Rebuilding the commons: a global network of rebel cities takes shape, part I
The global movements of 2011 reconfigured urban space as a new interface of collective action and policy creation. The new political narrative of cities is serving to counteract prevailing neoliberal narratives.More than a phrase, “the Cities of the Commons vs. global neoliberalism” could be understood…
Ecology or catastrophe: the life of Murray Bookchin
This book is the first-ever biography of Murray Bookchin, written by his personal collaborator and copyeditor, Janet Biehl. From 1987-2006, Biehl edited every word that Bookchin wrote, and worked with him on numerous articles and books. She tells the story of Bookchin’s life from a…
The Kurds’ democratic experiment
In Rojava, after the authority of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad collapsed at the start of the Syrian revolution in 2011, the Kurds took advantage of the vacuum to set up a new form of self-government, which is being built from the ground up….
Murray Bookchin and the Kurdish resistance
Libertarian municipalism promotes the use of direct face-to-face assemblies in order to “steal” the practice of politics back from the professional politicians and place it back in the hands of citizens. Describing the state as “a completely alien formation”, Bookchin presents libertarian municipalism as “democratic…
When a movement becomes a party: The 2015 Barcelona City Council election
Did Barcelona en Comú preserve a decentralizated structure or adopted a conventional centralized organization during the 2015 Barcelona City Council election? In this article, the authors analyze the Twitter networks of the parties that ran for this election by measuring their hierarchical structure, information efficiency…
How Flatpack Democracy beat the old parties in the People’s Republic of Frome
On 7 May, a small Somerset town in UK voted against traditional party politics and gave a coalition of independents control of all 17 seats on its council. As the crucible of ‘flatpack democracy’, Frome is leading a small-scale political revolution. Moreover, this idea seems…
Barcelona en Comú: the city as horizon for radical democracy
In 2015, a new cycle of struggles for democratic governance unfolded at the level of the city. One such municipal movement and platform is Barcelona en Comú. Pioneering new ways and words for approaching the city as common(s), Barcelona en Comú opens possibilities for a…
The rise of Poland’s urban movement
In 2011, an informal coalition was formed (the Urban Movements Congress) comprising urban activist groups from all over Poland. In the local elections of 2014 some of these platforms got seats in many city councils. The author explains where this movement comes from and the…
Flatpack Democracy
Britain today has a dysfunctional political system. Many politicians are making decisions to meet their own needs or those of their Party, not the needs of the people they serve. This guide is based on what is happening in Frome, Somerset where after years of…