After the Dust
Settles - Lessons from the Summit Protests
Despite the very real problems associated with the idea of 'summit
hopping' and spectacular protest these manifestations have provided a
public face of anarchism and at least as importantly have given
anarchists an opportunity to work together
Summit protests and
networks
The major advantage of the network form of organisation is that it
allowed the rapid development and growth of a movement of tens of
thousands from a tiny base without significant resources But no
single form of organisation, unless it is one that involves the
majority of workers, will ever be able to take it on in a straight
fight
Media Mayhem - Anarchists and
the Mass Media
This article examines the mainstream media and looks at the various
factors which ensure that it effectively works as a propaganda tool
for the powerful. It looks at ways in which anarchists can deal with
this situation, by creating our own media, but also by challenging
the hostility that they habitually encounter from the mainstream. It
is mostly based on the experience of the 2004 Mayday protests in
Dublin.
Playing the Media Game
Perhaps the two biggest problems in dealing with the media are firstly that the media can, through the questions they ask and the pressures they bring, begin to set the political agenda of the group. Secondly servicing the media machine can take up all a group's time and energy (to the detriment of the other activity).
The ideas of James
Connolly
James Connolly is probably the single most important figure in the
history of the Irish left. He was an organiser in the IWW in the USA
but in Ireland is best known for his role in building the syndicalist
phase of Irish union movement and for involving the armed defence
body of that union, the Irish Citizens' Army in the 1916 nationalist
insurrection. This left a legacy claimed at one time or another not
only by all the Irish left parties but also by the nationalists of
Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein.
Workers Without Bosses -
Workers' Self-Management in Argentina
The original battle cry of Argentinean people "Que se vayan todos" -
We want all of them out - that expressed the will to break with the
corrupt bureaucracies, with the political class, turned out with all
of them staying in the end. These experiences also highlight many of
the problems anarchists elsewhere face in the wake of popular risings
and they show us that the building of a libertarian society is not a
matter of repeating clichés and slogans.
Review: No Global - The People of Ireland
Versus the multinationals
No Global appears at a vital time. Anyone who wants to see how the
bigger picture has unfolded to date can read in detail about the
numerous struggles. But No Global is less clear and less persuasive
when it comes to dissecting the political ideas within the
environmental movement and the problems these caused