Content area
Full Text
Carl Levy & Matthew S. Adams (eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of Anarchism Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019; 750pp; ISBN 9783319756196
This handbook embodies both the revival of anarchism in history, political theory and social movements, and the possibilities offered by anarchist conceptual and analytical frameworks to examine a wide variety of historical and contemporary social and cultural phenomena. In the words of the editors, it seeks to provide, and indeed delivers, a 'rich tour ď horizon not simply of anarchist studies but of anarchism itself (p6). Entries in this handbook provide different definitions of anarchism, arguments in favour of it and demonstrations of how useful anarchist perspectives can be in a variety of domains. It also highlights some of the potential limits of anarchist theory, practice and methodology, thus encouraging further engagement. In terms of tone, The Palgrave Handbook of Anarchism hovers between scholarly polemic, academic overview and more directly political argumentation. This makes the handbook engaging, informative and diverse in its presentation of anarchism and anarchist studies and an essential contribution to the field.
The volume is divided into four sections. The first, entitled 'core problems/ problématiques' provides a theoretical overview of anarchism which highlights dilemmas and questions asked throughout the history of anarchist thought. Entries in this section partly overlap with but also complement and respond to the essays included in the recent collection of essays edited by Benjamin Franks, Nathan Jun and Leonard Williams, Anarchism: A Conceptual Approach (2018). In so doing, the handbook contributes to an ongoing conversation within anarchist studies about how to define anarchism conceptually as a political ideology. As an intervention in that particular discussion, it is noteworthy that the handbook begins with an anarchist perspective on the state. The state is frequently in the background of Anarchism: A Conceptual Approach, yet no single chapter is dedicated to it. By contrast, Nathan Jun opens the first part of The Palgrave Handbook of Anarchism by considering 'in what sense, and to what extent, anarchism is anti-statist' (p29). He goes on to unpack how anarchists have conceptualised, evaluated, criticised and eventually rejected the state, whether it is understood to mean 'any and all organised systems of government' or 'the modern "nation-state"' (p35). Jun thus demonstrates the sophistication of anarchist thought with...