Political obligation refers to the moral obligation of citizens to obey the law of their state and to the existence, nature, and justification of a special relationship between a government and its constituents. This volume in the Contemporary Anarchist Studies series challenges this relationship, seeking to define and defend the position of critical philosophical anarchism against alternative approaches to the issue of justification of political institutions. The book sets out to demonstrate the value of taking an anarchist approach to the problem of political authority, looking at theories of natural duty, state justification, natural duty of justice, fairness, political institutions, and more. It argues that the anarchist perspective is in fact indispensable to theorists of political obligation and can improve our views of political authority and social relations. This accessible book builds on the works of philosophical anarchists such as John Simmons and Leslie Green, and discusses key theorists, including Rousseau, Rawls, and Horton. This key resource will make an important contribution to anarchist political theory and to anarchist studies more generally.

The Bloomsbury 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 Bloomsbury Companion to Anarchism will be an essential tool for both the scholar and the activist.

The Squatters' Movement in Europe is the first definitive guide to squatting as an alternative to capitalism. It offers a unique insider's view on the movement - its ideals, actions and ways of life. At a time of growing crisis in Europe of high unemployment, dwindling social housing and declining living standards squatting has become an increasingly popular option.The book is written by an activist-scholar collective, of which all members have direct experience of squatting and many are still squatters today. There are contributions from Holland, Spain, the USA, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and the UK.In an age of austerity and precarity this book contributes with in-depth reflections and practical examples of what has been achieved by this resilient social movement, which holds lessons for policy makers, activists and academics alike.

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. Angelic Troublemakers is the first detailed account of what happens when religious ethics, political philosophy, and the anarchist spirit intermingle. Wiley deftly captures the ideals that inspired three revered heroes of nonviolent disobedience-Henry Thoreau, Dorothy Day, and Bayard Rustin. Resistance to slavery, empire, and capital is a way of life, a transnational tradition of thought and action. This book is a must read for anyone interested in religion, ethics, politics, or law.

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. Concealing the state frees us from admitting the unpleasant truth-in today's world we are utterly dependent upon the state's increasingly frantic efforts to control risk. To this end, states have created systems of coercion and surveillance that are difficult to reconcile with our theories of political legitimacy. The dominant ideology of contemporary politics has become the concealment of the state's overwhelming power and role in daily life. We prefer the comfortable illusion that we are autonomous individuals pursuing our plans in a free market. If we hold fast to that idea, then our distance from policy makers and dwindling political influence seems less important. Nonetheless, this book draws upon the anarchist tradition and a wide range of accessible policy examples (ranging from military organization and environmental regulations to scientific investment and education) to reveal the active role of contemporary states behind this ideological screen. Lindsey argues that we need a new politics that focuses on exposing and challenging the contemporary state's hidden agency. Otherwise, how can we democratically control the state when it denies, from the outset, having the ability to meet our demands?

Emma Goldman has often been read for her colorful life story, her lively if troubled sex life, and her wide-ranging political activism. Few have taken her seriously as a political thinker, even though in her lifetime she was a vigorous public intellectual within a global network of progressive politics. Engaging Goldman as a political thinker allows us to rethink the common dualism between theory and practice, scrutinize stereotypes of anarchism by placing Goldman within a fuller historical context, recognize the remarkable contributions of anarchism in creating public life, and open up contemporary politics to the possibilities of transformative feminism.

This pathbreaking study examines the radical Left in Puerto Rico from the final years of Spanish colonial rule into the 1920s. Positioning Puerto Rico within the context of a regional anarchist network that stretched from Puerto Rico and Cuba to Tampa, Florida, and New York City, Kirwin R. Shaffer illustrates how anarchists linked their struggle to the broader international anarchist struggles against religion, governments, and industrial capitalism. Their groups, speeches, and press accounts--as well as the newspapers that they published--were central in helping to develop an anarchist vision for Puerto Ricans at a time when the island was a political no-man's-land, neither an official U.S. colony or state nor an independent country. Exploring the rise of artisan and worker-based centers to develop class consciousness, Shaffer follows the island's anarchists as they cautiously joined the AFL-linked Federacion Libre de Trabajadores, the largest labor organization in Puerto Rico. Critiquing the union from within, anarchists worked with reformers while continuing to pursue a more radical agenda achieved by direct action rather than parliamentary politics. Shaffer also traces anarchists' alliances with freethinkers seeking to reform education, progressive factions engaged in attacking the Church and organized religion, and the emerging Socialist movement on the island in the 1910s. The most successful anarchist organization to emerge in Puerto Rico, the Bayamon bloc founded El Comunista, the longest-running, most financially successful anarchist newspaper in the island's history. Stridently attacking U.S. militarism and interventionism in the Caribbean Basin, the newspaper found growing distribution throughout and financial backing from Spanish-speaking anarchist groups in the United States. Shaffer demonstrates how the U.S. government targeted the Bayamon anarchists during the Red Scare and forced the closure of their newspaper in 1921, effectively unraveling the anarchist movement on the island.

