Social Movement

Review - John Holloway, Crack Capitalism (London, 2010)

by Uday Chandra

Misyurov D.A. Dialectical formulas based on the binary notation as the development formulas // Credo New. 2012. №2

by Dmitry Misyurov

The article suggests dialectical formulas based on the binary notation as the development formulas: formula with... more The article suggests dialectical formulas based on the binary notation as the development formulas: formula with dominant and the non-dominant elements; universal formula; formula with symbolic weight of elements; tautological formula. For example, it suggests an opportunity to use the dialectical formulas for modeling and artificial intelligence creation, etc.

Working for the Cure: Challenging Pink Ribbon Activism

by Maya Goldenberg

Published in Configuring Health Consumers: Health Work and the Imperative of Personal Responsibility. Eds. R. Harris, N. Wathen, S. Wyatt. Amsterdam: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010: 140-159.

Captured and branded in the highly recognizable image of the pink ribbon, the politics of breast cancer at the start... more Captured and branded in the highly recognizable image of the pink ribbon, the politics of breast cancer at the start of the 21st century is markedly hopeful (given the grim statistics) and surprisingly compliant with the medical establishment’s defined health goals and approaches to addressing the breast cancer epidemic.  In keeping with this volume’s theme of “Working to be Healthy”, this chapter examines and evaluates how the pink ribbon message has shaped and organized social response to breast cancer. The work in question is “healthwork”, a term found in the critical health literature denoting the active and purposeful work that people do to look after their health (Mykhalovskiy and McCoy, 2002). Healthwork analysis tends to focus on personal care practices—taking medicines, dealing with healthcare practitioners, informal care-giving, health information seeking, etc.—that are then subject to examination of how those individual actions invite extended relations of governance and ruling (Mykhalovskiy, McCoy and Bresalier, 2004).  In this examination of breast cancer campaigns, the same analytic concern with governance is taken, but the health-related work is extended beyond personal care and self-surveillance to also include the volunteer work done by many concerned citizens in their contributions of time, energy, and money to support campaigns for the cure.

In this chapter, I argue that while the appropriation of the language and themes of the early women’s health movement frames pink ribbon activism as a highly personal, emancipatory, and socially-responsible individual effort, this brand of breast cancer activism instead serves to fund a limited biomedical research agenda that is largely shielded from public scrutiny.  This agenda has been universalized through endearing “hero” narratives of personal struggle that inspire civic engagement by complicit consumers rather than critical activists. Pink ribbon activism problematically diverges from the women’s health movement’s demand for participation in setting the research agenda and determining treatment strategies. This neglect is troubling, given that breast cancer discourse is so fraught with contested knowledge claims regarding disease aetiology, prevention, and treatment. While the pink ribbon message offers hope and optimism, it does so by suppressing many counterclaims, disputes, and ambiguities surrounding the problem of breast cancer. Instead of soft “pink”, a more critical social response to breast cancer is needed in order to ensure women’s informed participation in addressing this serious challenge to women’s health.

Menilai Akuntabilitas Pemerintah Kota

by Ahmad Rizky M. Umar

Working Paper No. 1, July 2011. Yogyakarta: Institute of International Studies UGM.

This article tries to analyze relations between public policy evaluation, participation, and government’s... more This article tries to analyze relations between public policy evaluation, participation, and government’s accountability. In policy process, the policy evaluation usually conducted by government. It means, accountability will be depends on government’s activity to present their policy process to public due to legal mechanism. This process is very technocratic and government’s determination will be very strong. Deliberative democracy concept propose public participation in policy process, especially in policy evaluation process. It implies public access for information and opportunity to give feedback to policy makers in order to evaluate government activity. The evaluation is accepted by government and referred as a part of policy evaluation process. This mechanism is called “participatory policy evaluation”. How does it work in India and Indonesia? This paper tracks the strategy to strengthen public participation in Bangalore, India through Citizen Report Card (CRC). This mechanism of policy evaluation give opportunity to citizen to participate. As a result, this paper affirms that participation in policy process strengthen government accountability in matters of transparency and responsiveness.

