Reanimating Anarchist Geographies: A New Burst of Colour

Abstract

The late nineteenth century saw a burgeoning of geographical writings from influential anarchist thinkers like Peter Kropotkin andÉlisée Reclus. Yet despite the vigorous intellectual debate sparked by the works of these two individuals, following their deaths anarchist ideas within geography faded. It was not until the 1970s that anarchism was once again given serious consideration by academic geographers who, in laying the groundwork for what is today known as "radical geography", attempted to reintroduce anarchism as a legitimate political philosophy. Unfortunately, quiet followed once more, and although numerous contemporary radical geographers employ a sense of theory and practice that shares many affinities with anarchism, direct engagement with anarchist ideas among academic geographers have been limited. As contemporary global challenges push anarchist theory and practice back into widespread currency, geographers need to rise to this occasion and begin (re)mapping the possibilities of what anarchist perspectives might yet contribute to the discipline.In the late 1970s Antipode published issues on the environment and anarchism which, in retrospect, were the last bursts of colour in the fall of its 1960s-style radicalism (Richard Peet and Nigel Thrift 1989:6).

Resilience, Political Ecology, and Power: Convergences, Divergences, and the Potential for a Postanarchist Geographical Imagination

“…In recent years, geography and its related disciplines have seen a resurgence of anarchist and what could broadly be called postanarchist approaches (e.g., White and Kossoff ; Cudworth and Hobden ; Springer et al ; Springer ; Springer ; Springer ; Wald ; Hammond ) As a discipline, geography's history is deeply entwined with anarchism thanks in part to the works of Élisée Reclus and Petr Kropotkin who are heralded as foundational thinkers in both circles, even if their anarchist contributions have been historically disregarded within geographic thought (MacLaughlin ; Springer ). Anarchist approaches to geography see the earth as an integrated whole that requires recognition of all of the relationships that make up that whole (Springer ).…”

Anarchist Participatory Development: A Possible New Framework?

“…However, the implicit call for greater scholarly interest in anarchist theory and practice has been answered with a recent surge of academic publications. This renewed academic interest has been particularly notable in the discipline of geography (see Chatterton, , ; Hayes‐Conroy, ; Pickerill and Chatterton, ; Springer, , ), including two special issues, one of Antipode dedicated to ‘anarchist geographies’ (see Springer et al., ), and one of ACME , titled ‘Anarchist and Autonomous Marxist Geographies’ (see Clough and Blumberg, ). Similar interest is found in related disciplines such as political science and social anthropology (see Gordon, ; Graeber, ; Jun and Wahl, ; Newman, , ; Rousselle and Evren, ).…”

Spatial dialectics and the geography of social movements: the case of Occupy London

“…Clough and Blumberg ; Springer et al . ). Most importantly, these cuts give the reader an insight into how spatial dialectics might be put to work in social movement analysis.…”