"This article compares and contrasts international trade unionism in its formative stages with patterns today. It identifies a continuing tension between an ‘agitator' model (internationalism from below) and a bureaucratic model (internationalism from above). With the construction of an architecture of international institutions, notably the International Labour Organisation, another variant emerged: the labour diplomat. It is argued that none of these models on its own is adequate: the future of effective internationalism requires a synthesis of these often contradictory elements."

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