walden Flores Bello is close to a global celebrity. Beyond that, he outdistances all these autobiographers through his smooth blend of extraordinary activist commitment with an academic career that spans several countries. Global Battlefields showcases a gifted and principled man driven by an outsider's ambition to storm the gates of an oppressive social order.."
-ALAN WALD, Against the Current
"This is one of the most important books I have read in recent years. I have been longing for someone to settle the accounts of a great generation that framed the progressive politics after the Second World War on a global scale. No one could do it better than Walden Bello, and Walden Bello couldn't do it better than he did. This is a fascinating account of the struggles for social justice and liberation--struggles fought at local, national, and global level in the last half century."
Boaventura de Sousa Santos Author of The End of the Cognitive Empire and Professor, University of Coimbra, Portugal
"Walden's memoirs could be read as a remarkable transformation of an accidental activist into a towering global intellectual. His cumulative journey over a six-decade period is simply breathtaking and awe-inspiring. It ranges from opposing the Vietnam War to exposing the Bretton Woods institutions including the WTO, rallying the developing world against US hegemony and helping to build an anti-globalization global movement including his active involvement in the Philippines politics. This is a major feat requiring intellect, courage, strength and commitment. For students of political economy, his memoirs are both a guide and a call to action, offering a six-decade critique of market-driven economies and the political ideologies underpinning them."
CHARLES SANTIAGO, Co-Chairperson of Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights and former MP of Malaysia
"...There are few better ways to understand the resistance to neoliberal imperialism, and the aspirations that underpin that rebellion, than the renowned Filipino and international, public intellectual and activist Walden Bello's autobiography Global Battlefields...."
THOMAS PONNIAH, Canadian Dimension
"One does not need to agree with Bello's views--for example, on the collapse of the Soviet Union, which he refers to as "socialist"-- to be informed and entertained by Global Battlefields. One of Bello's most charming characteristics is that although he takes politics seriously, he also finds joy in the struggle. From dressing up as Kermit the Frog in front of the IMF headquarters to occupying the Philippine embassy or bluntly declaring "fuck you Marcos" on prime time television to then candidate and now President Marcos Jr. in 2021, Bello has a flair for the dramatic. When police came to arrest him in 2022 after the Duterte camp filed libel charges, Bello insisted that police put handcuffs on him, the seventy-six-year-old former congressman.
Apparently Walden Bello needed some convincing from friends before deciding to write his memoirs. It is good that they convinced him."
ALEX DE JONG, Tempest
"A rollicking adventure through time and space. Walden Bello has led an extraordinary life of international activism. In this page-turner of a book, he recalls stories of incredible heroism and courage from the dwellings of the marginalized to the halls of power. I have had the honour of working alongside Walden in our collective struggle against neoliberalism and economic globalization and can attest to his brilliant analysis and wicked debating style. Woe to the person arguing with that mind!!"
Maude Barlow Founding Member of Council of Canadians and Recipient of the Right Livelihood Award
"Global Battlefields vividly recounts personal trials and public triumphs in daring confrontations with political monsters. Relentless, fearless, and selfless, Walden Bello is an inspiration to all who want to join scholarship to radical politics."
Michael Burawoy Professor of Sociology, University of California at Berkeley
"Here is the story of, first, an underground rebel and then a parliamentarian always fighting dictatorial rule in the Philippines; of a participant in a political robbery of World Bank documents to expose its neoliberal globalization policies; of a leading figure in international campaigns against the many instances of U.S. imperialism; and
of a supporter of struggles for human rights everywhere, resulting in the deserved bestowal of international awards. In addition, he is a brilliant scholar whose voluminous writings in the social sciences have won him global accolades."
Achin Vanaik Professor of International Relations and Global Politics (ret.), University of Delhi
"How did one of the most talented public scholars from the Philippines become a highly effective actor on the global stage? How did he juggle intellectual integrity with the conflicting demands of activism and politics? Hang on for a riveting ride--from a small island, to chartering a plane for love, to the Philippine revolutionary movement, to protesting Imelda at the Kennedy Center, to the halls of the World Bank, to the streets and suites of the global justice protests, to the halls of Congress--and you'll find out."
John Cavanagh Former Director of the Institute of Policy Studies and co-author, with Robin Broad, of The Water Defenders
"I first met Walden Bello through Focus on the Global South in Mumbai. His work in trying to make the world understand fundamental inequality in the post-colonial world gives us so much inspiration, and so much hope. Walden has campaigned for justice in the Philippines, joined the anti Vietnam movement in the 1960s in the USA. He has exposed the role of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank
in the impoverishment of the people of the Philippines, and he joined the campaign for real justice and real democracy there when the Marcos dictatorship was in charge. Walden has amazing knowledge of radical movements the world over, and so we are all willing pupils of this expertise, as well as his determination."
Jeremy Corbyn Member of Parliament, United Kingdom
"I have known of no one who succeeded so brilliantly in being both a revolutionary activist and an influential presence in academia, writing pathbreaking books as a political economist who puts people first, and for decades has been one of the most eloquent voices of the Global South. Bello's story is also an impressive compilation of lessons learned from a lifetime of activism animated by multiple challenges. This book offers readers a virtual tutorial for young progressives intent on dedicating their lives to a better future for all of humanity."
