Always against the state? An analysis of Polish and Swedish radical left-libertarian activists’ interaction with institutionalized politics
<span class="abs_content">Radical left-libertarian movements are often regarded as primarily seeking ways to accom-plish social and political change outside the framework of institutionalized politics. Previous research, however, has paid little or no attention to the question of the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Coordinamento SIBA
2015-01-01
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| Series: | Partecipazione e Conflitto |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://siba-ese.unisalento.it/index.php/paco/article/view/15595 |
| _version_ | 1827813525257453568 |
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| author | Grzegorz Piotrowski Magnus Wennerhag |
| author_facet | Grzegorz Piotrowski Magnus Wennerhag |
| author_sort | Grzegorz Piotrowski |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <span class="abs_content">Radical left-libertarian movements are often regarded as primarily seeking ways to accom-plish social and political change outside the framework of institutionalized politics. Previous research, however, has paid little or no attention to the question of these activists’ actual interactions with institu-tionalized politics, nor has it addressed the ways these interactions could be understood in relation to their overall strategies and ideology. This article therefore explores whether, and to what extent, such interaction actually occurs and analyzes the meanings and motives radical left-libertarian activists – from anarchist, autonomist, and anarcho-syndicalist groups – attribute to various types of political actions, ranging from voting and lobbying to protests and direct action. We furthermore compare activists in Po-land and Sweden, in order to scrutinize whether cross-country differences in “political opportunities” affects the activists’ political strategies and ideas about how social and political change can best be ac-complished. Contrary to popular beliefs and many activists’ own self-declarations, our analysis shows that radical left-libertarian groups do in fact try to achieve political change by interacting with institution-alized politics. While radical left-libertarian activists do in most cases prefer “direct action”, this article explores how a more complex relationship to institutionalized politics allows them to accomplish real and immediate changes at the grassroots level.</span><br /> |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T23:33:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e728dbf6e02b4299a746bf559bdfb2b8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1972-7623 2035-6609 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T23:33:17Z |
| publishDate | 2015-01-01 |
| publisher | Coordinamento SIBA |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Partecipazione e Conflitto |
| spelling | doaj.art-e728dbf6e02b4299a746bf559bdfb2b82023-09-20T07:59:54ZengCoordinamento SIBAPartecipazione e Conflitto1972-76232035-66092015-01-018384587510.1285/i20356609v8i3p84514710Always against the state? An analysis of Polish and Swedish radical left-libertarian activists’ interaction with institutionalized politicsGrzegorz Piotrowski0Magnus Wennerhag1Södertörn University, Stockholm, SwedenSödertörn University, Stockholm, Sweden<span class="abs_content">Radical left-libertarian movements are often regarded as primarily seeking ways to accom-plish social and political change outside the framework of institutionalized politics. Previous research, however, has paid little or no attention to the question of these activists’ actual interactions with institu-tionalized politics, nor has it addressed the ways these interactions could be understood in relation to their overall strategies and ideology. This article therefore explores whether, and to what extent, such interaction actually occurs and analyzes the meanings and motives radical left-libertarian activists – from anarchist, autonomist, and anarcho-syndicalist groups – attribute to various types of political actions, ranging from voting and lobbying to protests and direct action. We furthermore compare activists in Po-land and Sweden, in order to scrutinize whether cross-country differences in “political opportunities” affects the activists’ political strategies and ideas about how social and political change can best be ac-complished. Contrary to popular beliefs and many activists’ own self-declarations, our analysis shows that radical left-libertarian groups do in fact try to achieve political change by interacting with institution-alized politics. While radical left-libertarian activists do in most cases prefer “direct action”, this article explores how a more complex relationship to institutionalized politics allows them to accomplish real and immediate changes at the grassroots level.</span><br />http://siba-ese.unisalento.it/index.php/paco/article/view/15595social movementsradical left-libertarian movementsdirect actionpolandsweden |
| spellingShingle | Grzegorz Piotrowski Magnus Wennerhag Always against the state? An analysis of Polish and Swedish radical left-libertarian activists’ interaction with institutionalized politics Partecipazione e Conflitto social movements radical left-libertarian movements direct action poland sweden |
| title | Always against the state? An analysis of Polish and Swedish radical left-libertarian activists’ interaction with institutionalized politics |
| title_full | Always against the state? An analysis of Polish and Swedish radical left-libertarian activists’ interaction with institutionalized politics |
| title_fullStr | Always against the state? An analysis of Polish and Swedish radical left-libertarian activists’ interaction with institutionalized politics |
| title_full_unstemmed | Always against the state? An analysis of Polish and Swedish radical left-libertarian activists’ interaction with institutionalized politics |
| title_short | Always against the state? An analysis of Polish and Swedish radical left-libertarian activists’ interaction with institutionalized politics |
| title_sort | always against the state an analysis of polish and swedish radical left libertarian activists interaction with institutionalized politics |
| topic | social movements radical left-libertarian movements direct action poland sweden |
| url | http://siba-ese.unisalento.it/index.php/paco/article/view/15595 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT grzegorzpiotrowski alwaysagainstthestateananalysisofpolishandswedishradicalleftlibertarianactivistsinteractionwithinstitutionalizedpolitics AT magnuswennerhag alwaysagainstthestateananalysisofpolishandswedishradicalleftlibertarianactivistsinteractionwithinstitutionalizedpolitics |