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.
Introduction
Uri Gordon and Ruth Kinna
Radicalism: Situating Contemporary Movement Practices
Uri Gordon and Ruth Kinna
Part 1: Critiques
1. Overview
Uri Gordon and Ruth Kinna
1.1 Pro-Abortion Politics
Speaking of I.M.E.L.D.A.
1.2 Animal Liberation
Will Boisseau
1.3 Militant Anti-Fascism
Mal Testa
1.4 Anti-militarism
Chris Rossdale
1.5 Psychiatry Activism
Bonnie Burstow
1.6 Climate Activism
Leah Temper
1.7 Eco-Defense
David Pellow
1.8 Radical Research
Rebecca Fisher
Part 2: Solidarities
2. Overview
Uri Gordon and Ruth Kinna
2.1 Indigenous Struggles
Pamela Palmater
2.2 Decolonisation
Maia Ramnath
2.3 Disability Politics
Liat ben-Moshe, A.J. Withers with Lydia X. Z. Brown, Loree Erickson, Rachel da Silva Gorman, Talila A. Lewis, Lateef McLeod and Mia Mingus
2.4 Migrant Solidarity
Claire English, Margherita Grazioli and Martina Martingnoni
2.5 Prisons
Claire Delisle
2.6 Safer Spaces
Ruth Deller
2.7 Welfare Activism
A. J. Withers for Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) or (LCAP)
Part 3: Repertoirs
3. Overview
Uri Gordon and Ruth Kinna
3.1 International Nonviolent Accompaniment
Patrick Coy
3.2 Art Activism
Mel Evans
3.3 Bicycle Politics
Aurora Trujillo
3.4 Black Block
Francis Depuis Déri
3.5 Online Activism
Jeff Shantz
3.6 Electoral Extension of Social Movements
Josep Lobera and Diego Parejo
3.7 Insurrectional Cells
Michael Loadenthal
3.8 Radical Media
Sandra Jeppesen
3.9 Publishing
Ramsay Kanaan
Part 4: Transformations
4. Overview
Uri Gordon and Ruth Kinna
4.1 Anti-work
Peter Seyferth
4.2 Radical Education
Emily Charkin and Judith Suissa
4.3 Food not Bombs
Sean Parson
4.4 Urban Community Activism
Luca Lapolla
4.5 Anarchist Music
James Donaghey
4.6 Techno-Politics
Jim Thomas/ETC Group
4.7 Revolution under the Table
Lisa Trocchia-Balkits
4.8 Permaculture and Ecological Lifestyle
Bürge Abiral
4.9 'Religious' Radicalism
Alex Christoyannopoulos and Anthony Fiscella
4.10 Squatting
Bart van der Steen
4.11 Sustainable Activism
Laurence Cox
Biography
Ruth Kinna is a professor of Political Theory at Loughborough University where she specialises in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century socialist thought and contemporary radical politics, particularly anarchism and the utopianism of prefigurative politics. Since 2007, she has been the editor of the journal Anarchist Studies. She is the co-founder of the Anarchism Research Group and co-convenes the Anarchist Studies Network. She is the author of Kropotkin: Reviewing the Classical Anarchist Tradition and The Government of No One.
Uri Gordon is formerly the co-convenor of the Anarchist Studies Network and has taught political theory at universities in Britain and Israel. He has been active in climate justice, Palestine solidarity and anti-capitalist movements in both countries. Uri is the author of Anarchy Alive! Anti-Authoritarian Politics from Practice to Theory and the co-editor of the monograph series Contemporary Anarchist Studies. His recent publications include a conceptual genealogy of prefigurative politics and a collaborative article on co-production in social and political theory. His work has been translated into thirteen languages.
"Recommended - Upper-division undergraduates through faculty" — Choice
"Required reading for radical activists, political theorists, and anyone who believes in freedom, justice, equality, and ecological survival. The Routledge Handbook of Radical Politics is the first volume to explore the relationship between radical activism and radical political theory within a range of local and transnational movements, including feminism, climate justice, migrant solidarity, on-line activism, and anti-capitalism. This innovative collection includes pieces by theorists and practitioners, and will be of interest to students, scholars, organizers, and the general public." — Jeffrey S. Juris, author of Networking Futures and co-editor of Insurgent Encounters