ABSTRACT
On September 17, 2011, nearly one thousand people gathered in Zucotti Park, in New York City, to protest against social inequality and the collusion between business and political elites. Inspired by the Arab Spring and the Spanish indignados of Madrid’s Puerta Del Sol, Occupy Wall Street (OWS) activists saw the occupation of the financial district as a “Tahrir moment,” a catalyst for a broad protest movement that would shatter the American political establishment. Following Naomi Klein’s (2011) declaration that OWS was “the most important thing in the world,” Occupiers envisioned a democratic wave that would roll far beyond the terrains of American politics. In the light of the Canadian origins of Adbusters’ revolutionary call and the international group of activists that spearheaded the first meetings, OWS was a truly transnational movement1 (Kroll 2011).
