Introduction

Between Radical Geography and Humanism: Anne Buttimer and the International Dialogue Project

“…This illustrates the extent of Buttimer's reputation in this field, which is also apparent in her correspondence with Kenneth Olwig, author of a paper on Reclus and Perkins Marsh and keen to receive advice from Buttimer, who directed him to Dunbar and Breitbart while also offering a copy of Breitbart's dissertation, which she had brought with her from Sweden. 59 As a contribution to the 1970s rediscovery of anarchist approaches, which culminated with the publication of an Antipode special issue in 1978 (Breitbart 1978b Finally, when Buttimer received a letter from Nicholas Helburn asking her opinion on a potential link between 'humanistic' notions of dwelling and nationalism (or patriotism), she replied arguing that her opinion on this matter was contained in a long quote from Kropotkin's 'What geography ought to be' (1885): 'Geography … must teach us that we are all brother, whatever our nationality … dissipating prejudice and creating other feelings more worthy of humanity… Only small parts of each nation are interested in maintaining national hatred and jealousies'. 63 This definitively demonstrates that the critiques mentioned above of 'dwelling' as a somehow conservative concept cannot apply to Buttimer's case.…”

Anarchism! What Geography Still Ought To Be

“…In light of Kropotkin's and Reclus's foundational contributions to the discipline of geography (Breitbart 1981; Dunbar 1978; Horner 1978), and anarchism's important role in the emergence of a more radical geographical praxis (Breitbart 1978; Peet 1978), it is surprising that this vibrant intellectual tradition has, until recently, been largely ignored by geographers since the late 1970s. Writing at the height of geography's infatuation with colonialism during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, and in stark contrast to contemporaries like David Livingstone, Halford Mackinder, and Friedrich Ratzel, who spent their days advancing an imperialist vision for the discipline (Godlewska and Smith 1994; Kearns 2009), Kropotkin and Reclus each possessed a resolute anti‐authoritarian imagination.…”

Reanimating Anarchist Geographies: A New Burst of Colour

“…Encouraged by these exhortations, Breitbart (1978b) brought anarchist geographies centre stage within the pages of Antipode , organizing a series of papers that cumulatively illustrated the enduring contribution that anarchist thought and practice had on geography, and vice versa. The issue lived up to Galois's (1976) call for the exploration of our shared geo‐histories, and included commentaries on collectivization among workers and the disruptive spatial practices of the Spanish Revolution circa the 1930s (Amsden 1978; Breitbart 1978a; Garcia‐Ramon 1978), the profundity of Élisée Reclus and his geographically inspired version of anarchism (Dunbar 1978), the inner workings of an anarchist community within Paterson, New Jersey around 1900 (Carey 1978), the implications of Kropotkin's anarchist ideas on the spatial possibilities of cities (Horner 1978), libertarianism within contemporary Spanish politics (Golden 1978), and a brilliant piece by Peet (1978) on the geography of human liberation, which once again unpacked the creativity and ethics of Kropotkin's anarcho‐geography in staking a claim for the socio‐spatiality of decentralization as a means to achieve freedom.…”

“…Uri Gordon (2012) has graciously agreed to write an afterword to this special issue, and as a contemporary anarchist theorist whose work has numerous synergies with those working within the general framework of radical geography, we are excited to bring him into direct conversation with geographical scholarship and hope that his work will be more widely read among human geographers as a result. As over 30 years have passed since Myrna Breitbart (1978b) previously assembled the first special issue on anarchist geographies in these pages, we are tremendously excited about this issue seeing the light of day and feel that it is long overdue. We are honoured that Myrna has written a foreword that reflects on her original foray into anarchist philosophies and contemplates the challenges and potential that come with exploring anarchist geographies from within and importantly beyond the academy (Brietbart 2012).…”

“…The world we inhabit has changed significantly since 1978 when the last Antipode special issue on anarchism was published (see Breitbart 1978b). To suggest that human societies have undergone intense social, economic, cultural, and political transformations in the interim is a profound understatement.…”