Towards a critique of anti-German 'communism'

The spectre of anti-Germans has easily become the Feindbild for activists of the Anglophone Left; yet rarely does this translate into fundamental or informed criticism of the anti-German premise. This article, then, offers an introductory description and a critical analysis of pro-Israeli, anti-German communism in its context within the post-war German Left and as a contemporary protest movement that sits oddly on the fringes of radical politics. Its origins and politics are examined to depict the radicalisation of a broad anti-nationalist campaign against German re-unification, and its evolution into a small but coherent anti-German movement, controversial for its pro-Israel polemics and provocations. Current debates within the anti-fascist German Left are reviewed to explore anti-German positions on the Holocaust, Israel, Islam, anti-imperialism and Germany’s foreign policy. Theoretical works that have heavily influenced anti-German communism are discussed to comprehend the movement’s intellectual inspirations. The purpose of the article is to introduce one of Germany’s most controversial protest movements to an English-speaking audience and to hint at the formulation of a critique that is more than a knee-jerk reaction to pro-Israeli agitation

How do radical climate movements negotiate their environmental and their social agendas? A study of debates within the Camp for Climate Action (UK)

This is a case study of the Camp for Climate Action, which has held several high-profile protest events in the UK since its inception in 2006. It analyses the Camp as a contested space where different emphases on environmental and social priorities have to be negotiated by its activists. The article considers areas of contestation where concerns over climate change meet questions of social justice. These are structured around tangible issues of campaigning, such as opposition to new coal-fired power stations or to the third runway at Heathrow airport, some of which have put the Camp at odds with labour movement and class struggle activists. While some demand a drastic shift away from current levels of consumption, others question the discriminatory effects of self-imposed austerity politics. On a more abstract level, the article considers debates on the need for government solutions to the environmental crisis and their possible impacts on social equality. The article is structured around movement-internal debates and makes use of interviews, extensive fieldwork notes and continuous participant observation over the course of four years

Alain de Benoist’s anti-political philosophy beyond Left and Right: non-emancipatory responses to globalisation and crisis

The purpose of this paper is to analyse and critique non-emancipatory and anti-political forms of opposition to globalisation and to the current Eurozone management of the global financial crisis. It will question, amongst other themes, critiques of globalisation that present themselves as mere critiques of capitalist excess or capital’s ‘transnational’ form. This opens up the problem of the national/global antinomy as well as of responses that contain a nationalist or traditionalist element. The paper draws primarily on a critical discussion of the work of ‘European New Right’ philosopher Alain de Benoist. In de Benoist’s writings it detects an anti-political rejection of the political divide between left and right, which aligns it with contemporary neo-fascist opposition to the Eurozone crisis. The paper will reflect upon this alignment through a discussion of Marxist critical theory, putting forward the argument that capitalist processes must be understood as non-personal domination rather than as a system of individual greed or wilful exploitation. This should also open up the possibility to re-evaluate some of the recent progressive, yet largely populist, movement mobilisations directed at the crisis

The transnationality of European nationalist movements

This article investigates the rationale behind transnational mobilisations of neo-Nazi and fascist social movements. It argues that pan-Europeanism is a central tenet, not a counter-principle, of extreme nationalist thought. The focus of the paper lies on contemporary examples of German extra-parliamentary organisations that subscribe to an anti-globalist or anti-capitalist ideology, and on their philosophical and historical precursors. It analyses those strains of reactionary thought that have aimed to ‘preserve’ and ‘reawaken’ a European Spirit or Culture in defence against the perceived threats of globalisation, and that today form the background to transnational co-operation and networking on the far right agenda. Sa menvatting De transnationaliteit van Europese nationalistische bewegingen Dit artikel onderzoekt grondgedachten en beweegredenen van de transnationale mobilisatie van fascistische en neonazistische sociale bewegingen. Het stelt vast dat pan-Europeanisme een basisdogma vormt, en geen contraprincipe, van het extreem-nationalistische gedachtegoed. Dat wordt aangetoond aan de hand van enkele eigentijdse voorbeelden van Duitse extraparlementaire organisaties die een antiglobalistische of antikapitalistische ideologie aanhangen, en hun filosofische en historische voorlopers. Daarbij worden reactionaire ideeën belicht die streven naar het ‘behoud’ en de ‘heropwekking’ van een Europese Geest of Cultuur als een dam tegen vermeende dreigingen van globalisering. Zij vormen vandaag de achtergrond van transnationale samenwerking en netwerking tussen extreemrechtse groepen. Résumé La transnationalité des mouvements nationalistes européens Cet article examine les idées de base et les motivations de la mobilisation transnationale des mouvements sociaux néonazis et fascistes. Il démontre que le pan-européanisme, loin d’en être le contre-pied, constitue au contraire la base même de l’idéologie d’extrême-droite nationaliste. L’étude se focalise sur les organisations allemandes extraparlementaires qui souscrivent à une idéologie anticapitaliste ou ‘antimondialiste’ et sur leurs antécédents historiques et philosophiques. Elle analyse les idées réactionnaires visant à la ‘préservation’ ou au ‘réveil’ d’un Esprit ou d’une Culture européens contre les menaces de la mondialisation. Cette dernière constitue l’arrière-fonds de la coopération et du maillage transnational entre les groupements d’extrême droite

Some notes on the ‘Baader-Meinhof Complex'

This film review essay offers some reflections on the contemporary receptions of left-wing armed struggle politics as represented in the film Baader Meinhof Complex, directed by Uli Edel and based on a book by Stefan Aust. It argues for a political understanding of the actions of the RAF or similar ‘terrorist’cells. From such a perspective, the anti-imperialist ideology of armed struggles can be subjected to criticism

The ‘Autonomous Nationalists’: new developments and contradictions in the German neo-Nazi movement

This article examines the action repertoires, symbolism and political ideology of the ‘Autonomous Nationalists’ (Autonome Nationalisten in German) that have emerged as a sub-cultural youth trend within the German extreme right. Agitating within a landscape of networked, extra-parliamentary neo-Nazi organisations, Autonomous Nationalist activism forms a specific subsection within the German extreme right that copies the styles, codes and militancy of anarchist and radical left activists. A political analysis of its texts and slogans reveals a self- definition as ‘anti-capitalist’ and ‘national socialist’. A particular mobilisation potential beyond the traditional and party-political forms of extreme nationalism is fuelled by an openly displayed confrontational militancy, mostly directed at anti-fascist and left-wing groups and individuals, and by strong counter-cultural aspects. The article analyses how this emphasis on individual forms of expressions and rebellion appears to stand in contradiction with fascist understandings of organisation and has put the movement at odds with the established neo-Nazi scene in Germany

If you don’t let us dream, we won’t let you sleep

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Science and ethics in the post-political era: strategies within the Camp for Climate Action

Despite a peak in activism against climate change in the UK, new environmental direct action networks have not yet received much academic attention. This article takes as a case study perhaps the most prominent of such networks – the Camp for Climate Action – which held several high-profile protest events between 2006 and 2011. Using a theoretical framework which understands society as being distinctly ‘post-political’ in character, we ask questions about the knowledge claims that form the foundations of radical environmental politics. Drawing on published statements and press releases, as well as from our insights as active participants in the Camp, we analyse the strategy of environmental protest where climate change has become its focus. The Camp for Climate Action was a contested political arena. We argue that this contestation existed over the Camp’s strategy in the context of a ‘scientised’, ‘post- political’ politics which operated within an ethical framework that prescribed individual responsibility as the primary basis for action