How Not to Be Governed explores the contemporary debates and questions concerning anarchism in our own time. The authors address the political failures of earlier practices of anarchism, and the claim that anarchism is impracticable, by examining the anarchisms that have been theorized and practiced in the midst of these supposed failures. The authors revive the possibility of anarchism even as they examine it with a critical lens. Rather than breaking with prior anarchist practices, this volume reveals the central values and tactics of anarchism that remain with us, practiced even in the most unlikely and 'impossible' contexts.

This original and impressively researched book explores the concept of anarchy "unimposed order" as the most humane and stable form of order in a chaotic world. Mohammed A. Bamyeh traces the historical foundations of anarchy and convincingly presents it as an alternative to both tyranny and democracy. He shows how anarchy is the best manifestation of civic order, of a healthy civil society, and of humanity's noblest attributes. The author contends that humanity thrives on self-regulation rather than imposed order, that large systems are inherently more prone to tyranny than small systems, that power is the enemy of freedom, and that freedom and community are complementary rather than opposing values. He concludes that a more rational world is produced not by delegated representatives but by direct participation in common affairs. Bamyeh offers a concise philosophy of anarchy in the context of war, civil society, global order, experiences of freedom, solidarity, the evolution of modern states, and tax systems. He distinguishes anarchy from more familiar ways of thinking about the relationship between state and society that highlight the importance of power and control for social order. Further, he argues that the necessity for expert guidance or social collaboration in some areas of common public life does not require such areas to be run by a grand, overarching, or representative state. A cogent and compelling critique of the modern state, this provocative book clarifies how anarchy may be both a guide for rational social order and a science of humanity.

The study of anarchism as a philosophical, political, and social movement has burgeoned both in the academy and in the global activist community in recent years. Taking advantage of this boom in anarchist scholarship, Nathan J. Jun and Shane Wahl have compiled twenty-six cutting-edge essays on this timely topic in New Perspectives on Anarchism. This collection of essays is unique in its global and multi-cultural scope, as its contributors hail from across the globe. The scholars and activists featured in New Perspectives on Anarchism view anarchism from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including philosophy, political science, religion, sociology, and ecology. Together, they attest to the vibrancy, intrepidity, and diversity of contemporary anarchist studies both within and without the academy. New Perspectives on Anarchism's broad approach to anarchism will make it appealing to scholars and political activists from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds.

"Inspired to contribute to the symbiotic relationship between the academic and activist worlds, Day has decided to pick up the pen instead of the Molotov cocktail. The result is this brilliant book." Ann Hansen Ann was sentenced to life imprisonment for blowing up a cruise-missile component factory, and is the author of Direct Action: The Memoirs of an Urban Guerilla "If revolutionary politics are to be reconstituted for the twenty-first century, all previously existing radical traditions must not only be remade but placed in new relationships with one another. The anarchism of Richard Day's brilliant Gramsci is Dead is not only an explosive break-out from the demoralizing horizons of contemporary social democracy, but also an exuberant intellectual dance-invitation extended to all mutant Marxists, autonomists and species-being activists eager to catch the strains of a new tune: Red Emma would be proud." Nick Dyer-Witheford, Associate Professor, University of Western Ontario and author of Cyber-Marx (1999) Gramsci and the concept of hegemony cast a long shadow over radical political theory. Yet how far has this theory got us? Is it still central to feminism, anti-capitalism, anti-racism, anarchism, and other radical social movements today? Unlike previous revolutionary movements, Day argues, most contemporary radical social movements do not strive to take control of the state. Instead, they attempt to develop new forms of self-organisation that can run in parallel with -- or as alternatives to -- existing forms of social, political, and economic organization. This is to say that they follow a logic of affinity rather than one of hegemony. This book draws together a variety of different strands in political theory to weave together an innovative new approach to politics today. Rigorous and wide-ranging, Day introduces and interrogates key concepts. From Hegel's concept of recognition, through theories of hegemony and affinity to Hardt and Negri's reflections on Empire, Day maps academia's theoretical and philosophical concerns onto today's politics of the street. Ideal for all students of political theory, Day's fresh approach combines Marxist, Anarchist and Post-structuralist theory to shed new light on the politics and practice of contemporary social movements.

