The nineteenth century witnessed the growth of anarchist literature, which advocated a society based on voluntary cooperation without government authority. Although his classical writings on mutual aid and the philosophy of anarchism are still published today, Peter Kropotkin remains a neglected figure. A talented geographer and a revolutionary socialist, Kropotkin was one of the most important theoreticians of the anarchist movement. In Kropotkin: The Politics of Community, Brian Morris reaffirms with an attitude of critical sympathy the contemporary relevance of Kropotkin as a political and moral philosopher and as a pioneering social ecologist. Well-researched and wide-ranging, this volume not only presents an important contribution to the history of anarchism, both as a political tradition and as a social movement, but also offers insightful reflections on contemporary debates in political theory and ecological thought. After a short biographical note, the book analyzes in four parts Kropotkin’s writings on anarchist communism, agrarian socialism, and integral education; modern science and evolutionary theory; the French Revolution and the modern state; and possessive individualism, terror, and war. Standing as a comprehensive and engaging introduction to anarchism, social ecology, and the philosophy of evolutionary holism, Kropotkin is written in a straightforward manner that will appeal to those interested in social anarchism and in alternatives to neoliberal doctrines.

The Bloomsbury Companion to Anarchism is a comprehensive reference work to support research in anarchism. The book considers the different approaches to anarchism as an ideology and explains the development of anarchist studies from the early twentieth century to the present day. It is unique in that it highlights the relationship between theory and practice, pays special attention to methodology, presents non-English works, key terms and concepts, and discusses new directions for the field. Focusing on the contemporary movement, the work outlines significant shifts in the study of anarchist ideas and explores recent debates. The Companion will appeal to scholars in this growing field, whether they are interested in the general study of anarchism or in more specific areas. Featuring the work of key scholars, The Bloomsbury Companion to Anarchism will be an essential tool for both the scholar and the activist.

As well as providing a clear and critical introduction to the theory, this refreshing overview focuses on the practice of feminism with coverage of actions and activism, bringing the subject to life for newcomers as well as offering fresh perspectives for advanced students. Explanations of the main strands to feminism, such as liberalism, sit alongside an exploration of a range of approaches, such as radical, anarchist and Marxist feminism, and provide much-needed context against which more familiar historical themes may be understood. The author's broad and inclusive view conveys the diversity and disagreement within feminism with accessible clarity. The analysis of key terms equips readers with a critical understanding of the vocabulary of feminist debates that will be invaluable to undergraduate students.

An introduction, complete in one volume, to the history of Russia from medieval times to the fall of Khrushchev and beyond. A study of the geographical setting in which the Russian state grew to its present super-power status is followed by five chapters which discuss the political, social, and economic history of the country, and four final chapters examine respectively the role of the Church, Soviet government and politics, the economy of the Soviet state, and the international relations of the USSR. Each chapter has been specially commissioned for this volume, and the writers are acknowledged experts in their fields. Every chapter is followed by a guide to further reading. This is perhaps the most comprehensive and authoritative collaborative history of Russia yet to appear. It will be read as a continuous account, and will also be consulted as a standard reference guide in libraries of universities, colleges, and schools wherever Russian and Soviet history, European history, and international relations are studied. It forms the first part of the three-volume Companion to Russian Studies, the two other parts of which deal with Russian language and literature, and Russian art and architecture respectively.

This is a comprehensive study of the varying conceptions of the human subject in the Western intellectual tradition. Although informed by an anthropological perspective, the author draws on material from all the major intellectual disciplines that have contributed to this tradition and offers biographical and theoretical vignettes of all the major Western scholars. By scrutinizing the classical texts of the Western tradition, he succeeds in delineating the differing conceptions of the human individual which emerge from these writings, and gives a guide to the most important ideas in Western cultural traditions.

For decades, most anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist movements identified radical transformation with capturing state power. The collapse of these statist projects from the 1970s led to a global crisis of left and working-class politics. But crisis has also opened space for rediscovering alternative society-centered, anti-capitalist modes of bottom-up change, operating at a distance from the state. These have registered important successes in practice, such as the Zapatistas in Mexico, and Rojava in Syria. They have been a key influence on movements from Occupy in United States, to the landless in Latin America, to anti-austerity struggles in Europe and Asia, to urban movements in Africa. Their lineages include anarchism, syndicalism, autonomist Marxism, philosophers like Alain Badiou, and radical popular praxis. This path-breaking volume recovers this understanding of social transformation, long side-lined but now resurgent, like a seed in the soil that keeps breaking through and growing. It provides case studies with reference to South Africa and Zimbabwe, and includes a dossier of key texts from a century of anarchists, syndicalists, insurgent unionists and anti-apartheid activists in South Africa. Originating in an African summit of radical academics, struggle veterans and social movements, the book includes a preface from John Holloway.