Written by Yavor Tarinski To take no part in the running of the community’s affairs is to be either a beast or a god! ~Aristotle[1] When exploring social change, one has to examine all aspects of it. Developing strategies and institutions that will help facilitate the coming into being and functioning of a democratic and […]
Read More Re-Embedding Citizenship in Revolutionary Politics
Written by Olli Tammilehto A key focus in social ecology has been the bringing about of profound societal change. This has been thought to mean a period of groundwork after which there would be a rapid revolutionary transition. Social movements, especially in cities, are seen as agents of change to a decisively more democratic and […]
Read More The Present is Pregnant with a New Future
Urban researcher Nikos Vrantsis interviews Yavor Tarinski, author of Common Futures: Social Transformation and Political Ecology [co-authored with Alexandros Schismenos] (Black Rose Books, 2021), on the current bureaucratic state of cities and the democratic perspectives offered by autonomous urban movements. Nikos Vrantsis: Day by day, state oppression turns into the new normal. Governmemts invested in […]
Read More Cities beyond bureaucracy: Exploring commons-based strategies
Written by Nikolaos-Ioannis Kanavaris, architect, MSc “design, space, culture” NTUA Psychodrama in Gavdos is a workshop that takes place almost 15 years in which over 100 people participate. The target of this seminar, as it is expressed by the coordinator Mr A. Liodakis, is to create a therapeutic community based on solidarity and empathy. This […]
Read More Healing Common Spaces: Psychodrama in Gavdos
Written by Yavor Tarinski With cities, it is as with dreams: everything imaginable can be dreamed, but even the most unexpected dream is a rebus that conceals a desire or, its reverse, a fear. ~Italo Calvino[1] In early March a group of motorized policemen reaches a public square in the Athenian neighborhood of Nea Smyrni. […]
Read More All Power to the Neighborhoods: Greece Rises Against Police Barbarity
Written by Metin Güven The struggle for the right to the city is growing in different contexts all over the world. For example, tens of thousands of people rebelled to protect Gezi Park in Istanbul in 2013, yet their actual driving motivation was resisting the authoritarian government that is trying to control every aspect of […]
Read More Do We Need a New Theory of the State?
Written by Christos Mantoudis Neoliberalism has undoubtedly become one of the most influential ideologies across the Globe over the last 40 years. This unique kind of capitalism has dominated the agenda of policy makers, business men and interest groups at national and transnational level. More importantly, neoliberalism has managed to effectively coexist with various political […]
Read More Why does Neoliberalism Persist?
Written by Ercan Ayboga The History of Cities in North Kurdistan After the foundation of the Republic of Turkey, the cities in North (Turkish-occupied) Kurdistan became progressively poorer relative to those in the Turkish state. This led to comparatively weak municipalities ruled by so-called system parties, which were hierarchical, corrupt, and extremely alienated from the […]
Read More The Democratization of Cities in North Kurdistan
Written by Metin Güven The issue of animal rights has become increasingly complex for groups and social movements developing policies based on ecological views. Sustainable agriculture or agroecology methods may involve animal farming. Questions arise whether animal meat or dairy products could be part of these processes or whether universal veganism is the best option […]
Read More Towards Universal Animal Rights Approach
Written by Havin Guneser with Eleanor Finley What sets us apart as humans—especially those who struggle for freedom and reject injustice, inequality, oppression, and exploitation—is our imagination. We can refuse to accept that which is simply handed over to us as truth. Let us begin here in our exploration of the journey of the […]
Read More The Evolution of the Kurdish Paradigm