Peter Gelderloos
American anarchist
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Peter Gelderloos (born 1981 or 1982)[1] is an American anarchist activist and writer.
1981 or 1982 (age 43–44)[1]
Anarchy Works (2010)
The Failure of Nonviolence (2013)
Worshipping Power: An Anarchist View of Early State Formation (2017)
Peter Gelderloos | |
|---|---|
| Born | Peter Alan Gelderloos 1981 or 1982 (age 43–44)[1] Morristown, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Notable work | How Nonviolence Protects the State (2005) Anarchy Works (2010) The Failure of Nonviolence (2013) Worshipping Power: An Anarchist View of Early State Formation (2017) |
| Movement | Anarchism |
| Website | Surviving Leviathan with Peter Gelderloos newsletter on Substack |
Biography
Gelderloos first became involved in political issues as a high school student, and described the Seattle WTO protests in November 1999 as helping influence his political development.[2]
In November 2001,[1] Gelderloos was arrested with 30 others for trespass in protest of the American military training facility School of the Americas, which trains Latin American military and police.[3] He represented himself in court[4] and was sentenced to six months in prison.[5][6] Gelderloos previously organized a student rally against the Iraq War[7] and was a member of a copwatch program in Harrisonburg.[8]
In April 2007, Gelderloos was arrested in Spain and charged with disorderly conduct and illegal demonstration during a squatters' protest. He faced up to six years in prison.[5] According to Gelderloos, he was arrested as a bystander after someone had set off a firework designed to scatter fliers through the air.[2] He claimed that he was unfairly targeted for his political beliefs. He was acquitted in 2009.[9]
He is known for his 2005 book, How Nonviolence Protects the State, which has been cited in works discussing and analyzing forms of violent and nonviolent resistance.[9][10][11] He has written for the publications In These Times and ROAR Magazine.[12][13] In a review of his 2017 work Worshiping Power: An Anarchist View of Early State Formation, William Gillis described him as "an anarchist committed to making anarchist theory accessible" and "within our movement [...] probably the least controversial anarchist writer alive".[14]
In 2024, he co-produced It’s Revolution or Death, a documentary series focused on the global climate crisis, in collaboration with media collective subMedia.Tv.[15]
Works
- — (2024). Organization, Continuity, Community. Detritus Books.
- — (2024). They Will Beat the Memory Out of Us : Forcing Nonviolence on Forgetful Movements. London: Pluto Press.
- — (2022). The Solutions Are Already Here: Strategies of Ecological Revolution From Below. London: Pluto Press.
- — (2017). Worshipping Power: An Anarchist View of Early State Formation. Oakland: AK Press.
- — (2014). Learning From Ferguson (PDF). Seattle: Left Bank Books.
- — (2013). The Failure of Nonviolence: From the Arab Spring to Occupy. Seattle: Left Bank Books.[16][17]
- — (2010). Anarchy Works. San Francisco: Ardent Press.
- — (2010). To Get to the Other Side: a journey through Europe and its anarchist movements. Archived from the original on November 26, 2020.
- — (2009). Sousa in the Echo Chamber. Homebound Books.
- — (2007). How Nonviolence Protects the State. Boston: South End Press. ISBN 978-0-89608-772-9.
- — (2006). Consensus: A New Handbook for Grassroots Social, Political, and Environmental Groups. Tucson: See Sharp Press. ISBN 978-1-884365-39-3.
- — (2005). How Nonviolence Protects the State. Harrisonburg: Signalfire Press.[18][19]
- — (2004). What is Democracy?. Tucson: See Sharp Press. ISBN 978-0-00-005219-3.
