Abstract

Many schools of thought assert that Western culture has never been more politically apathetic. Tim Jordan's Activism! refutes this claim. In his powerful polemic, Jordan shows how acts of civil disobedience have come to dominate the political landscape. Because we inhabit such a quickly changing, high-tech and fragmented culture, the single-issue political movements and stable, conservative authorities of the past are continually being questioned. Traditional political battles have been replaced by the popular, collective practices of a new political activism. From Europe to the USA, from Australia to South America, from the Left to the Right, Jordan introduces us to the citizens who make up d-i-y culture: eco-activists, animal liberators, neo-fascists, ravers, anti-abortionists, squatters, hunt saboteurs and hacktivists. In his view, activism comprises a new ethics of living for the 21st century.
In this accessible, logical book, Tim Jordan explains the difference between different sorts of collective action and explores various ways in which groups have campaigned for change, from the transgressive Zapatistas to the more conservative, legislation-based Snowdrop campaign [...] Intelligent, readable stuff'. - The Independent on Sunday 'Open University social scientist Tim Jordan's exploration of alternative ways of being, interacting, protesting, and resisting is heartfelt and wide-ranging. [...] Jordan provides a lucid and useful route map through the numerous byways of a far from homogenous global phenomenon' - Peace News
Tim Jordan teaches in the Department of Sociology at the Open University, London. His books include Cyberpower: The Culture and Politics of Cyberspace and the Internet (1999).