Abstract
This paper reflects on the Occupy London encampment as an example of pre-figurative political action. The paper articulates the major media-political criticism of Occupy as “unwieldy” and “in search of a narrative” (Anonymous 2012), before drawing on case studies of two of the Occupation's components – the Tent City University and the Welfare and Well-being Group – to suggest that this criticism fails to understand the intentional choice that “directionlessness” represented. Indeed, the refusal to adopt formal leadership or any pre-defined ideological goal was a conscious strategy which pointed towards the kinds of possible future(s) desired.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 729-741 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Development in Practice |
Volume | 23 |
Issue number | 5-6 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 2013 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Aid accountability
- globalisation
- civil society - partnership
- participation
- governance and public policy
- poverty reduction