[2002] “The People’s Strike”: Analyzing A Day of Action by the DC Anti-Capitalist Convergence

by Michael Loadenthal

On September 27th, 2002, thousands of activists from around the world converged in Washington D.C. for a day of... more On September 27th, 2002, thousands of activists from around the world converged in Washington D.C. for a day of “non-compliance and resistance” in response to the bi-annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.  Many groups from around the country helped to organize protest actions against these organizations, but one collective of radicals took a chance and broke from tradition.  The People’s Strike, organized by the D.C. based Anti-Capitalist Convergence (ACC), was a uniquely innovative attempt to create a new structure for the organization of mass protest actions.  The ACC’s plan was a revolutionary first that helped to promote an empowering organizational structure and create an unstoppable, self-fulfilling prophecy that indirectly caused a work strike, and effectively caused the stoppage of business in downtown D.C.

Ian Angus interviews philosopher Arne Naess about nature, social justice and strategies for change

by Ian Angus

Free nature: Ian Angus interviews philosopher Arne Naess about nature, social justice and strategies for change: [1]
Angus, Ian. Alternatives Journal 23. 3 (Summer 1997): 18-21.

[2004] “Fire pon Babylon, Fire pon Rome”: The Construction of Oppression, Utopia and Social Change Within Rastafari

by Michael Loadenthal

Independent Study: Kingston, Jamaica

Within the last eighty years, the Rastafari movement has been born, grown and adapted to fit the evolving reality for... more Within the last eighty years, the Rastafari movement has been born, grown and adapted to fit the evolving reality for black Jamaicans, and Africans worldwide. This movement, aimed at creating an eventual utopia, has defined for itself the source of their oppression, while their vision for liberation remains to be clearly articulated. The Rastafarian concept of Babylon, the symbol of their oppression, is seen in many lights—to some Babylon is a global conspiracy of bureaucrats, politicians and religious leaders, while to others, Babylon is a way of thinking, and associated set of actions. The same diversity of opinion holds true for Zion, the Rastafarians term for their utopia. While some Rastas describe Zion as a future society in Africa, managed through theocratic rule, others view Zion simply by the values such a world would embody.

The struggle for the Rastafarians exists in a movement out of Babylon and into Zion. This change takes many forms, some spiritual, some mental and some physical. Included in these movements is an embracing of education, and a belief that a global promotion of Rastafari can help bring peace. While some struggles for equality among members of the African Diaspora have centered on access to voting and entrance into politics, the Rastas reject politics as an integral part in their oppression. They choose instead to live a daily existence that stands opposed to Babylon, and wait and work towards the coming of their journey to Mount Zion. This study seeks to explore how the Rastafarians of Jamaica construct their own oppression in Babylon, their liberation in Zion and the necessary changes that must take place in the time contained between now and then.

[2010] Shooting Oneself in the Foot: Examining Critical Infrastructure Protection of the Gaza Crossings

by Michael Loadenthal

Center for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence [written within a 'security studies' framework so please excuse the liberal use of Statist terrorism rhetoric...but hey, we all write for an audience from time to time]

"Throughout the Spring and early Summer of 2008, the multi-­‐factional, Palestinian armed movement "more "Throughout the Spring and early Summer of 2008, the multi-­‐factional, Palestinian armed movement "
"initiated a series of attacks targeting the commercial, humanitarian, and industrial crossings encircling the Gaza Strip. Over the course of three months, at least eleven attacks were carried out targeting Gaza’s northern, eastern, and southern access points. Following each strike, the element of key infrastructure that was attacked discontinued operations, harming the entirety of the resource-­‐deprived Gazan population. In establishing why the attacks were carried out, and their impact on the wider conflict, a unique analytical lens must be employed that expands the understanding of benefits and sanctions. Whereas in traditional cost-­‐benefit calculations, a group is less likely to attack a target that will result in the discontinuation of essential services, in the Gazan arena, Palestinian reliance on Israeli critical infrastructure has not historically served to protect such systems from attack. The consistent Palestinian-­‐led initiatives targeting the Gazan infrastructure demonstrate the difficulty in protecting critical infrastructure maintained by a foreign entity, in this case, the State of Israel in its capacity as an occupying power. Despite the fact that Palestinian attacks lead to a cessation of infrastructure services, and despite such stoppage’s negative effects, the Palestinian population’s material needs have not "
"served to protect the Israeli facilities. "

