Discovering Democracy in the Work of Frantz Fanon

Mark Purcell is Professor in the Department of Urban Design & Planning at the University of Washington, USA, where he researches urban politics, political theory, social movements, and democracy. He is the author of The Deep-Down Delight of Democracy (2013), Recapturing Democracy (2008) and numerous articles in journals including International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Urban Geography, Environment and Planning, Antipode, Urban Studies, Political Geography, Review of International Political Economy, and Planning Theory.

• Table of ContentsEverything is Possible Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: My Project of Democracy Demos and Kratos Hobbes and the modern State Locke and his liberals Other artificial people The Project of Democracy Deleuze, Guattari, and Desire Democratic Desire and Democratic Practice The Desire to Manage Our Affairs Ourselves The Desire to Create It's Just Us (and Our Desire) Chapter 3: A Disempowered Left The Critical Left Desires Destruction Marx (and Marxism)Hegel Plato The Critical Left (Maybe) Desires Self-Management Too Nietzsche’s Diagnosis Chapter 4: The Major Fanon Theoretical Interlude: Major and Minor A Very Brief Biography Fanon’s Desire to Destroy Anti-colonialism The Wretched of the Earth (Sartre's Preface and Fanon's Chapter 1) The Rest of The Wretched of the Earth Beyond The Wretched of the Earth Fanon’s Desire to Destroy Colonialism in Context Psychiatric practice Anti-racism Psychiatric work Black Skin, White Masks Fanon’s Encounter with Négritude Chapter 5: The Minor Fanon Fanon’s Desire to Create The Desire to Create in the Work on Colonialism The Desire to Create in the Work on Psychotherapy The Desire to Create in the Work on RaceChapter 6: Conclusion Figure 1: The Frontispiece of Leviathan Works Cited Index

“This short but powerful book short book makes an excellent and useful contribution to Fanon studies and to radical democracy studies. It is a timely and accessible book that will makes clear the importance of Fanon’s ideas and practices for the world today.”-- Nigel Gibson, Professor of Africana thought, Postcolonialism and African Studies, Emerson College, and author of Fanon: The Postcolonial Imagination (2003)“This book adds new perspectives on the relevance of democracy in Fanon’s work and the relationship between the “destructive” and “democratic” Fanon. It also goes beyond mainstream scholarship on liberal democracy by highlighting radical understandings of democracy “as a way of life in which people retain their power and use it to directly manage their affairs themselves” in Fanon’s revolutionary writings and actions. A key feature of this book is its emphasis on how Fanon’s ideas and practices can contribute to reinventing democracy for the benefit of all people around the world, especially the damned, unheard, and colonized of the earth – a message that will be crucial for us to hear in today’s climate.”-- Sean Taudin Chabot, Professor of Sociology, Eastern Washington University