Protest Camps in International Context : Spaces, Infrastructures and Media of Resistance

From the squares of Spain to indigenous land in Canada, protest camps are a tactic used around the world. Since 2011 they have gained prominence in recent waves of contentious politics, deployed by movements with wide-ranging demands for social change. Through a series of international and interdisciplinary case studies from five continents, this topical collection is the first to focus on protest camps as unique organisational forms that transcend particular social movements' contexts. Whether erected in a park in Istanbul or a street in Mexico City, the significance of political encampments rests in their position as distinctive spaces where people come together to imagine alternative worlds and articulate contentious politics, often in confrontation with the state. Written by a wide range of experts in the field the book offers a critical understanding of current protest events and will help better understanding of new global forms of democracy in action.|From the squares of Spain to indigenous land in Canada, protest camps are a tactic used around the world. Since 2011 they have gained prominence in recent waves of contentious politics, deployed by movements with wide-ranging demands for social change. Through a series of international and interdisciplinary case studies from five continents, this topical collection is the first to focus on protest camps as unique organisational forms that transcend particular social movements' contexts. Whether erected in a park in Istanbul or a street in Mexico City, the significance of political encampments rests in their position as distinctive spaces where people come together to imagine alternative worlds and articulate contentious politics, often in confrontation with the state. Written by a wide range of experts in the field the book offers a critical understanding of current protest events and will help better understanding of new global forms of democracy in action. PROTEST CAMPS IN INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT Contents List of figures Notes on contributors Acknowledgements 1. Introduction: past tents, present tents: on the importance of studying protest camps Present tents: Protest camps in the contemporary world Past tents: protest camps in historical perspective Conceptual frameworks for thinking about protest camps Aims and structure of the book Introduction to the book’s themes Part One. Assembling and materialising 2. Introduction: assembling and materialising Introduction Tent monsters The chapters of Part One 3. Textile geographies, plasticity as protest Introduction Textile as protection Extension of bodies, body geography Textile, city, landscape and camp Textile as politics Plasticity politics 4. Emergent infrastructures: solidarity, spontaneity and encounter at Istanbul’s Gezi Park uprising Introduction From a tree to an uprising: a short overview Emergence of the protest camp in Gezi Park Gezi Park and not Taksim Square Spontaneous and heterogeneous: Gezi Park as an open and inclusive political space Radical infrastructures Conclusion 5. Protest spaces online and offline: the Indignant movement in Syntagma Square Introduction Defining space Space and contentious politics The Indignant movement in Syntagma Square Upper and Lower Square: the Dionysian and the Apollonian Syntagma Square as a centre of mediation and contentious activity Conclusion 6. Feeds from the square: live streaming, live tweeting and the self-representation of protest camps Introduction Protest camps between location and mediation Methodology The meaning of live feeds Live feeds in the Indignados and Occupy Wall Street Please do post me: live feeds and the new culture of transparency Feeds for our ‘closet supporters’ The activist self-representation of protest space 7.Touching a nerve: a discussion on Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement Introduction Background Producing protest (Re)presenting the movement (Re)constructing everyday life in protest camps Embracing dissent Communications and conflicts Concluding remarks Part Two. Occupying and colonising 8. Introduction: occupying and colonising Introduction Ways of occupying Overview of the chapters 9. Carry on camping? The British Camp for Climate Action as a political refrain Introduction Situating the climate camps Political tensions Camping as a political refrain Conclusion: metamorphosis? 10. Losing space in Occupy London: fetishising the protest camp Introduction Form, fetishism and institutionalisation Occupy London and the tactic of the protest camp Fetishising the protest camp Conclusion: the antagonistic form of the protest camp 11. Occupation, decolonisation and reciprocal violence, or history responds to Occupy’s anti-colonial critics1 The wish The anti-colonial critique The occupation of Columbia University The occupation of Alcatraz Implications 12. Reoccupation and resurgence: indigenous protest camps in Canada Introduction: a history of blockades Twenty-five years of reoccupations Resistance, resurgence, relationships: Indigenous reoccupations in action Activists and solidarity Conclusion: reflections on responsibility 13. Democratic deficit in the Israeli Tent Protests: chronicle of a failed intervention Introduction Mobilisation and early tensions Diving in Analysis: the failure of formal structures 14. Euromaidan and the echoes of the Orange Revolution: comparing social infrastructures and resistance practices of protest camps in Kiev (Ukraine) Introduction Appropriation of space, spatial practices and social transformations Representation of space: why Maidan? Analysing spatial practices: Orange Maidan versus Euromaidan New decision-making and resistance practices Conclusion 15. Civil/political society, protest and fasting: the case of Anna Hazare and the 2011 anti-corruption campaign in India Introduction The Jan Lokpal campaign and Anna Hazare’s August 2011 fast Situating Anna Hazare’s fast as political practice The camp and civil society Conclusions Part Three. Reproducing and re-creating 16. Introduction: reproducing and re-creating Introduction A politics of social reproduction Chapters in Part Three 17. From ‘refugee population’ to political community: the Mustapha Mahmoud refugee protest camp Introduction The Sudanese diaspora and the refugee question in Egypt The protest camp location: contesting humanitarian space, forging solidarities Infrastructures of care beyond humanitarianism The camp’s violent eviction and the legacy of the Mustapha Mahmoud protests Conclusions 18. The Marconi occupation in São Paulo, Brazil: a social laboratory of common life Introduction Right to the city: squatter and occupy movements in Brazil Marconi occupation as an urban protest camp Conclusion 19. From protest camp to tent city: the ‘Free Cuvry’ camp in Berlin-Kreuzberg Introduction Methods Protest camps between political action and social reproduction Life and politics in Kreuzberg Free Cuvry’s emergence Making ends meet The Monday plenary The eviction Conclusion 20. Security is no accident: considering safe(r) spaces in the transnational Migrant Solidarity camps of Calais1 Introduction Methodology Safer spaces policies Calais Migrant Solidarity and No Border camps Reflections on safety and space at the Calais No Border Camp Problematising the ‘Feminist Security Group’ and white women as bearers of morality Four considerations for safer spaces and migrant solidarity projects Conclusion 21. Political education in protest camps: spatialising dissensus and reconfiguring places of youth activist ritual in Mexico City Introduction Placing activism, cultivating spaces of politics Protest camps as sites of learning Protest camps as sites at which lifecourses are given shape Protest camps as sites in which to generate solidarity Conclusion Part Four. Conclusion 22. Future tents: protest camps and social movement organisation Introduction Diversity and locality Travelling infrastructures Critical reflections on the protest camp form Trajectories for future research Conclusion Index From The Squares Of Spain To Indigenous Land In Canada, Protest Camps Are A Tactic Used Around The World. Since 2011 They Have Gained Prominence In Recent Waves Of Contentious Politics, Deployed By Movements With Wide-ranging Demands For Social Change. Through A Series Of International And Interdisciplinary Case Studies From Five Continents, This Topical Collection Is The First To Focus On Protest Camps As Unique Organisational Forms That Transcend Particular Social Movements' Contexts. Whether Erected In A Park In Istanbul Or A Street In Mexico City, The Significance Of Political Encampments Rests In Their Position As Distinctive Spaces Where People Come Together To Imagine Alternative Worlds And Articulate Contentious Politics, Often In Confrontation With The State. Written By A Wide Range Of Experts In The Field The Book Offers A Critical Understanding Of Current Protest Events And Will Help Better Understanding Of New Global Forms Of Democracy In Action.-- Edited By Gavin Brown, Anna Feigenbaum, Fabian Frenzel And Patrick Mccurdy. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.