Dear colleagues, You will find attached a call for papers for the 2nd ICALG, International Conference of Anarchist and Libertarian Geography, which will take place from June 12th to 16th, 2019 in Rabastens (Tarn-France) on the theme of "Reclaiming the territory, fight against dominations ". We invite you to spread the information very widely. The proposals are expected until the 21 December 2018. Looking forward to your proposals, we wish you a nice day. The scientific committee Barrera Gerónimo, Baudoin Julien, Bénos Rémi, Blot Frédérique, Cantagrel Cécile, Cecillon Martine, Courcelle Thibault, Diegx, Dietrich Judicaelle, Ferretti Federico, Fossier Gilles, Ince Anthony, Lamarche Karine, Berdjouh Majid, Maestripieri Nicolas, Malaterre Nathalie, Maraud Simon, Massé Pauline, Matuzesky Guillaume, Minder Patrick, Palome Manue, Pélenc Jérôme, Pelletier Philippe, Springer Simon, Poirrier Suzie, Tillous Marion, Tomassi Isabella, White Richard, Zanetti Thomas.

Call For Papers 1st International Conference of Anarchist Geographies and Geographers (ICAGG) – Geography, social change and antiauthoritarian practices Reggio Emilia (Italy) – Centro Studi Cucine del Popolo, via Beethoven 78/e, 21-23 September 2017 – www.icagg.org

Over the last several decades, scholars and practitioners have progressively acknowledged that we cannot consider cities as the place where nature stops anymore, resulting in urban environments being increasingly appreciated and theorized as hybrids between nature and culture, entities made of socio-ecological processes in constant transformation. Spanning the fields of political ecology, environmental studies, and sociology, this new direction in urban theory emerged in concert with global concern for sustainability and environmental justice. This volume explores the notion that connecting with nature holds the key to a more progressive and liberatory politics.

The Anarchist Roots of Geography: Toward Spatial Emancipation advances several arguments. On the one hand, it wishes to recover and applaud the legacies of two anarchists who were also geographers—Kropotkin (1842– 1921) and Reclus (1830–1905)—and celebrate others. Then there is an argument for anarchism to be central to a reworked radical geography today and that Marxism has crowded out anarchist voices. There are also arguments about what anarchism might mean and how this involves space. Geography is represented as anarchic in itself as a discipline and in opening Springer seeks “to remind readers that geography has never had, and nor should it desire, a single disciplinary plan or pivot” and that periodic attempts to impose one have failed. ... Springer’s book might therefore represent a coming of age for anarchist geography, making it harder for future texts on geographic thought to be judged adequate unless more care is taken with anarchist currents.

"The Anarchist Roots of Geography: Towards Spatial Emancipation" sets the stage for a radical politics of possibility and freedom through a discussion of the insurrectionary geographies that suffuse our daily experiences. By embracing anarchist geographies as kaleidoscopic spatialities that allow for non-hierarchical connections between autonomous entities, wherein solidarities are voluntarily assembled in opposition to sovereign violence, predetermined norms, and assigned categories of belonging, we configure a political imagination that is capable of demanding the impossible. Experimentation in and through space is the story of humanity’s place on the planet, and the stasis and control that now supersedes ongoing organizing experiments is an affront to our very survival. Singular ontological modes that favor one particular way of doing things disavow geography by failing to understand the spatial as an ongoing mutable assemblage that is intimately bound to temporality. Even worse, such stagnant ideas often align to the parochial interests of an elite minority and thereby threaten to be our collective undoing. What is needed is the development of new relationships with our world, and crucially, with each other. By infusing our geographies with anarchism we unleash a spirit of rebellion that foregoes a politics of waiting for change to come at the behest of elected leaders, and instead engages new possibilities of mutual aid through direct action in the here and now. Anarchism is accordingly framed as a perpetually evolving process of geographical prefiguration that seeks to refashion entrenched modes of understanding and being in the world vis-à-vis the authoritarian institutions, proprietary relations, and pugnacious geopolitics that dominate contemporary political relations and their associated configurations of space. We can no longer accept the decaying, archaic geographies of hierarchy that chain us to statism, capitalism, gender domination, racial oppression, and imperialism. Instead, geography must become beautiful, wherein the entirety of its embrace is aligned to emancipation.

