After a Cycle of Contention: Post-Gothenburg Strategies of Left-Libertarian Activists in Sweden |
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Authors: | Kerstin Jacobsson Adrienne Sörbom |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Sociology and Work Science, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Swedenadrienne.sorbom@sh.se;3. School of Social Sciences, S?dert?rn University, Huddinge, Sweden |
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Abstract: | This article considers the strategic choices that radical activists face when a cycle of contention ends. It investigates the reorientation of the autonomous anarchists or left-libertarian activist milieu in Sweden after the riots at the Gothenburg summit in 2001, which ended a cycle of anti-globalization protests in Sweden. The article identifies five strategies by which this activist milieu attempted to reconstruct collective agency, build a new alliance structure, and renew the repertoire of contention: (1) rescaling and targeting of micro-politics; (2) moving from secluded to open communities; (3) rethinking collective agency with the help of a new movement theory; (4) reversing dominant discourses and opening up discursive space; and (5) redefining militancy and shelving of violent confrontation. The study builds on activist interviews and ethnographic research in Stockholm and Malmö. |
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Keywords: | Autonomous activists cycle of contention left-libertarian militancy Tarrow |
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