[2005] Kalashnikovs, Explosives & Hijab: A chronology of female involvement in the Iraqi insurgency

by Michael Loadenthal

American University, Independent Study under the supervision of Professor Abdul Bangura

A chronology of female involvement in the Iraqi insurgency A chronology of female involvement in the Iraqi insurgency

[2010] The Production of ALF/ELF Tactical & Operational Intelligence: Moving Towards Active Participation within a Continuum of Involvement

by Michael Loadenthal

Center for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence, [written within a 'security studies' framework so please excuse the liberal use of Statist terrorism rhetoric...but hey, we all write for an audience from time to time]

The execution of politicized acts of violence by individuals and groups cannot exist as the sole indicator of an... more The execution of politicized acts of violence by individuals and groups cannot exist as the sole indicator of an actor‟s involvement with terrorism. The identity of “terrorist” and the status of “involved” in terrorist acts must be understood as a gradated categorization that exists with fluidly over a time period of sustained political engagement. This continuum, discussed herein as a scale of terrorist involvement, can contain a veritable infinite degree of distinct identities, accounting for increasingly nuanced levels of engagement. With this complexity in mind, this essay attempts to develop four broad categorical labels for describing terrorist involvement, discussing them in relation to their legality as well as their utility in terrorist operations. The examples utilized for discussion come from the participants and supporters of the Animal Liberation Front and the Earth Liberation Front, two groups typically conflated under the “eco-terrorist” label of “special interest” or “single issue” terrorism. Through examination of three types of actors within this movement, People for the Ethical treatment of Animals, Peter Young and the clandestine cell network termed “the family,” this essay seeks to examine the increasingly difficult task of determining terrorist involvement; a task more complex as fighters move from the formalized training camps of Amman and Colombo to the apartments and computer desktops of North American cities.

[2010] The Earth Liberation Front: A Movement Analysis

by Michael Loadenthal

Center for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence [written within a 'security studies' framework so please excuse the liberal use of Statist terrorism rhetoric...but hey, we all write for an audience from time to time]

The Earth Liberation Front is a radical environmental movement that developed from the ideological factionalization of... more The Earth Liberation Front is a radical environmental movement that developed from the ideological factionalization of the British Earth First! movement of the 1990s. Its ideological underpinnings are based in deep ecology, anti-authoritarian leftism highlighting its critique of capitalism, a commitment to non-violence, a collective defense of the Earth, and a warranted feeling of persecution by State forces. In its current form, the Earth Liberation Front is a transnational, decentralized network of clandestine, autonomous, cells that utilize illegal methods of protest by sabotaging and vandalizing property. The small unit cells are self-contained entities that can operate without the support of external entities such as financiers or weapons procurers. Tactical and operational knowledge is developed and shared through commercially available books written by the broader environmental movement throughout the last four decades, as well as inter-movement publications produced by the cells and distributed through numerous sympathetic websites. Membership in the Front can be understood as occurring on two levels, the covert cell level and the public support level, both of which operate in tandem to produce and publicize acts of property destruction. At the cell level, individuals conduct pre-operational reconnaissance and surveillance, develop and construct weapons systems, carry out orchestrated attacks, and announce their actions to support groups and media while maintaining internal security and anonymity. At the aboveground level, support entities help to publicize attacks carried out by cells, respond to media inquiries and other public engagements, identify and coordinate aid to imprisoned cell members, and develop and distribute sympathetic propaganda produced by, and in support of affiliated individuals. This case study uses the history of the Earth Liberation Front‟s United States attacks as its unit of analysis, and seeks to outline the ideology, structure, context and membership factors that constitute the movement.

