Prefigurative Politics

‘Prefigurative politics’ refers to how activists embody and enact, within their activism, the socialities practices they foster for broader society. Inspired by anarchist principles, core characterising prefiguration include participative democracy, horizontality, inclusiveness, direct action. Gaining visibility with social movements that blossomed after 1968, again post-1999 opposing neoliberal globalisation, prefigurative politics involve deploying political are in line activists’ envisaged goals. These, turn, tend encompass construction of a democratic horizontal society, which must be enacted through egalitarian relationships between who refrain from resorting authoritarian, sexist, exclusionary means reach Yet, what origins this concept? What kind referred as prefigurative? Since concept’s consolidation, anthropologists have been at forefront answering these questions, both researchers activists. They look intersect themes dear discipline, such organisation, change, community-building, everyday ways inhabiting world. This entry explores concept series become relevant among those build relations, oppose representative alternative lifestyles. Exploring leads scholars question seemingly straightforward divide New Left ‘old lefts’. Additionally, asking whether right-wing can also engage helps us better understand pervasive transform non-institutionalised activism into laboratories where people change experiment new socialities.