This article highlights the need for collaborative research on ecological conflicts within a global perspective. As the social metabolism of our industrial economy increases, intensifying extractive activities and the production of waste, the related social and environmental impacts generate conflicts and resistance across the world. This expansion of global capitalism leads to greater disconnection between the diverse geographies of injustice along commodity chains. Yet, at the same time, through the globalization of governance processes and Environmental Justice (EJ) movements, local political ecologies are becoming increasingly transnational and interconnected. We first make the case for the need for new approaches to understanding such interlinked conflicts through collaborative and engaged research between academia and civil society. We then present a large-scale research project aimed at understanding the determinants of resource extraction and waste disposal conflicts globally through a collaborative mapping initiative: The EJAtlas, the Global Atlas of Environmental Justice. This article introduces the EJAtlas mapping process and its methodology, describes the process of co-design and development of the atlas, and assesses the initial outcomes and contribution of the tool for activism, advocacy and scientific knowledge. We explain how the atlas can enrich EJ studies by going beyond the isolated case study approach to offer a wider systematic evidence-based enquiry into the politics, power relations and socio-metabolic processes surrounding environmental justice struggles locally and globally. Cet article met en évidence la nécessité pour la recherche collaborative sur les conflits écologiques, avec une perspective globale. Le métabolisme social de notre économie industrielle est en augmentation. Cette intensifie les activités d'extraction et la production de déchets, et les impacts sociaux et environnementaux associés générer des conflits et de la résistance. Cette expansion du capitalisme mondial conduit à une plus grande déconnexion entre les diverses «géographies de l'injustice» à travers le filière. Pourtant, dans le même temps, grâce à la mondialisation de la gouvernance et des mouvements pour la justice environnementale (EJ), les écologies politiques locales sont de plus en plus transnationale et interconnecté. D'abord, nous plaidons pour de nouvelles approches pour comprendre ces conflits interconnectés à travers la collaboration et la recherche engagés, entre le monde universitaire et la société civile. Deuxièmement, nous présentons un projet de recherche à grande échelle visant à comprendre les déterminants de conflits au sujet de l'extraction des ressources et de l'élimination des déchets à travers une collaboration mondiale initiative de cartographie: le EJAtlas, l'Atlas mondial de la Justice de l'environnement. Ce document présente les EJAtlas et sa méthodologie, décrit le processus de co-conception et la phase de développement, et évalue les résultats initiaux et la contribution de l'outil pour l'activisme, de plaidoyer et de connaissances scientifiques. Nous expliquons comment l'Atlas peut enrichir les études EJ. Il propose une enquête fondée sur des preuves systématiques dans la politique, les relations de pouvoir et les processus socio-métabolique environnantes luttes de justice environnementale, localement et globalement. Este artículo destaca la necesidad de realizar investigación colaborativa sobre conflictos ambientales en una perspectiva global. Al crecer el metabolismo de las economías industriales se intensifican las actividades extractivas y la producción de residuos, con impactos sociales y ambientales que producen conflictos y resistencia en todo el mundo. Esa expansión del capitalismo global lleva a una desconexión entre las geografías de la injusticia a lo largo de las largas cadenas de extracción, transporte y desecho de las mercancías. Pero al mismo tiempo, a través de la globalización de los procesos de gobernanza y de los movimientos de Justicia Ambiental, las ecologías políticas locales cada vez son más transnacionales y están más interconectadas. En primer lugar, proponemos nuevos enfoques para entender esos conflictos mediante la investigación colaborativa y comprometida entre los académicos y la sociedad civil. Presentamos después un proyecto de investigación dirigido a entender los factores globales determinantes de los conflictos por extracción de recursos y producción de residuos a través de una iniciativa colaborativa de mapeo: el EJAtlas, el Atlas Global de Justicia Ambiental. Este artículo introduce este proceso de mapeo del EJAtlas y su metodología, describe el diseño colaborativo y el desarrollo del atlas, evalúa sus resultados iniciales y su contribución como una nueva herramienta para los activistas, los académicos, las organizaciones ambientalistas. Explicamos cómo el atlas puede enriquecer la investigación de la Justicia Ambiental yendo más allá de los casos individuales, ofreciendo la posibilidad de estudios sistemáticos más amplios, basados en evidencias, sobre la política, las relaciones de poder y los procesos socio-metabólicos relacionados local y globalmente con las luchas por la justicia ambiental.

Commentary from the 2017 American Association of Geographers Conference in Boston from an author-meets-critics panel on Simon Springer's The Anarchist Roots of Geography.