Divestment Dynamics: Mobilizing, Shaming, and Changing the Rules

Over the past twenty years, divestment has become a standard tactic for transnational campaigns: activists urge institutional investors to sell their holdings in immoral business activities. But what do activists hope to achieve? Drawing parallels between two successful examples -- the American anti-apartheid movement and today’s ‘fossil-free’ divestment campaign --, I suggest that activists turn to the tactic not in the hope of lowering share prices, but rather to provoke local discussions about transnational issues, to raise moral questions, and to mobilize political pressure.