The Search for Political Space / / Warren Magnusson.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter University of Toronto Press eBook-Package Archive 1933-1999
• VerfasserIn: Magnusson, Warren,
• MitwirkendeR: Kenny, Leslie,
• Place / Publishing House: Toronto : : University of Toronto Press, , [2019]; ©1996
• Year of Publication: 2019
• Language: English
• Series: Heritage
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (392 p.)

In The Search for Political Space, Warren Magnusson argues that the emergent political spaces of the twenty-first century will be more like local municipalities than sovereign states. These ambivalent spaces point beyond themselves and disrupt the dominant discourse of sovereignty. In an effort to rethink the boundaries and horizons of contemporary politics, the author focuses on the practical experiences of recent social movements in relation to municipal government. Using examples from Britain, the United States, and Canada, he proposes that, although constrained by the state, the market, and the modern social disciplines, municipal politics offers a place where ordinary people can engage locally with global issues. The discussion ranges over such topics as socialist economics, municipal foreign policy, feminist direct action intergovernmental fiscal struggles, environmental activism, the politics of identity, and the practices of local democracy. From various perspectives, Magnusson addresses the underlying question: how can people use the space afforded by the municipality to transcend the political limits of the state?The Search for Political Space is a valuable contribution to the study of urban politics within the context of political theory, and the issues and arguments it raises are fundamental to discussions of the future of politics in the twenty-first century.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: Elusive Spaces -- Part One: Looking for Politics -- 1. Decentring the State -- 2. The Reification of Liberal Community -- 3. Critical Social Movements -- 4. Radical Municipalism -- Part Two: Municipal Progressivism -- 5. Beyond the Metropolis -- 6. Flexible Specialization -- 7. Municipal Socialism and Social Democracy -- 8. Radical Municipalism and Local Socialism -- Part Three: Beyond Sovereignty -- 9. Fiscal Struggles and Municipal Autonomy -- 10. Women in Transition -- 11. Municipal Foreign Policy -- 12. Social Movements and the Global City -- Conclusion: Toward a Postmodern Politics? -- Notes -- Index