Neoliberalising violence: of the exceptional and the exemplary in coalescing moments

by Simon Springer

Springer, S. 2012. Neoliberalising violence: of the exceptional and the exemplary in coalescing moments. Area 44 (2), 136-143.

This paper sets out to develop two related ideas. First, it seeks to identify how both violence and neoliberalism can... more This paper sets out to develop two related ideas. First, it seeks to identify how both violence and neoliberalism can be considered as moments. From this shared conceptualisation of process and fluidity, I argue that it becomes easier to recognise how these two phenomena actually converge. Building upon this conceived coalescence of neoliberalism and violence, the second aim is to recognise how the hegemony of neoliberalism positions it as an abuser, which facilitates the abandonment of those ‘Others’ who fall outside of neoliberal normativity. I argue that the widespread banishment of ‘Others’ under neoliberalism produces a ‘state of exception’, wherein because of its inherently dialectic nature, exceptional violence is transformed into exemplary violence. This metamorphosis occurs as aversion for alterity intensifies under neoliberalism and its associated violence against ‘Others’ comes to form the rule.

Violence, democracy, and the neoliberal ''order'': the contestation of public space in posttransitional Cambodia

by Simon Springer

Springer, S. 2009. Violence, democracy, and the neoliberal "order": the contestation of public space in posttransitional Cambodia. Annals of the Association of American Geographers. 99 (1), 138-162.

Neoliberal policies explain why authoritarianism and violence remain the principal modes of governance among many... more Neoliberal policies explain why authoritarianism and violence remain the principal modes of governance among many ruling elites in posttransitional settings. Using Cambodia as an empirical case to illustrate the neoliberalizing process, the promotion of intense marketization is revealed as a foremost causal factor in a country's inability to consolidate democracy following political transition. Neoliberalization effectively acts to suffocate an indigenous burgeoning of democratic politics. Such asphyxiation is brought to bear under the neoliberal rhetoric of order and stability, which can be read through the (re)production of public space. The preoccupation with order and stability serves the interests of capital at the global level and political elites at the level of the nation-state. Citizens themselves may fiercely contest these particular interests in a quest for a more radical democracy, as evidenced by the burgeoning geographies of protest that have emerged in Cambodian public spaces in the posttransition era.

Public Space as emancipation: meditations on anarchism, radical democracy, neoliberalism and violence

by Simon Springer

Springer, S. 2011. Public Space as emancipation: meditations on anarchism, radical democracy, neoliberalism and violence. Antipode: A Radical Journal of Geography. 43 (2), 525-562.

In establishing an anarchic framework for understanding public space as a vision for radical democracy, this article... more In establishing an anarchic framework for understanding public space as a vision for radical democracy, this article proceeds as a theoretical inquiry into how an agonistic public space might become the basis of emancipation. Public space is presented as an opportunity to move beyond the technocratic elitism that often characterizes both civil societies and the neoliberal approach to development, and is further recognized as the battlefield on which the conflicting interests of the world's rich and poor are set. Contributing to the growing recognition that geographies of resistance are relational, where the “global” and the “local” are understood as co-constitutive, a radical democratic ideal grounded in material public space is presented as paramount to repealing archic power in general, and neoliberalism’s exclusionary logic in particular.

Audio stream interview with me, talking about my second book 'The Global Football League' (Palgrave, 2011)

by Peter Millward

In the 'New Books in Sport' series

Ultras call for retaliation as parliament blames fans and security for Port Said deaths

by James M. Dorsey

By James M. Dorsey

An Egyptian parliamentary inquiry into this month’s death of 74 soccer fans in the Suez... more By James M. Dorsey

An Egyptian parliamentary inquiry into this month’s death of 74 soccer fans in the Suez Canal city of Port Said has blamed fans and lax security for the worst incident in the country’s sports history. The inquiry’s preliminary report also suggests without going into detail that unidentified thugs were involved in the violence that erupted at the end of a match between Port Said’s Al Masri SC and crowned Cairo club Al Ahli SC.

