The Future Is Now: An Introduction to Prefigurative Politics

Abstract

This edited volume aims to provide an accessible and interdisciplinary introduction to the concept of prefigurative politics. The idea for this collaborative project came from the realization that despite the increasing popularity of the term across the social sciences, it is hard to find articles or books which, instead of taking its meaning for granted, aim explicitly at introducing, defining and discussing it. This book gathers together a set of short and incisive contributions from prominent experts, divided into three parts. It begins with a foreword by post-development scholar Arturo Escobar and closes with an afterword by Davina Cooper, a leading researcher on transformative politics. The first part of the book offers a historical, philosophical and theoretical introduction to prefigurative politics. The second part examines prefigurative politics ‘in practice’ through case studies and examples from social movements, civil society initiatives and other alternative organizations. Among these, we find the long-lived intentional community of Auroville in India and the matristic Jineolojî eco-communes in Kurdish Rojava. The third and final part constitutes a meta-reflection on the challenges and opportunities that researchers encounter while studying prefigurative politics. In particular, contributors problematize the booming of prefiguration research in the last decade, they underline the different temporalities that one should take into account while assessing the impact of prefigurative movements and, finally, they outline five main challenges that prefiguration researchers should address in the near future. In sum, this edited volume represents the ideal companion for students and researchers interested in exploring the thriving and vibrant field of research on prefigurative politics.