Richard Falk Professor Emeritus of International Law and Practice at Princeton University and former United Nations Human Rights Rapporteur for the Occupied Territories
"One can derive many satisfactions from reading Walden Bello's Global Battlefields, not least being his kaleidoscopic portraits of anti-military and anti-corporatist struggles in the Philippines and around the world. Indeed, I can think of few others besides Walden Bello who have witnessed and participated in so many of those struggles over the years. But the real benefit of this book resides in Bello's acute assessment of the setbacks and failures of these struggles--and what useful lessons can be drawn from this in our ongoing work."
Michael Klare Professor Emeritus of Peace and World Security Studies, Hampshire College, and author of Resource Wars and The Race for What's Left: The Global Scramble for the World's Last Resources
"The name 'Walden Bello' is virtually synonymous with the struggle for global social justice and with clarion analysis of contemporary world politics and society. The story of Walden's life is the story of our world over the past half a century, as
told from the perspective of the oppressed and from someone who has been on the frontlines of it all."
Bill Robinson Author of A Theory of Global Capitalism and Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Global Studies, University of California at Santa Barbara
"This page-turning memoir of a respected figure of the broader Philippine left gives a blow-by-blow account of Walden's evolution as an activist and academic--his days as a leader of anti-war student protests at Princeton University, a cadre of the underground anti-dictatorship movement, and later a member of the House of Representatives for Akbayan, and an advocate against globalization and imperialist interests. "
Risa Hontiveros Senator, Leader of the Opposition, Republic of the Philippines
"Walden Bello has, for a generation at least, been one of the outstanding scholar-activists of the global radical left. Here he tells his story. And what a story it is --Jesuit schoolboy, researcher into the origins of counterrevolution in Chile, underground militant of the Communist Party of the Philippines, critical analyst and opponent of neoliberal globalisation and imperialist militarism, principled parliamentarian. History and his own life, with all its triumphs and disappointments, joys and bereavements, come alive in this fascinating book."
Alex Callinicos Author of The Age of Catastrophe and
Emeritus Professor of European Studies, King's College London
"Walden Bello is more than just a political activist or a progressive Filipino politician. He is, as his autobiography exhibits, a literary giant, capable of breathing life and painting colors to what otherwise could have been just another political memoir devoid of character and soul. In these pages, Prof. Walden creates in words a real world of people and events that could all but have been lost to history, if not for the brilliance of his recollection and the erudition of his writing."
Leila de Lima Former Senator of the Republic of the Philippines and former political prisoner
"Walden Bello is one of the great activists and intellectuals of our time. His ability to move between the streets, the written word, and the corridors of power is truly remarkable--and we all have a huge amount to learn from his life. I am so excited to be able to endorse this immensely powerful and beautifully written memoir, and I urge anyone on the left to read it."
Grace Blakeley Author of Vulture Capitalism and Stolen: How to Save the World from Financialization
"Walden Bello, I've known him for many years, has compiled a stellar record in activism and scholarship, always on the frontlines of struggles for justice and freedom in the Philippines and worldwide. I've personally learned a great deal from his work, which has also been a constant source of inspiration for engagement and activism. It's my great privilege to have been able to join him in some of his efforts."
Noam Chomsky Public Intellectual, endorsing Walden Bello's run for the Vice Presidency of the Philippines in 2022
"Walden Bello's biography is a generous gift to everyone hoping to understand his unique fusion of unrelenting progressive political activism and piercing critical
analysis. Equally, it is an invaluable lens for those trying to make sense of the world's tumultuous political evolution since the mid 20th century--essential for those who lived through these years and even more so for the generation that must face their aftermath."
Peter Evans Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of California at Berkeley, and author of Embedded Autonomy: States and Industrial Transformation
"Walden Bello's life has been remarkable and inspiring in so many ways: as a scholar of sharp acuity and profundity, a public intellectual in the most organic sense, a streetfighter activist as well as a legislator, an internationalist who is deeply engaged in the political struggles of his own country. This candid, thoughtful and even racy memoir brings out much of what makes him so special and so cherished, and shows why he remains such a beacon for progressive forces everywhere."
Jayati Ghosh Professor, University of Massachusetts Amherst, and former Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi
"Walden Bello's memoirs are a mirror of his delightful personality--his commitment to social justice and his great sense of humour about the cruel absurdities of the capitalist world."
Vijay Prashad Indian historian and journalist, and Executive Director of the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research
"When I was a young writer first trying to understand the huge changes to the global economy, Walden was one of the thinkers whose work I relied on most. He's a true visionary. He grasped the monumental shifts that were taking place in the way the modern economy worked, changes that were coming at a terrible cost to workers in the Philippines and the natural world. Again and again, Walden has been on the right side of history, siding with people against the power of multinational corporations."
Naomi Klein Author of The Shock Doctrine
