The Uncivil Sphere and Anarchist Movements: Problems of Status Quo Violence, Internationalist Militancy, and Anti-state Civil Society

Abstract

Jeffrey C. Alexander’s civil sphere theory makes a significant contribution to understanding how people, especially social movements, relate to society’s various institutions. Radicalism challenges the long-term stability of the civil sphere and pushes it to be more open. While capitalism and the state are considered to be uncivil institutions, the civil sphere typically tolerates their existence and negotiates with them. But, what of radical, non-state and antiauthoritarian movements that seek the abolition of all hierarchies— can they join the existing civil sphere or replace it with their own vision? This paper uses three cases studies—the Haymarket Affair, the Spanish Revolution, and Seattle’s anti-World Trade Organization protests—to interrogate non-state, anti-authoritarian, and anarchist interpretations of civil society. These cases suggest compatibilities and divergences with civil sphere theory, complicating its interpretation of violence and militancy, civil order breaching, nonstate or extra-state scope, and internationalism. [Article copies available for a fee from The Transformative Studies Institute. E-mail address: journal@transformativestudies.org Website: http://www.transformativestudies.org ©2024 by The Transformative Studies Institute. All rights reserved.]