Abstract

We have witnessed a beginning, the birth of a new age of revolt and upheaval. In North Africa and the Middle East it took the people a matter of days to topple what were supposedly entrenched regimes. Now, to the west, multiple crises are etching away at a ‘democratic consensus’ that has, since the 1970s, plagued and suppressed any sparks of revolutionary potential. It is time to prepare for the coming insurrection.

In this bold and beautifully written book, Eric Hazan and Kamo provide a short account of what is to be done in the aftermath of a regime’s demise: how to prevent any power from restoring itself and how to reorganize society without a central authority and according to the people’s needs. They argue that neither a leadership reshuffle, in the guise of constitutional progress, nor a transition period between a capitalist social order and a communist horizon will do.

First Measures of the Coming Insurrection is more than the voice of a new generation of revolutionaries; it is the manual for the coming global revolution.

Eric Hazan is a writer, historian and founder of the independent publishing house La Fabrique. His most recent books in English include The Invention of Paris (2012) and A People's History of the French Revolution (2014).

Kamo are a group of anonymous French revolutionaries.

'This has been a period of many insurrections – from the Arab Spring to the Occupy movements in Greece, Spain and the US – but not of revolutions. Why? First Measures of the Coming Insurrection attempts to answer this vital question by soberly examining the logical space between insurrection and revolution and what it takes to traverse it. It is a serious reflection on what constitutes revolution that is bound to attract much attention.'
George Caffentzis, author of In Letters of Blood and Fire: Work, Machines, and the Crisis of Capitalism

'In these days of endless crisis and recurring revolt, Hazan and Kamo provide an exhilarating vision of the insurrectionary upheaval that lies ahead – and the steps that can be taken to ensure the creation of the irreversible. Combative, imaginative and exceedingly timely, First Measures of the Coming Insurrection will stand out as a key reference for the post-2011 generation of activists.'
Jerome Roos, founder and editor of ROAR Magazine