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Prefigurative Democracy

Protest, Social Movements and the Political Institution of Society

Mathijs van de Sande author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Edinburgh University Press

Published:13th Dec '22

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Prefigurative Democracy cover

Introduces the key aspects of a theoretical debate on prefigurative politics and contemporary protest movements Develops a theory of prefigurative democracy as a way of thinking critically about contemporary protest movements Engages with the work of various radical political theorists, such as Arendt, Laclau and Mouffe and (post-)anarchist theory Combines an analysis of activist practices with both state-of-the-art and canonical radical theory In the wake of protest movements such as Occupy Wall Street and the Spanish 15-M movement, the past decade has seen an increased interest in prefigurative politics: the attempt of activists to already realise or embody their ideal of a future society within their own movements and practices. Engaging with the concept and its history, this book establishes a radical-democratic theory of prefiguration. Van de Sande builds on the work of political theorists as diverse as Hannah Arendt, Ernesto Laclau, Claude Lefort, Rosa Luxemburg, and Judith Butler to reveal the radical and representative role of protest and social movements today. He gives various accounts of how prefigurative practices and movements may continue to have political relevance long after they have ended.

"What do Occupy" and other such protests really accomplish? This eloquent book disarms that question, terming them "prefigurative" direct action that affords participants an immediate experience of freedom and unsettles prevailing social identities and alliances. Prefigurative Democracy both honors activism and engages scholars, by unexpectedly pairing Hannah Arendt with Ernesto Laclau."" -Lisa Disch, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

ISBN: 9781474451857

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

224 pages