In 1999, a seemingly incongruous collection of protestors converged in Seattle to shut down the meetings of the World Trade Organization. Union leaders, environmentalists dressed as endangered turtles, mainstream Christian clergy, violence-advocating anarchists, gay and lesbian activists and many other diverse groups came together to protest at what they saw as the unfair power of a non-democratic elite. This book asks: how did such strange bedfellows come together? And can their unity continue? The editors of this book find Colin Campbell's 1972 theory of "cultic milieu" especially useful in coming to grips with the varied oppositional groups of today. Campbell, a sociologist, posited a "cultic milieu": an underground region where true seekers test hidden, forgotten and forbidden knowledge. Ideas and allegiances within the milieu change as individuals move between loosely organized groups, but the larger milieu persists in opposition to the dominant culture.