The Spatial Limits of Political Community - Spaces of Peace, Security and Development by Ari Jerrems Hardcover

Book Synopsis

Through analysis of political events in Madrid, Spain, this book explores what the figure of the neighbour can tell us about the current political conjuncture and interrogates the possibilities it offers for imagining new, and more just, forms of political community.

The book traces the emergence of contemporary forms of neighbouring through social formations and moments of crisis in Spain. Its analysis provides insights into how neighbouring has been envisaged and contested. It reveals both changing conceptions of space and community while underlining how previous conflicts reverberate in the physical landscape, ideas and memories which inform contemporary political interventions.

Review Quotes

'In this insightful book, Ari Jerrems explores how the ambiguous and contested figure of the neighbour shapes political space in urban Madrid. Theorising neighbouring as a concrete relation that enables a reimagination of politics and space, Jerrems importantly uncovers a range of "makeshift" forms of solidarity through which relations between citizens and migrants are reconfigured amidst "crisis".' Vicki Squire, The University of Warwick

'Tangling with the figure of the neighbour, this beautifully written book redefines political community by showing how borders both bring us together and pull us apart.' Brett Neilson, Western Sydney University

'This engaging book develops the politics of neighbouring as its research method and autogestion as its political standpoint. By exploring a Madrid neighbourhood during the financial crisis, it shows how the politics of neighbouring can decode current global political crises and how autogestion can counteract them. This book serves as an inspiration for scholars seeking to break free from disciplinary neighbouring.' Engin Isin, Queen Mary University of London

About the Author

Ari Jerrems is Lecturer of International Relations and Political Science at the University of Western Australia.