Street Rebellion

Description

In a style that bridges the divide between academia and activism, Street Rebellion develops a broader and more accurate understanding of how people struggle for liberation. 

We are living in a time of uprisings that routinely involve physical confrontation—burning vehicles, barricades, vandalism, and scuffles between protesters and authorities. Yet the Left has struggled to incorporate rioting into theories of change, remaining stuck in recurring debates over violence and nonviolence. Civil resistance studies have popularized the term “strategic nonviolence,” spreading the notion that violence is wholly counter-productive. Street Rebellion scrutinizes recent research and develops a broad and grounded portrait of the relationship between strategic nonviolence and rioting in the struggle for liberation.

Benjamin S. Case is an organizer, educator, and writer. He is a researcher at the Center for Work and Democracy and a fellow at the Resistance Studies Initiative. Case is based in Pittsburgh, PA.

Praise for Street Rebellion

“For far too long the violence/nonviolence debate has been mired in abstract pontification and muddled terminology. Finally, we have Ben Case’s incisive and meticulously researched analysis that captures the contextual utility of violent forms of resistance. Street Rebellion is truly a must-read for every activist and social movement scholar.”
—Mark Bray, author of Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook

“Street Rebellion strikes a precise blow to the current accepted dichotomy between violence and nonviolence and flips the entire field of civil resistance on its head. Ben Case has eloquently returned riots to their rightful place in the history of modern social movements.”
—Akin Olla, contributing writer at The Guardian and host of This is The Revolution Podcast

—Shane Burley, author of Why We Fight and Fascism Today

“In this significant contribution, Case shows how riots make a difference. Essential reading for anyone who thought that the violence-non-violence debate was over.”
—Lesley Wood, author of Crisis and Control: The Militarization of Protest Policing

AK Press 2022, 280 pages