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Nomadic activism – doing democracy beyond the nation-state
Type
conference paper
Date Issued
2019-07
Author(s)
Abstract (De)
This paper investigates the question how the concept and practice of nomadic activism can point to new forms of democracy and active citizenship.
In recent years, the UK’s vote to leave the European Union was but the most illustrative example of what Appadurai calls ‘democratic fatigue’ (2017). This development is marked, for instance, by an increased sense of Euro-scepticism and the rise of far-right, nationalist forces all across the European continent. Moreover, on a planetary level, contemporary challenges arising in the context of climate change, migration and the injustices of global capitalism call for more radical imaginations of how we might do democracy today. Thus, the search for transnational alternatives from bottom-up becomes one of the urgent question of the contemporary moment.
The paper uses Braidotti’s idea of ‘nomadic activism’ (2006) as a theoretical framework to discuss how alternative media practices of transnational activists can help push our thinking about democracy beyond conceptual and national borders. Braidotti sees nomadic activism as an approach that can expose and denounce the horrors of national border politics. Indeed, the theoretical concept of the nomad has featured in academic discussions more widely - for instance in feminist, queer and media theory (Sutherland, 2016; Georgiou, 2012; Bousiou, 2008) - as a figure of transgression which holds the potential to imagine new forms of political participation beyond national borders.
Respective literature is discussed alongside findings from more than two years of ethnographic fieldwork conducted in collaboration with activists who work towards ‘democracy, equality and culture beyond the nation-state’. More specifically, I draw on the example of Transeuropa Caravans, a campaign which sees several activist buses drive across Europe in the run-up to the European Parliament elections. The campaign’s aim is to document, connect and make visible European alternatives from below, which are being built all across the continent. Particular attention is paid to the various alternative media practices activists employ throughout their journey to communicate respective ideas and demands to politicians and to a wider public.
As these activist practices illustrate, nomadic activism might, indeed, be able to hint at alternative forms of democracy. In ‘grounding’ their actions in nomadic rather than sedentary principles, nomadic activists invite us to think democracy beyond the nation state, as a politics constantly in motion. The paper suggests that such reflections on the possibilities of nomadic activism for social justice movements are particularly relevant in times when rights and freedoms of (mobile) citizens are increasingly threatened.
In recent years, the UK’s vote to leave the European Union was but the most illustrative example of what Appadurai calls ‘democratic fatigue’ (2017). This development is marked, for instance, by an increased sense of Euro-scepticism and the rise of far-right, nationalist forces all across the European continent. Moreover, on a planetary level, contemporary challenges arising in the context of climate change, migration and the injustices of global capitalism call for more radical imaginations of how we might do democracy today. Thus, the search for transnational alternatives from bottom-up becomes one of the urgent question of the contemporary moment.
The paper uses Braidotti’s idea of ‘nomadic activism’ (2006) as a theoretical framework to discuss how alternative media practices of transnational activists can help push our thinking about democracy beyond conceptual and national borders. Braidotti sees nomadic activism as an approach that can expose and denounce the horrors of national border politics. Indeed, the theoretical concept of the nomad has featured in academic discussions more widely - for instance in feminist, queer and media theory (Sutherland, 2016; Georgiou, 2012; Bousiou, 2008) - as a figure of transgression which holds the potential to imagine new forms of political participation beyond national borders.
Respective literature is discussed alongside findings from more than two years of ethnographic fieldwork conducted in collaboration with activists who work towards ‘democracy, equality and culture beyond the nation-state’. More specifically, I draw on the example of Transeuropa Caravans, a campaign which sees several activist buses drive across Europe in the run-up to the European Parliament elections. The campaign’s aim is to document, connect and make visible European alternatives from below, which are being built all across the continent. Particular attention is paid to the various alternative media practices activists employ throughout their journey to communicate respective ideas and demands to politicians and to a wider public.
As these activist practices illustrate, nomadic activism might, indeed, be able to hint at alternative forms of democracy. In ‘grounding’ their actions in nomadic rather than sedentary principles, nomadic activists invite us to think democracy beyond the nation state, as a politics constantly in motion. The paper suggests that such reflections on the possibilities of nomadic activism for social justice movements are particularly relevant in times when rights and freedoms of (mobile) citizens are increasingly threatened.
Language
English
Event Title
International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) Annual Conference
Event Location
Madrid
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
262918