How can we imagine another politics at the local level?

The generations born in Greece in the 1970s and 1980s grew up in a “social-democratic spring” nourished by the radical visions of the post-dictatorship era, which, however, soon degenerated. And not only that. The collapse of “Soviet communism” in the late 1980s and the sweeping neoliberal onslaught of the 1990s produced the suffocating sense that “there is no alternative,” particularly for young people who rejected the “culture” of individualistic consumerism devoid of future and meaning, but could no longer believe in the historical promises of another society, nor even in the possibility of radical revolutionary change.

And then, suddenly, in early 1994, news spread that indigenous communities had risen up in the Mexican state of Chiapas. And that they were not only resisting the neoliberal devastation of “free trade,” but were also militantly claiming “another world” here and now, on a global scale. Moreover, they had already begun to build it in the autonomous regions they gradually established. In this way, they became a reference point for a new transformative politics for the 21st century, oriented towards another form of globalisation: a common “No” to global neoliberal nihilism and many “Yeses” to new worlds of freedom, equality, solidarity and a shared good life across the planet.

Thirty years later, we can offer many and varied assessments of that uprising and of the “anti-globalisation” movement it inaugurated, reviving revolutionary hopes for an “absolute” democracy of the “multitude” and the “commons” on a planet that seemed condemned to an endless spiral of steepening dramatic inequalities, ecological destruction, oligarchic regression, patriarchy and colonialism. It is nonetheless worth pausing on one aspect of these historical movements, not only in order to assess their trajectory, but also to think the future now, at the end of the first quarter of the 21st century.

What is “alter-politics”?

Among other things, the Zapatista uprising and the global justice movement embodied and disseminated a different political Zeitgeist, “another politics” that goes beyond both global neoliberal capitalism and the progressive political traditions –revolutionary and reformist– of the 20th century. A politics attuned to the spirit of our times, committed to the values of equality and freedom for all, but grounded in a different philosophy and practice.

This “other politics” or, also, “alter-politics” in English, and “otra política” in Spanish, has emerged across diverse spatio-temporal contexts and in divergent forms throughout the roughly thirty years following the Zapatista uprising. It partly pre-existed, but in different contexts. The shared political DNA of actions, formations and initiatives as diverse as the contemporary anti-racist movement in North America, the Arab Spring and the “square movements” of 2011 in Greece and Spain, democratic energy cooperatives in Denmark, solidarity schools in Greece in 2025, and the movements of “new municipalism” (or “nuevo municipalismo”) both in Italy and Spain since 2015, can be traced back to a novel historical condition. The global ascendancy of neoliberal capitalism in the 1990s was accompanied by the dramatic devaluation of the historical alternatives represented by revolutionary or reformist parties and vanguards — communist, socialist and, to some extent, anarchist. “Another politics” likewise envisions the egalitarian emancipation of the many and the flourishing of the planet, but through different syntheses and methodologieswhich tend to converge globally due to the global historical conjuncture.

A defining feature of “another politics” in our times is the interweaving of opposition and resistance with propositionand immediate creation. Strong resistance to domination, inequality and injustice in their multiple manifestations –capitalism, economic inequality, ecological destruction, patriarchy, sexism, racism, colonialism, nationalism, discriminations based on ability, age, and so on– does not confine itself to critique, confrontation and negation. It actively constructs, here and now, new and better relations, structures and practices that give concrete form to worlds of shared freedom and well-being by instituting, for instance, forms of self-governance through open general assemblies, by establishing institutions of solidarity-based healthcare and education, and by practising forms of agriculture and animal husbandry that care for the planet and non-human life.

Building new social relations and institutions

“Another politics” does not conceive of radical social transformation as an act that will begin only after the Event of Revolution. It does not believe in revolutionary vanguards that lead the masses. At the same time, it does not constantly defer historical change to a future that will emerge from slow, incremental reforms in the state and the economy. Nor does it confine itself to protest and a politics of demands addressed to the state. Neither does it barricade itself into alternative communities divorced from the rest of society.

It begins, here and now, building new communities of equal freedom and common goods. At the same time, it addresses society at large and seeks to weld together broad social alliances, popular fronts. New social creation (“prefiguration” of other worlds) and new majoritarian hegemony. It inhabits the present world, but does not subdue itself to prevailing structures and logics. It looks towards other, better worlds for the majority. Within and beyond.

In attempting such demanding syntheses, another politics seeks to meet immediate social needs through effective action –such as solidarity-based healthcare and education structures or workers’ cooperatives– and engages also with existing institutions, through pressure, contestation and negotiation aimed at shaping a more favourable terrain for intervention. Yet its foundation and focal point remain the building of the new social relations and institutions we seek — grounded in equality, justice, autonomy, co-decision, solidarity, and care for all. These are the conditions shaping how such practices respond to urgent social needs. And the diffusion of these terms of socio-political life is the vision and the objective that inform everyday practice. Visionary pragmatism.

