Reading Gramsci

In this bold and innovative book, Massimo Modonesi weaves together theory and political practice by relating the concepts of subalternity, antagonism and autonomy to contemporary movements in Latin America and elsewhere. In a sophisticated account, Modonesi reconstructs the debates between Marxist authors and schools of thought in order to sketch out informed strategies of resistance. He reviews the works of Gramsci, Negri, Castoriadis and Lefort, and engages with the arguments made by E. P. Thompson, Spivak, Laclau and Mouffe. Subalternity, Antagonism, Autonomy firmly roots key theoretical arguments from a range of critical thinkers within specific political movements in order to recover these concepts as analytical instruments which can help to guide contemporary struggles.

Solidarity without Borders reads the micropolitics of migrants as political actors within a Gramscian context by observing alliances between migrants and trade unions, worker organisations and other radical constituencies. This book argues for Gramsci's theory of the formation of a transnational counter-hegemonic bloc, by studying methods of modern resistance and new forms of solidarity between these forming groups. With case studies of the Gezi Park Protests in Turkey, social movements in Ireland and the Lampedusa in Hamburg, the authors consider how diverse new migrant political actors, newfound cross-border alliances, and spaces of resistance shape the political dimensions of protest. As migrants are often deprived of agency and placed outside the mobilisations taking place across Europe, Solidarity without Borders demonstrates how new solidarity relations are shaped and how these may construct a new common ground for struggle and for developing political alternatives.

Language and Hegemony in Gramsci introduces Gramsci's social and political thought through his writings on language. It shows how his focus on language illuminates his central ideas such as hegemony, organic and traditional intellectuals, passive revolution, civil society and subalternity. Peter Ives explores Gramsci's concern with language from his university studies in linguistics to his last prison notebook. Hegemony has been seen as Gramsci's most important contribution, but without knowledge of its linguistic roots, it is often misunderstood. This book places Gramsci's ideas within the linguistically influenced social theory of the twentieth century. It summarizes some of the major ideas of Ferdinand de Saussure, Ludwig Wittgenstein, language philosophy and post-structuralism in relation to Gramsci's position. By paying great attention to the linguistic underpinnings of Gramsci's Marxism, Language and Hegemony in Gramsci shows how his theorization of power, language and politics address issues raised by post-modernism and the work of Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, Chantal Mouffe, and Ernesto Laclau.

'Powerful and clarifying ... The book's combination of careful argument and cogent illustration will make this a landmark volume in Gramscian studies.' John Agnew, University of California, Los Angeles, and author of Hegemony: The New Shape of Global Power 'Morton draws upon an impressive knowledge of Gramsci's writings to provide new insights into key processes in today's world order.' Anne Showstack Sassoon, Emeritus Professor, Kingston University and Visiting Professor, Birkbeck College, University of London Unravelling Gramsci makes extensive use of Antonio Gramsci's writings, including his much-overlooked pre-prison journalism, prison letters, as well as his prison notebooks, to provide a fresh approach to understanding his contemporary relevance in the current neoliberal world order. Adam Morton examines in detail the themes of hegemony, passive revolution and uneven development to provide a useful way of analysing the contemporary global political economy, the project of neoliberalism, processes of state formation, and practices of resistance. The book explores the theoretical and practical limitations of how Gramsci's ideas can be used today, offering a broad insight into state formation and the international factors shaping hegemony within a capitalist framework.