Anarchy in Athens: An ethnography of militancy, emotions and violence

by Nicholas Apoifis, Uri Gordon (Series Editor)

The battles between Athenian anarchists and the Greek state have received a high degree of media attention recently. But away from the intensity of street protests militants implement anarchist practices whose outcomes are far less visible. They feed the hungry and poor, protect migrants from fascist beatings and try to carve out an autonomous political, social and cultural space. Activists within the movement share politics centred on hostility to the capitalist state and all forms of domination, hierarchy and discrimination. Based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork among Athenian anarchists and anti-authoritarians, Anarchy in Athens unravels the internal complexities within this milieu and provides a better understanding of the forces that give the space its shape.

Genres: Politics, Greece

208 pages, Hardcover

First published October 21, 2016

About the author

Associate Dean (International) for the Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture (ADA) at UNSW Sydney.

Prior to this he was the Director of Education Innovation & Engagement for ADA and in 2021 was awarded UNSW's prestigious Vice-Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence (General Category). He is also a Board member and Director of Women's High Performance Football (National Premier League) at the UNSW Football Club. In 2023, he received the UNSW Sports Volunteer of the Year award for his services to the UNSW sporting community and for his work in gender equality in sport.

As a researcher in the School of Politics & International Relations at UNSW, he works with the application and development of settler colonial theories, sport for social change theories, social movement theories and radical qualitative research practices. Dr Apoifis is the co-founder of Coaching Unlimited, an initiative that provides sport specific coaching accreditation and research based health promotion workshops to support Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander coaches, and the co-author of the 2020 manuscript Aboriginal Sports Coaches, Community, and Culture (Springer).

His 2017 manuscript Anarchy in Athens (Manchester University Press) was awarded the UNSW Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences Dean's Award for Best Monograph for an Early Career Researcher, 2017. The book was based on unprecedented access to the world’s most militant anarchist movement and involved highly engaged ethnographic fieldwork, referred to as Militant Ethnography. An aspect of this methodological approach has Dr Apoifis disseminating his research insights and findings amongst international activist networks and anti-fascist and anti-authoritarian collectives.