ABSTRACT
After a quick review of the history of the Black Blocs, the essay looks at the issue of radicalism. The radicalism of the Black Blocs depends on the meanings attached to ‘radical’ and ‘violence’. Although their opponents label the Black Blocs radical, many blackblockers portray themselves as reasonable citizens driven by legitimate outrage. The Black Blocs may also be seen as radical by their relations to countercultural images of radicalism, but also because they embody a prefigurative antiauthoritarian radical political project.