Aiming at overcoming capitalism, patriarchy, racism and all forms of domination while fostering the emergence of new, plural societies of equality, freedom and care for life –human and non-human– “another politics” thus combines (a) movements of protest and resistance, (b) pressures on established institutions for positive reforms, with (c) the formation, here and now, of the different relations and practices it envisions. It, therefore, displays elements of reformism, everyday pragmatism and institutional representation. However, the centre of gravity in this composition of diverse tactics and strategies of change is “power from below”: the direction of the entire complex process of resistance and transformation by the multitude that deliberates and decides on equal and autonomous terms –the primacy of open general assemblies–, and the construction of new worlds within the old and beyond it. These institutional and relational creations of eco-social emancipation are locally rooted and adapted, yet globally connected, collaborative and solidaristic. Cosmo-localism.

Another ethics and logic

These strategic articulations which are riddled with tensions become possible thanks to the different political logic, ethics and sensibility that underpin “another politics.” Its logic holds that the present world is hegemonized by the forces of capitalism, patriarchy, colonialism, and so on. Yet hegemony does not entail total domination and uniformity. Gaps, contradictions, antagonisms and alternative cultural enclaves within the present ‘system’ make room for the interventions and new social inventions of another politics. At the same time, there can be no certainty as to how interactions between social, natural and technological formations will evolve. Thus, any dogmatism regarding the “best” tactic or strategy for historical change becomes untenable. Openness to different approaches, constructive dialogue, questioning, ongoing reflection and revision, creativity, trial and error, multiple new experiments: this is the alternative logic and ethics that can grapple effectively with complexity, uncertainty and unpredictability, generating broader convergences across differences and tracing new paths for the future within a dark, difficult and highly complex world.

The ethics and logic of openness, plurality and exploration –guided by the principle of equal freedom in common– are intertwined with distinctive affective dispositions and inclinations. Resilience under conditions of deprivation and destruction, militancy in the face of powerful opposing forces, and the persistence and patience required to weave other worlds within the dominant one are nourished and strengthened by feelings of joy in life, solidarity, cooperation and creation. Moments of collective celebration –conviviality– and affirmative moods of joyfulness permeate and sustain the militancy of “another democratic politics,” displacing the psychic orientations of heroism and sacrifice, which often foster submission to individuals and hierarchies, serving cultures of death and messianic redemption. What is at stake here is another conception of the good and another politics of well-being — a non-consumerist form of flourishing that takes joy in life and finds meaning in it here and now, through relationships, cooperation, creation, common struggle, the satisfaction of basic needs, and connection with human and non-human life on the planet.

A spirit of synthesis, inquiry and openness

This other democratic politics is the offshoot of a collective, universal intelligence that has absorbed the lessons of the revolutionary, insurgent and reformist processes of the twentieth century. It is not simply or primarily an adaptation to the conditions of the 21st century, where there is no strong revolutionary movement, nationally or internationally. Undoubtedly, under the shadow of a reactionary, authoritarian neoliberal hegemony, the multiple transformative initiatives that crop up within the gaps, opportunities and contradictions of dominant systems follow the paths of existing possibilities for radical renewal. But they are also desirable. Egalitarian emancipation cannot come “from above.” Dogma and “enlightened” leadership reproduce structures of domination. They do not generate the political and educational conditions for the equal self-government of the many.

Contemporary forms of another democratic politics do not dismiss mass movements, social uprisings or even friendly reformist governments. Quite the contrary. These modes of political action can also contribute decisively to transformation. Another politics is animated by a spirit of synthesis, inquiry and openness, rather than by the logic of one-way paths. Yet the emphasis on the everyday work of social transformation shifts attention to the deeper task of reshaping the core threads of the social fabric — everyday practices, relations and perceptions. And it continues this work over time, without being determined by the fluctuations of social mobilizations or the fate of reformist governments that succumb to neoliberal hegemonic forces, they are defeated or they change course.

A locally rooted politics

How can we put into practice this “other politics” of historical renewal at the local level? And what do we know from other places where it is already being implemented and flourishing? 

While they are often interconnected across multiple geographical scales, democratic practices of alter-politics are always locally grounded and adapted. They primarily aim at the reconstruction or the creation of specific social relations and structures in particular places and times, across the various fields of the social: health (e.g. solidarity-based healthcare and care structures, self-organised mental health groups), education (e.g. solidarity-based and democratic schools, initiatives for the production of open educational materials, etc.), economy (e.g. new democratic workers’ cooperatives, platform cooperatives, renewable energy cooperatives, fair trade networks, community-supported agriculture, etc.), technology (e.g. communities of open/free software and open shared technologies), culture (e.g. open self-organised spaces of cultural production, artists’ collectives, etc.), politics (e.g. citizens’ formations with anti-hierarchical, open structures), transport (e.g. groups and practices of non-profit vehicle sharing, etc.), water (e.g. self-organised infrastructures for the local distribution of water as a common good), and so on. The list remains open. Its limits are the unknown limits of social imagination and institutional invention.

