Ruth Kinna

A magisterial study of the history and theory of one of the most controversial political movements Anarchism routinely gets a bad press. It's usually seen as meaning chaos and disorder -- or even nothing at all. And yet, from Occupy Wall Street to Pussy Riot, Noam Chomsky to David Graeber, this philosophical and political movement is as relevant as ever. Contrary to popular perception, different strands of anarchism -- from individualism to collectivism -- do follow certain structures and a shared sense of purpose: a belief in freedom and working towards collective good without the interference of the state. In this masterful, sympathetic account, political theorist Ruth Kinna traces the tumultuous history of anarchism, starting with thinkers and activists such as Peter Kropotkin and Emma Goldman and through key events like the Paris Commune and the Haymarket affair. Skilfully introducing us to the nuanced theories of anarchist groups from Russia to Japan to the United States, The Government of No One reveals what makes a supposedly chaotic movement particularly adaptable and effective over centuries -- and what we can learn from it.

The Theory and Practice of Anarchism

The Government of No One

A Beginner's Guide (Oneworld Beginners' Guides)

Anarchism

Luis A. Fernandez

Jeff Shantz

Anthony J. Nocella

Mark Seis

A Historical Dismantling of Punishment and Domination

Classic Writings in Anarchist Criminology

The continuum companion to anarchism

Alex Prichard

Thomas Swann

Seeds for Seeds for Change

How to Build Durable Groups and Coalitions

Anarchic Agreements

This sympathetic critical analysis corrects some popular myths about Kropotkin's thought, highlights the important and unique contribution he made to the history of socialist ideas and sheds new light on the nature of anarchist ideology.

Kropotkin

Saku Pinta

Dave Berry

"The history of the left is usually told as one of factionalism and division. This collection of essays casts new light on this history showing in more detail how the boundaries between marxism and anarchism have been more porous and more productive than is conventionally recognized. Bringing together original and ground-breaking pieces on some of the best and least known actors in twentieth-century socialism, this book promises to break new ground by providing a fresh outlook on left wing synthesis in the twenty-first Century. The political and social thought of Gramsci, Sorel, and the Trinidadian, C.L.R. James, amongst others, are discussed alongside key movements in 20th century socialism including the Situationist International, Socialisme ou Barbarie and lesser known council communists, carnival anarchists and anarchic currents in the American civil rights movement. This is a must read for students and scholars interested in the development of socialist ideologies"--Provided by publisher.

Politics in Black and Red

Libertarian Socialism

Would you want a world without government? In this clear and penetrating study, Ruth Kinna goes directly to the heart of this controversial ideology, explaining the influences that have shaped anarchism and the different tactics and strategies that have been used by anarchists throughout history to achieve their ends. Kinna covers themes both historical and acutely contemporary, including: Could anarchy ever really be a viable alternative to the state? Can anarchist ideals ever be consistent with the justification of violence? How has anarchism influenced the anti-globalization movement?

A Beginner's Guide

Matthew S. Adams

Anarchism 1914–18 is the first systematic analysis of anarchist responses to the First World War. It examines the interventionist debate between Peter Kropotkin and Errico Malatesta which split the anarchist movement in 1914 and provides a historical and conceptual analysis of debates conducted in European and American movements about class, nationalism, internationalism, militarism, pacifism and cultural resistance. Contributions discuss the justness of war, non-violence and pacifism, anti-colonialism, pro-feminist perspectives on war and the potency of myths about the war and revolution for the reframing of radical politics in the 1920s and beyond. Divisions about the war and the experience of being caught on the wrong side of the Bolshevik Revolution encouraged anarchists to reaffirm their deeply-held rejection of vanguard socialism and develop new strategies that drew on a plethora of anti-war activities.

Internationalism, anti-militarism and war

Anarchism, 1914–18

Gillian Whiteley

Investigating art practitioners’ responses to violence, this book considers how artists have used art practices to rethink concepts of violence and non-violence. It explores the strategies that artists have deployed to expose physical and symbolic violence through representational, performative and interventional means. It examines how intellectual and material contexts have affected art interventions and how visual arts can open up critical spaces to explore violence without reinforcement or recuperation. Its premises are that art is not only able to contest prevailing norms about violence but that contemporary artists are consciously engaging with publics through their practice in order to do so. Contributors respond to three questions: how can political violence be understood or interpreted through art? How are publics understood or identified? How are art interventions designed to shift, challenge or respond to public perceptions of political violence and how are they constrained by them? They discuss violence in the everyday and at state level: the Watts’ Rebellion and Occupy, repression in Russia, domination in Hong Kong, the violence of migration and the unfolding art activist logic of the sigma portfolio. Asking how public debates can be shaped through the visual and performing arts and setting taboos about violence to one side, the volume provides an innovative approach to a perennial issue of interest to scholars of international politics, art and cultural studies.

