Our editor Yavor Tarinski took part in the podcast of the Varna Institute for Peace Research, where he touched upon many issues – ranging from direct democracy and social ecology, to degrwoth, Ukraine war, and more. The occasion was the publication of Tarinski’s latest book ‘Reclaiming Cities: Revolutionary Dimensions of Political Participation‘ (Black Rose Books, 2023).
Yavor Tarinski is an independent researcher, author and activist from Bulgaria. Currently he resides in Greece and is active in various social movements. He is the co-founder of the political journal aftoleksi.gr, bibliographer of Cornelius Castoriadis at agorainternational.org and member of the administrative council of TRISE-Transnational Institute of Social Ecology. Some of his main political interests in his published books include Direct Democracy, Social and Individual Autonomy, Commons, Solidarity Economy and Political Ecology. His personal blog can be found at https://towardsautonomyblog.wordpress.com.
About the book ‘Reclaiming Cities: Revolutionary Dimensions of Political Participation‘
Reclaiming Cities is a global history of the city and the citizen that documents experiences with direct democratic governance and explores the theoretical groundwork that underpins such movements. The mutual interests of the state and multinational corporations routinely thwart any meaningful actions on a wide variety of issues of concern to citizens, such as climate change, labor policy, civil rights, gun control—issues better addressed by citizens concerned for the well-being of their communities. Yavor Tarinski argues that instead of relying on bureaucratic summits and centralized solutions, cities ought to band together in federations, beyond national boundaries, uniting citizens in struggles against ecological catastrophe and other existential crises.
Table of Contents
- Foreword: Cities of Hubris by Chris Spannos
- Introduction
- I CITIES
- 1. Time to Reclaim the City
- 2. Exploring Commons-Based Strategies for Urban Regeneration
- 3. The City as Locus for Politics beyond Statecraft
- 4. Beyond Statecraft Anti-Imperialism
- 5. Municipalist Commoning and Factory Recuperation
- 6. Emancipated Neighborhoods within the Project of Direct Democracy
- 7. Federations of Cities: Castoriadis, Bookchin, AANES
- 8. The Temporalities of Climate Change: From Domination to Direct Democracy
- II CITIZENS Re-Embedding Citizenship in Revolutionary Politics
- 1. Citizenship as an Inseparable part of Revolutionary Politics
- 2. Citizens or Workers
- 3. The Spatial Dimensions of Citizenship versus Mob Rule
- 4. Overcoming Individualist Passivity: Freedom as Political Action
- 5. Identities, Space, Time, Emancipation
- 6. Sortition and the Public Assembly
- 7. Educational Approaches towards Democratic Citizenry
- 8. Time, Leisure, Work: Towards Radical Transformation of Everyday Life
- Bibliography
