Uri Gordon (anarchist)
Israeli anarchist theorist and activist
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Uri Gordon (Hebrew: אורי גורדון; born August 30, 1976, in Israel) is an anarchist theorist and activist. He is editor of Freedom.[1][2] Gordon is considered "one of the leading theorists of anarchist movement politics."[3] He has lived in Israel and Great Britain and worked with organizations including Indymedia, Peoples Global Action, Anarchists Against the Wall and Freedom Press.
Uri Gordon | |
|---|---|
אורי גורדון | |
Gordon in 2023 | |
| Born | 1976 (age 49–50) Israel |
| Education | University of Oxford |
| Known for | Anarchist theory |
| Notable work | Anarchy Alive! |
Scholarship
Gordon received his doctorate in political theory from Oxford University in 2005.[4] His dissertation formed the basis of his book Anarchy Alive! Anti-Authoritarian Politics from Practice to Theory, published by Pluto Press.[5] Gordon has taught at British universities including Loughborough and Durham and at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies in Ketura, a Kibbutz north of Eilat.[4]
As of October 2024, his work has been cited in over 1,500 academic publications.[6] Gordon is co-editor of the book series Contemporary Anarchist Studies at Manchester University Press.[7] Besides his scholarly work, Gordon has contributed to Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post.[4]
Activism
Uri Gordon first became involved in the environmental movement, and now advocates for a new, heterogeneous, bioregional, feminist, and action-oriented grassroots anarchism.[4] He considers anarchism to be an "ideology of survival."[8] He further describes anarchism as prefigurative action by which adherents do not wait for major societal change to begin living according to their ideals of horizontal and cooperative relationships.[4]
As a member of Anarchists Against the Wall, he has been a prominent member of the Israeli radical left, active in supporting Palestinian efforts to dismantle the "colonial infrastructure" of segregation barriers throughout the region.[9][10] Recently, in a discussion with Mohammed Bamyeh on the "No State Solution," he has argued for "modes of a multicultural existence and even radical democracy that are not fundamentally opposed to religious practice or tradition, that are moving... towards equality."[2]
Selected publications
- Gordon, Uri. 2023. Leviathan's Body: Recovering Fredy Perlman's Anarchist Social Theory. Anarchist Studies 31.1. pp. 58–81[11]
- Gordon, Uri. 2018. Prefigurative Politics between Ethical Practice and Absent Promise. Political Studies 66.2. pp. 521–537[12]
- Gordon, Uri. 2018. Revolution. In Anarchism: A Conceptual Approach, eds. B. Franks, N. Jun, L. Williams. London: Routledge.
- Gordon, Uri. 2017. Democratic Deficit in Israel's 2011 Tent Protests: Chronicle of a failed intervention. In Protest Camps in International Context: Spaces, infrastructures and media of resistance, eds. G. Brown, A. Feigenbaum, F. Frenzel, P. McCurdy. Bristol: Policy Press. pp. 221–242
- Gordon, Uri, and Ohal Grietzer. 2013. Anarchists against the Wall : Direct Action and Solidarity with the Palestinian Popular Struggle. Edinburgh: AK Press.[13]
- Gordon, Uri. 2008. Anarchy Alive! : Anti-Authoritarian Politics from Practice to Theory. London: Pluto Press.[14]