The report is scheduled to be debated in parliament on Monday. It was drafted by a committee headed by Ashraf Thabet, the assembly’s first deputy speaker and a member of the Salafist Al-Nur Party, which is believed to enjoy backing from Saudi Arabia and advocates adherence to Islam in line with 7th century practices at the time of the Prophet Mohammed.

A controversial member of Al Nur, Salafist preacher Sheikh Abdel Moneim El-Shaha, was last week attempting to talk his way out of reports that he had condemned soccer as a sin and said that the 74 fans were killed because they had been watching a forbidden form of entertainment. Mr. El-Shaha charged that he had been misquoted.

The parliamentary report is unlikely to reduce tension between the fans or ultras – militant, well-organized, highly politicized, street battle-hardened soccer support groups modelled on similar organizations in Serbia and Italy – and Egypt’s ruling military and security forces. At least 16 people were killed in the wake of the Port Said incident in six days of fighting between security forces and youths seeking to storm the interior ministry in central Cairo.

The military last week said troops and tanks would ensure security in advance of a general strike last weekend called by activists and youth groups to demand the immediate return of the military to their barracks and the formation of a civilian government. The failure of the strike on the first anniversary of the toppling of President Hosni Mubarak after religious leaders called on Egyptians to ignore it signalled the increasing isolation of the ultras – the military’s most militant opposition – and other activists who led the protests that forced the Egyptian leader to resign after 30 years in office.

Ultras Ahlawy, the Al Ahli support group that lost scores in the Port Said incident, called in a statement on Facebook on the eve of the release of the parliamentary report for retaliation against those responsible for the death of their comrades. The statement also called for the cleansing of the interior ministry, under which the security forces, the focus of their animosity whom they accuse of engineering the fatal brawl, resort.

The interior ministry or dakhliya symbolizes for many ultras their battle for karama or dignity. Their dignity is vested in their ability to stand up to the dakhliya, particularly in the wake of Port Said; a sense that they no longer can be abused by security forces without recourse; and the fact that they no longer have to pay off policemen to stay out of trouble.

“This Wednesday will mark two weeks since the passing of some of Egypt’s finest youth. They died because they refused to live without dignity and screamed loud calling for freedom,” the Ultras Ahlawy statement said.

It demanded an investigation of what it alleged was the failure of the interior ministry and the security forces to ensure safety and security during the match in which Port Said defeated Al Ahli 3:1 as well as “the cleansing of the ministry of interior and a full reconstruction of its system.”

The ultras further demanded that authorities drop references to involvement of a “third” party in the incident, a reference to the military’s attempt to position the Port Said incident as part of a foreign conspiracy to destabilize post-revolt Egypt. The ultras said they would not “accept the outcome of an investigation that blamed an anonymous (group for an incident) that wasted the lives of the martyrs.” They demanded the immediate arrest of the culprits whom they said were known to authorities “so as not to put us in the position of taking the right (into our own hands).”

While the Ultras Ahlawy charge that security forces failed to intervene in the lethal attack on their members and accuse thugs hired by the government of instigating the incident they also appeared to agree with the parliamentary inquiry’s conclusion that television footage documents the involvement of Al Masri fans in the attack on them. Ultras Ahlawy believes it was targeted because of its key role alongside other ultras groups in the toppling of Mr. Mubarak and its opposition since then to military rule.

Leaders of the ultras suggested that the incident was intended to exploit waning public support for the ultras, which were revered for their fearlessness, years of confrontation with security forces in the stadiums, role in manning defending Tahrir Square during the anti-Mubarak protests last year and militant support of their clubs. Their militancy and contentious street politics is however increasingly out of step with the mood in a country that is protest weary, retains confidence in the military despite its brutality, is frustrated that its revolt has not produced immediate tangible economic fruits and yearns for a return to normalcy so that Egypt can recover economically.

