Coming of the Transnational Revolutions and the Networked Prince

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  • Article: Another World, Now! Coming of the Transnational Revolutions and the Networked Prince. by Örsan Şenalp.

URL = https://www.academia.edu/5179504/Another_World_Now_Coming_of_the_Transnational_Revolutions_and_the_Networked_Prince


Summary

I first give a personal review on the important spaces of convergence and mobilisations some took place in 2011 and 2012, and others currently in progress: like, Joint Social Conferences, Alter Summit, Hub Meetings of Indignados, Global May, Blockupy, globalNOISE, Agora 99 and Firenze 10+10. Then I argue that with the spread of the P2P or ‘advanced communal’ forms of value and public space creation, based on P2P relational dynamics, and the cross fertilisation between the new generation P2P activists, technologies and new generation social justice activists, we may this time build much stronger and transnationally connected alliances between radical democratic and revolutionary forces. Such P2P alliances would allow collaboration between horizontal and vertical forms of agency, in the West and the East, experienced in varying fields of struggle and produce accessible, feasible, democratically built, anti-totalitarian and alter-systemic emancipatory projects to replace the capitalist mode of production with the emerging new P2P mode. In the hands of emerging alliances such projects would be much more powerful than the communist, socialist and social democratic projects of the previous century. Then we might be able to turn the tide in favour of the people. The rEvolution, in this sense, might have already begun!

Introduction

In 2011 the world witnessed the beginning of the first truly transnational and global grass-roots uprising. The peer to peer (P2P) self-organising, connectivity, horizontality, and commitment to non-violence have become the common characteristics of the rising global movement. Progressive and revolutionary civil society organizations and trade unions have played a crucial role in the uprisings that took place in Tunisia, Egypt, Iceland, Greece, Spain, Israel, Chile, the UK, the US as well as many other places.

Following this constellation of forces and uprisings 2012 has begun as a year in which the transnational capital and ruling elite have gathered around a consensus on various types of authoritarian and neoliberal state capitalism. More and more divorce between capitalism and democracy, followed the market failure deepening in the West. Imperial confrontations and conflicts among the elite did not disappear but the offensive towards the nature, poor and working classes has structurally and strategically increased. The violence has been hardened against the peaceful social opposition almost everywhere. Not only austerity, flex-slavery and proletarianisation have spread throughout the world; peaceful public space occupations were violently evicted, militarisation, surveillance and criminalisation captured all domains of social life, strikes were banned, and even as happened in Marikana tragedy in South Africa, tens of striking workers have been massacred by the police forces in cold blood.

On the other hand, 15M and Occupy movements have reached to a sustainable phase within 2012. After 15O, 11.11.11 Occupy the World, 1 May General Strike and Global May / Spring mobilisations a lot of experience has been gained. 17 September, one year anniversary of Occupy Wall Street (OWS) and the upcoming autumn 2012 mobilisations are the proof of the sustainability that the young movement has achieved for the time being. In time of writing a new global mobilisation is being rapidly and carefully organised from one town to other, from one country to other, and from one continent to other. More than 160 cities endorsed to a pot banging action in order to create a very meaningful noise. International work groups and local groups have been gathering and sharing new ideas all over the world and adopting into the mater plan. No one is able to estimates what will be the scale and the end form. Global Noise mobilisation will mark the first anniversary of the 15 October uprising. There will be many local and national mobilisations for various causes between 12 and 20 October and the 13 October will be the global day of action. There are also many other initiatives and mobilisations going to take place during this autumn and beyond. Meanwhile we have been observing the formation of larger alliances among more traditional progressive forces. Important spaces and convergence processes have been initiated launched by radical democratic as well as revolutionary alter-forces especially in Europe. In the beginning of November there will be two event taking place: Agora 99 in Madrid between 1-4 November and Firenze 10+10 in Florence Italy, between 8 and 11 November. Objective is enabling constructive interaction between non-representational new movements and progressive NGO networks and unions, and defining the common ground and common mobilisations towards alternative world.

In the article I first report on some of these important spaces of convergence and mobilisations, some already took place and others being planned. I will also argue that with the spread of the P2P or ‘advanced communal’ forms of value and public space creation based on P2P relational dynamics, involvement of the new generation of P2P activists and P2P technologies, we might this time have a potentially much stronger alternative to capitalist mode of production than the communism and socialism practices of the last century. Being able to formulate this new phenomenon into a clear and accessible counter hegemonic project as well as methodology for solidarity and collaboration, it might be possible to form global P2P alliances between radical reformist and revolutionary forces; horizontal and vertical forms of agency; in a way that transnationally connects them from local to global levels. A clear anti-totalitarian and alter-systemic emancipatory discourse and political program in the hands of such alliances would serve to gain non-centralised / distributed, creative, flexible, and effective mass power that could turn the tide in favour of the people. The rEvolution, as it was joined by the 15M and Occupy movements, in this sense might have already begun!

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