academiccompositionab
Empowerment Equalizer
SSaragian
antiglobalist1
Ann Sterzinger
Rodney
brockbellerive
busterjames
byzantinknight
cainusmaxus
David Parry
Craig FitzGerald
Darth Stirner
David Heleniak
Caity & Dan Greene
Mencken's Ghost
Kate
keirmartland
Keith Preston
Bill the Butcher
ljp711
MRDA
Jack Donovan
Rachel Haywire
Justin Gillespie
comrade hermit
nikarevleshy
Michael
Vince
Jimmy Jump
R.J. Jacob
robertstark2014
Noonan
S E Pearson
sunlightrobertnetscapenet
theaberdeenanarch
theknightswhosay
Rachel Haywire
thesixthblindman
Tia Foster
truthisreason
Nexus X HumectressThis thesis explores contemporary anarchism, in its re-emergence as a social movement and political theory over the past decade. The methodology used combines participatory research and philosophical argumentation.
The first part, “Explaining Anarchism”, argues that it should be addressed primarily as a political culture, with distinct forms of organisation, campaigning and direct action repertoires, and political discourse and ideology. Largely discontinuous with the historical workers’ and peasants’ anarchist movement, contemporary anarchism has come together in the intersection of radical direct-action movements in the North since the 1960s: feminism, ecology and resistance to nuclear energy and weapons, war and neoliberal globalisation. Anarchist ideological discourse is analysed with attention to key concepts such as “domination” and “prefigurative politics”, with attention to the avowedly open-ended, experimental nature of the anarchist project.
The second part, “Anarchist Anxieties”, is a set of theoretical interventions in four major topics of controversy in anarchism. Leadership in anarchist politics is addressed through sustained attention to the concept of power, proposing an agenda for equalising access to influence among activists, and an “ethic of solidarity” around the wielding of non-coercive power. Violence is approached through a recipient-based definition of the concept, exploring the limits of any attempt to justify violence and offering observations on violent empowerment, revenge and armed struggle. Technology is subject to a strong anarchist critique, which stresses its inherently social nature, leading to the exploration of Luddism, the disillusioned use of ICTs, and the promotion of lo-tech, sustainable human-nature interfaces as strategical directions for an anarchist politics of technology. Finally, questions of nationalism are approached through the lens of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, addressing anarchist dilemmas around statehood, and exploring approaches to “national conflicts” that link multiple forms of oppression and that employ a direct action approach to peacemaking.
Contemporary Anarchism: A first look
Between Philosophy and Participatory Research
Chapter 1: What Moves the Movement?
Anarchism as a Political Culture
From Networks to Political Culture
Campaigning and direct action repertoires
Chapter 2: Threads of Resistance
Tracing the Genealogy of Contemporary Anarchism
Chapter 3: What Anarchists Want
The Logic of Anti-Authoritarian Political Language
Leadership and Power in Anarchist Organising, Part One
Power-to and Power as Influence
Equality and “Activist Resources”
Chapter 5: Power, Invisibility and Solidarity
Leadership and Power in Anarchist Organising, Part Two
Between Enforcement and Coercion
The Tyranny of Structurelessness Reconsidered
Chapter 6: Beyond “Diversity of Tactics”
Re-assessing the Anarchist Debate on Violence
Contextualising the Present Debate
Empowerment, Revenge and Armed Struggle
Chapter 7: Luddites and Hackers
Defining a Broad-Based Anarchist Politics of Technology
Domination and the Technological Complex
Hacking, Cracking and E-Piracy
Anarchism, Nationalism and Israeli-Palestinian Peace
Attack the System
Categories: Anarchism/Anti-State