Deputy Parliament Speaker Thabet said in parliament Sunday that the Port Said incident had been sparked in part by incitement on sports TV channels. Disclosing details of the inquiry, he charged that thugs and hard core soccer fans had taken "advantage of the tension surrounding the game to achieve some political gains," but gave no details. Mr. Thabet promised to release the names of the instigators a later stage. He said 12,000 tickets had been sold for the match but 18,000 spectators had been admitted to the stadium.

Mr. Thabet said fans were not inspected while entering the stands and there was a lack of order inside and outside the stadium. "Security facilitated, allowed and enabled this massacre," he said, adding that security forces ignored mounting tension in advance of the Al Masri-Al Ahli match. "Both ultras and thugs attacked Ahly fans and this is part of Ultras' culture," he said.

Mr. Thabet acknowledged that similar pitch invasions had occurred in Port Said in the past year. Like in stadiums elsewhere in Egypt, security was often lax and security forces where more interested in avoiding clashes with fans in a bid to shore up their tarnished image as the Mubarak regime’s henchmen than in ensuring security. The Port Said incident has sparked suspicion that more than just laxness was involved because stadium exits that were normally open had been locked and because security forces refused to intervene despite the fact that the brawl had turned lethal.

The parliamentary inquiry also took the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) to task for violating world governing body FIFA’s security standards that call for monitoring by a security official of the security and political situation before, during and after a match.

The charge cast a further shadow over FIFA president Sepp Blatter’s demand for the reinstitution of the EFA board that was last week dismissed by the government in the wake of the Port Said incident. Mr. Blatter’s charge that the dismissal constituted political interference rings hallow given that the board consists of Mubarak appointees who furthered the ousted president’s efforts to control and manipulate the game to his political benefit. It also rings hallow given the fact that despite a nominal 2013 FIFA deadline for a restructuring of Egyptian soccer FIFA essentially tolerated the fact that the vast majority of Egyptian premier league clubs fail to meet the soccer body’s criteria for league membership.

FIFA sources said the Mr. Blatter’s demand was part of a flawed communications strategy designed to position the FIFA president as a leader and defender of soccer in a bid to repair the reputational damage he suffered as a result of a series of scandals in the last year that have rocked the soccer body and tarnished its image and that of its president. One source described the strategy as dating from the 1930s.

The sources said FIFA’s announcement that it was donating $250,000 to the families of those who died in Port Said was part of Mr. Blatter’s strategy. They noted that it was being handled personally by the FIFA president rather than the soccer body’s emergency committee and doubted that there was a mechanism to distribute the funds. In a separate move, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) which is headed by a controversial Blatter ally, Issa Hatou, said it was donating $150,000.

In the first regional fallout of the Port Said incident, Tunisia’s interior ministry ordered that all league matches be played behind closed doors because of concern about deteriorating security. Le Presse sports editor Sami Akrimi said the decision stemmed from the failure of the Tunisian soccer body to work with fan groups to ensure security.

James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and the author of the blog, The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer.

Legal control and resistance post-Seattle

by Luis Fernandez

Citation: Social Justice Vol. 36, No. 1 (2009): 41-60.

This article examines the state of legal control of social movements since the 1999 World Trade Organization (WTO)... more This article examines the state of legal control of social movements since the 1999 World Trade Organization (WTO) protest in Seattle, Washington. The authors argue that state control has changed significantly in recent years. As a result, the article outlines a general framework for the study of the social control of dissent, but focusing specifically on understanding how legal mechanisms are deployed to control protest. The second part of the article shows how activists responded to these control tactics.

This Shit Is Fucked Up and Bullshit

by McKenzie Wark

Theory & Event, Vol. 11, No. 4, 2011

Are the Kids United? The Communist Party of Great Britain, Rock Against Racism and the Politics of Youth Culture

by Evan Smith

Journal for the Study of Radicalism, 5/2, Fall 2010,  pp. 85-117

The Hot Autumn of 2010 and the Transformation of Labor Contention in France (Ancelovici)

by Marcos Ancelovici