Visual Arts and Political Violence

Cultures of Violence

For many years, William Morris's utopian novel, News From Nowhere, has been considered a socialist classic. In it, he describes a future society in which poverty and hardship have been overcome and where individuals are free to express their creativity. For many readers it has been an inspirational text but, at the same time, scholars have openly admitted that the society it describes is impractical. Indeed, in recent years, writers and politicians sympathetic to Morris's socialism have tended to defend the relevance of his political thought by passing over the details of his vision and translating his ideas to a set of familiar values or ideas: freedom, equality, fraternity, ecology, environmentalism. In this stimulating study, Ruth Kinna reviews the debates that have surrounded Morris's work and suggests that the romanticism and utopianism of News From Nowhere have been treated wrongly as a weakness of his thought. By analyzing the impact that Morris's understanding of art had on his political thought, she argues that his socialism was driven by a deeply romantic impulse and that this impulse underpinned his central contribution to socialist thought. In today's political climate, the assumptions that Morris made about the revolution and his idea about the socialist economy and the role of women appear impractical and outdated. Nevertheless, this study suggests that there is a role for utopian thought in practical politics and that Morris's image of the good society remains relevant today.

The Art of Socialism

William Morris

The Continuum Companion to Anarchism is a comprehensive reference work to support research in anarchism. The book considers the different approaches to anarchism as an ideology and explains the development of anarchist studies from the early twentieth century to the present day. It is unique in that it highlights the relationship between theory and practice, pays special attention to methodology, presents non-English works, key terms and concepts, and discusses new directions for the field. Focusing on the contemporary movement, the work outlines significant shifts in the study of anarchist ideas and explores recent debates. The Companion will appeal to scholars in this growing field, whether they are interested in the general study of anarchism or in more specific areas. Featuring the work of key scholars, The Continuum Companion to Anarchism will be an essential tool for both the scholar and the activist.

The Bloomsbury Companion to Anarchism

Laurence Davis

This collection of original essays examines the relationship between anarchism and utopianism, exploring the intersections and overlaps between these two fields of study and providing novel perspectives for the analysis of both. The book opens with an historical and philosophical survey of the subject matter and goes on to examine antecedents of the anarchist literary utopia; anti-capitalism and the anarchist utopian literary imagination; free love as an expression of anarchist politics and utopian desire; and revolutionary practice. Contributors explore the creative interchange of anarchism and utopianism in both theory and modern political practice; debunk some widely-held myths about the inherent utopianism of anarchy; uncover the anarchistic influences active in the history of utopian thought; and provide fresh perspectives on contemporary academic and activist debates about ecology, alternatives to capitalism, revolutionary theory and practice, and the politics of art, gender and sexuality. Scholars in both anarchist and utopian studies have for many years acknowledged a relationship between these two areas, but this is the first time that the historical and philosophical dimensions of the relationship have been investigated as a primary focus for research, and its political significance given full and detailed consideration.

Anarchism and Utopianism

The history of the left is usually told as one of factionalism and division. This collection of essays casts new light on this history showing in more detail how the boundaries between marxism and anarchism have been more porous and more productive than is conventionally recognized. Bringing together original and ground-breaking pieces on some of the best and least known actors in twentieth-century socialism, this book promises to break new ground by providing a fresh outlook on left wing synthesis in the twenty-first Century. The political and social thought of Gramsci, Sorel, and the Trinidadian, C. L. R. James, amongst others, are discussed alongside key movements in 20th century socialism including the Situationist International, Socialisme ou Barbarie and lesser known council communists, carnival anarchists and anarchic currents in the American civil rights movement. This is a must read for students and scholars interested in the development of socialist ideologies.

Uri Gordon

Successive waves of global protest since 1999 have encouraged leading contemporary political theorists to argue that politics has fundamentally changed in the last twenty years, with a new type of politics gaining momentum over elite, representative institutions. The new politics is frequently described as radical, but what does radicalism mean for the conduct of politics? Capturing the innovative practices of contemporary radicals, Routledge Handbook of Radical Politics brings together leading academics and campaigners to answer these questions and explore radicalism’s meaning to their practice. In the thirty-five chapters written for this collection, they collectively develop a picture of radicalism by investigating the intersections of activism and contemporary political theory. Across their experiences, the authors articulate radicalism’s critical politics and discuss how diverse movements support and sustain each other. Together, they provide a wide-ranging account of the tensions, overlaps and promise of radical politics, while utilising scholarly literatures on grassroots populism to present a novel analysis of the relationship between radicalism and populism. Routledge Handbook of Radical Politics serves as a key reference for students and scholars interested in the politics and ideas of contemporary activist movements.

Ruth Kinna

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