Communalism as a Democratic Repertoire: From the Paris Commune to the Present

by Gaard Kets (Editor), Mathijs van de Sande (Editor)

Overview

In the 72 days of its existence, the Paris Commune of 1871 was a political and social laboratory where Parisians would experiment with radically democratic urban self-government. Various radical theorists and traditions have claimed the Commune as their own: from the well-known account of Karl Marx and Lenin’s State and Revolution to the anarchists Mikhail Bakunin or Peter Kropotkin, and from the council communists in Germany around the end of the Great War to the soixante-huitards in France.

In Communalism as a Democratic Repertoire Gaard Kets and Mathijs van de Sande bring together historians, sociologists, political scientists, theorists, and philosophers to reconstruct how "the Commune" has continued to serve as a source of inspiration to different movements and tendencies throughout the past 150 years, and how communalist thought and practices help us reimagine what radical democracy may look like today. Divided into three parts, contributors begin by exploring how the Paris Commune shaped political debates and influenced various theoretical oeuvres as well as political practices. Part II develops communalist ideas or strategies in a contemporary context. Part III sheds light on three different contemporary communalist practices in the Middle East, Europe, North America, and Latin America.

Bridging the gap between historical and theoretical accounts of "the Commune," this book will be enlightening for students of democracy and a valuable resource to scholars and activists interested in the problems and possibilities facing democracy today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781032842714
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	07/21/2025
Series:	Routledge Advances in Democratic Theory
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Gaard Kets is Assistant Professor of political theory in the Department of Political Science at Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands. His research interests include the theories and practices of past and present forms of radical democracy, workplace democracy, council communism, social movements, and revolution.

Mathijs van de Sande is Assistant Professor in philosophical ethics and political philosophy at Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands. He conducts research into democratic legitimacy and the role of protest and social movements. For this purpose, he draws on various philosophical movements and traditions, such as anarchism, feminism, and Marxism and post-Marxism.

Table of Contents

Introduction.  PART I - Communalisms: Traditions and Tendencies  1. The Spanish “Municipio Libre”: a communalist tradition to update?  2. Anarchism and Communalism: The defeat of the Commune and the rise of communal anarchism.  3. “The Biggest Festival of the Nineteenth Century:” The Paris Commune in the Radical Imagination of the 1960s.  4. Was Communalism Born from the Commune?  PART II - Communalist Ideas and Strategies  5. A Democracy Without Titles? 1871 Against the Politics of the Few.  6. Between the Past Future and the Future Past: On the Democratic Experimentalism of the Paris Commune.  7. "The revolution will be live." Towards a pedagogy of radical imaginaries beyond the Paris Commune.  8. Rethinking representation as delegation in the framework of communalist direct democracy.  PART III – Contemporary Practices and Articulations  9. The Commune Beyond the Commune: Abdullah Öcalan, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), and democratic confederalism.  10. Contemporary Communes and Council Democracy in Venezuela.  11. The new wave of ecological municipalities in Quebec: between quiet municipalism and rural communalism.

Editorial Reviews

"Communalism as a Democratic Repertoire brings together an international, interdisciplinary group of scholars, innovatively examining the emergence of communalism as a mode of existing politically that can be transferred over space and time. Rooting communalism’s birth in the 1871 Paris Commune, this vital collection investigates the Commune’s ongoing influence in communalist theory and praxis, together envisioning a radically democratic future."
Carolyn Eichner, Professor of History and Women’s & Gender Studies, University of Milwaukee and author of Surmounting the Barricades: Women in the Paris Commune and The Paris Commune: A Brief Introduction.

"This compelling volume of essays offers an incisive exploration of the revolutionary ideas that animated the Paris Commune and its subsequent historical manifestations––and their important lessons for those who hope to re-envision democracy today. An essential text for anyone interested in the urgent task of nurturing new forms of democracy that can help us build a liberated future."
Debbie Bookchin, editor of Murray Bookchin, From Urbanization to Cities: The Politics of Democratic Municipalism and The Next Revolution: Popular Assemblies and the Promise of Direct Democracy.

"Communalism as a Democratic Repertoire is a captivating and insightful journey through the history and impact of communalist thought. Kets and van de Sande brilliantly illustrate how the Paris Commune's legacy fuels democratic ideals today—a must-read for anyone passionate about democracy and our future. "
Dr James Muldoon, Reader in Management, University of Essex

"The Commune de Paris seems to be coming back to life in a host of contemporary projects that seek to respect its forms while retaining the same spirit of radical democracy. This much-needed book is a reminder of that."
Christian Laval, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Université Paris Nanterre

From the Publisher