The most comprehensive study of Shifu available, this valuable work explores the life and political milieu of a central figure in Republican China. Born in 1884, Shifu was brought down in 1915 by overwork, poverty, and tuberculosis. Yet during that short span, he became the most influential anarchist of his time. Drawing on a wealth of primary source material, Krebs provides an intellectual biography of this committed revolutionary and analyzes the importance of Shifu's thought during the New Culture-May Fourth years as his followers fought for influence with the Marxists and later over the issue of alliance with the Nationalists. Placing Shifu's life within the dynamic intellectual and political currents of the time, the author describes Shifu's early work as an assassin within the anti-Qing movement. Examining the influence on Shifu of Confucianism and Buddhism, Krebs highlights reform Buddhism's close relationship with revolutionary activism. Most significantly, Shifu's unflagging work to propagate anarchism during the early years of the Republic and his interactions with other socialists reveal a hitherto unknown level of activity among socialist revolutionaries. This important book thus offers fresh insights not only into the anarchist movement itself, but into the broader history of Chinese socialism as well.

In this work, Buber expounds upon and defends the Zionist experiment - a federal system of communities on a co-operative basis. He looks to the anarchists Proudhon, Kropotkin and Gustav Landauer, but selects only that part of their doctrines appropriate to his case.

The political writings of the French poststructuralists have eluded articulation in the broader framework of general political philosophy primarily because of the pervasive tendency to define politics along a single parameter: the balance between state power and individual rights in liberalism and the focus on economic justice as a goal in Marxism. What poststructuralists like Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze, and Jean-Francois Lyotard offer instead is a political philosophy that can be called tactical: it emphasizes that power emerges from many different sources and operates along many different registers. This approach has roots in traditional anarchist thought, which sees the social and political field as a network of intertwined practices with overlapping political effects. The poststructuralist approach, however, eschews two questionable assumptions of anarchism, that human beings have an (essentially benign) essence and that power is always repressive, never productive.

After positioning poststructuralist political thought against the background of Marxism and the traditional anarchism of Bakunin, Kropotkin, and Proudhon, Todd May shows what a tactical political philosophy like anarchism looks like shorn of its humanist commitments--namely, a poststructuralist anarchism. The book concludes with a defense, contra Habermas and Critical Theory, of poststructuralist political thought as having a metaethical structure allowing for positive ethical commitments.

Arif Dirlik's latest offering is a revisionist perspective on Chinese radicalism in the twentieth century. He argues that the history of anarchism is indispensable to understanding crucial themes in Chinese radicalism. And anarchism is particularly significant now as a source of democratic ideals within the history of the socialist movement in China.
Dirlik draws on the most recent scholarship and on materials available only in the last decade to compile the first comprehensive history of his subject available in a Western language. He emphasizes the anarchist contribution to revolutionary discourse and elucidates this theme through detailed analysis of both anarchist polemics and social practice. The changing circumstances of the Chinese revolution provide the immediate context, but throughout his writing the author views Chinese anarchism in relation to anarchism worldwide.

Brings together some of the best writings of Chomsky, Bookchin, Woodcock, and Castoriadis in one volume.

This book follows the life of Ivan Agueli, the artist, anarchist, and esotericist, notable as one of the earliest Western intellectuals to convert to Islam and to explore Sufism. This book explores different aspects of his life and activities, revealing each facet of Agueli's complex personality in its own right. It then shows how esotericism, art, and anarchism finally found their fulfillment in Sufi Islam. The authors analyze how Agueli's life and conversion show that Islam occupied a more central place in modern European intellectual history than is generally realized. His life reflects several major modern intellectual, political, and cultural trends. This book is an important contribution to understanding how he came to Islam, the values and influences that informed his life, and-ultimately-the role he played in the modern Western reception of Islam.

Space is never a neutral 'stage' on which social actors play their roles, sometimes cooperating with each other, sometimes struggling against each other. Space has multiple and complex functions in the development of social relations, it is a reference for identity-building, a material condition for existence, and an instrument of power. This book explores the ways in which space has been used for resistance, especially in left-libertarian contexts. From the early anarchist organizing efforts in the 19th century to the contemporary social movements of the Mexican Zapatistas, the chapters examine a range of cases to illustrate both the limits and potentialities of utilizing space within anarchist practice. By theorizing the production of anarchist spaces, the book aims to foster new geographical imaginations that energetically cultivate alternative practices to challenge the status quo. It shows that spatial re-organization, spatial practices and spatial resources are also a basic condition for human emancipation, autonomy and freedom.