These diverse, real-world expressions of another politics arise from social self-activity. Therefore, a fundamental precondition for their rise is the existence of collectives in different places that are generally inspired by the logic, the strategy and the vision of alter-politics, and take the initiative to put it into practice, in the particular ways decided and devised by different collectives in response to specific social needs and their own distinct aspirations. The invitation to activate collective imagination –which cannot be predetermined on paper– should be strengthened through experience, networking, communication efforts and, ultimately, collaboration with many other existing initiatives, both near and far in each locality.

Due to its local rootedness and the dynamics of proximity –in urban neighbourhoods and in medium-sized and smaller municipalities– local government constitutes a privileged field for shaping institutional policies that enhance, support and cultivate the capacities for action of another politics. A key condition for any meaningful support by local authorities is that it lets autonomous collectives and networks to lead the way. Otherwise, it ceases to be “another politics” and assumes the all-too-familiar forms of clientelism, manipulation and hierarchical top-down structures.

A rich legacy of local experiences

Every local collective action and institutional design can draw on a rich legacy of experiences from around the world, and closer to us, in Southern Europe. From 2014-15 onwards, the politics of “new municipalism” in cities across Spain embraced “another politics” by establishing neighbourhood councils, funding schemes for new democratic cooperatives, and creating partnerships between public authorities and democratic cooperatives for the provision of municipal services. In Italy, enabling institutions were developed through the “Bologna Regulation” on the commons, which has been adopted from 2014 onwards by more than 200 cities and grants to groups of citizens communities’ access to gardens, parks, facilities, school spaces and more, for pursuing open collective activities and well-being on democratic terms. In Naples, groups of artists, legal practitioners and active citizens independently drafted regulations for the use of municipal spaces and buildings, based on principles of openness, participation and co-construction, in the fields of culture, political organisation and support for migrants, among others.

Every local initiative can advance democratic transformation here and now through the eco-social philosophy of “another politics,” provided that it engages in the work of inventing or reshaping specific social practices and relations, it opens itself to broader society, and it connects with cognate processes locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. The challenges and the time and effort required are considerable, and at times they may seem insurmountable. Yet the paths we trail by moving in this direction are shared journeys of life –of joy, restoration, resistance, creation, resilient hope and practical wisdom– in a dark, complex and foreboding present. The desires of the generations of the 1970s, the 1980s and the 1990s, in Greece and elsewhere, may have been thwarted by the prevalent regimes of expectation, prosperity or even radical change. Yet along the way we have discovered other, beautiful, productive, more democratic and freer pathways that open up new horizons. And that is far from insignificant. It provides oxygen in a suffocating atmosphere.

Indicative key bibliography

On democratic alter-politics

• Aguirre Rojas, C. A. (2009) Mandar obedeciendo. Las lecciones polίticas del neozapatismo mexicano. Rosario: Prohistoria Ediciones
• Coles, R. (2016) Visionary Pragmatism: Radical and Ecological Democracy in Neoliberal Times. Durham, NC: Duke University Press
• Dixon, C. (2014) Another Politics. Talking across today’s transformative movements. Oakland: University of California Press
• Gibson-Graham, JK (2006) A Postcapitalist Politics. Λονδίνο και Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press
• Giovannopoulos, Ch. and Mitropoulos, D. (eds.) (2011) Democracy under Construction. Athens: A/Synecheia [Γιοβαννόπουλος,  Χ.  καιΜητρόπουλος,  Δ. (επιμ.) (2011) Δημοκρατία under construction. Αθήνα: A/Συνέχεια]
• Hage, G. (2015) Alter-Politics. Critical Anthropology and the Radical Imagination. Carlton, Victoria: Melbourne University Press
• Hardt, M. and Negri, A. (2009) Commonwealth. Cambridge (Mass.): Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
• Wright, E. O. (2012) Real Utopias in and beyond Capitalism, Athens: N. Poulantzas Institute [Wright, E. O. (2012) Πραγματικές ουτοπίες στον καπιταλισμό και πέρα από αυτόν, Αθήνα: Ινστιτούτο Ν. Πουλαντζάς], https://www.openbook.gr/pragmatikes-oytopies-ston-kapitalismo-kai-pera-apo-ayton-2/ 

On “new municipalism” and alter- politics 

• City of Bologna (2014). Regulation on Collaboration between Citizens and the City for the Care and Regeneration of Urban Commons [Πόλη της Μπολώνια (2014). Κανονισμός της Μπολόνια για τη συνεργασία ανάμεσα στους πολίτες και την πόλη για τη φροντίδα και την αναγέννηση των αστικών κοινών], http://comunita.comune.bologna.it/sites/comunita/files/allegati_blog/bolognaregulation.pdf
• Collective (2019). Fearless Cities: A Guide to the Global Municipalist Movement, authors: Barcelona En Comú, Debbie Bookchin, Ada Colau et al., New Internationalist: Oxford, https://fearlesscities.com/sites/default/files/fearless_book_en.pdf
• Kioupkiolis, A. (2021). New municipalism as a counter-hegemonic project for radicalizing democracy. Soft Power, 81-100
• Kioupkiolis, A. (2022). Transforming city government: Italian variants on urban commoning. Administrative Theory & Praxis, 44(3), 186-204