Policy Press

Anarchist Cybernetics

Control and Communication in Radical Politics

By Thomas Swann

Published

Nov 15, 2021

Page count

190 pages

Browse the series

Organizations and Activism

ISBN

978-1529208795

Dimensions

234 x 156 mm

Imprint

Bristol University Press

Published

Oct 19, 2020

Page count

190 pages

Browse the series

Organizations and Activism

ISBN

978-1529208788

Dimensions

234 x 156 mm

Imprint

Bristol University Press

Published

Oct 19, 2020

Page count

190 pages

Browse the series

Organizations and Activism

ISBN

978-1529208818

Dimensions

Imprint

Bristol University Press

Published

Oct 19, 2020

Page count

190 pages

Browse the series

Organizations and Activism

ISBN

978-1529208818

Dimensions

Imprint

Bristol University Press
Anarchist Cybernetics

From Occupy, to the Indignados and the Arab Spring, the uprisings that marked the last decade ignited a re-emergence of participatory democracy as a political ideal within organizations.

This pioneering book introduces cybernetic thinking to politics and organizational studies to explore the continuing development of this radical idea. With a focus on communication and how alternative social media platforms present new challenges and opportunities for radical organising, it sheds new light on the concepts of self-organization, consensus decision making, individual autonomy and collective identity.

Revolutionising the way in which anarchist activists and theorists think about organizations, this unprecedented investigation makes a major contribution to the larger discussion of direct democracy.

Thomas Swann is a Lecturer in Political Theory at Loughborough University.

2011: The Year Everything Nothing Changed.

Radical Left Social Movements and Communication Networks

Anarchism and Cybernetics. A Missed Opportunity Revisited

Control Part One ~ Tactics, Strategy and Grand Strategy

Control Part Two ~ The Individual and the Collective. Autonomy Through Organisation

Communication Part One ~ Noise, Overload and Communication in the Age of Social Media

Communication Part Two ~ Building Alternative Social Media from the Ground Up

Anarchist Cybernetics in Practice