Ebook: First Measures of the Coming Insurrection

The past few years have seen previously unthinkable change in North Africa and the Middle East. In mere days, protest movements were able to topple supposedly entrenched regimes in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and Yemen, a testament to the power of the people and the fundamental vulnerability of corrupt governments. With First Measures of the Coming Insurrection, Eric Hazan and Kamo push the lessons of the Arab Spring to their next logical step: the eventual fall of failing regimes throughout the West. As multiple crises chip away at the democratic consensus, what should people do to prepare for the coming upheaval? Point by point, Hazan and Kamo explore what must be done in the aftermath of a regime’s collapse, how to prevent established powers from re-taking control, how to reorganize society without central authority, and how to build governance according to people’s needs. Breaking from those who would envision a democratic transition” and the classical communist idea of a transition period,” they instead offer guidance for quick, effective action and organization in a time of crisis.

We have witnessed a beginning, the birth of a new age of revolt and upheaval. In North Africa and the Middle East it took the people a matter of days to topple what were supposedly entrenched regimes. Now, to the west, multiple crises are etching away at a ‘democratic consensus’ that has, since the 1970s, plagued and suppressed any sparks of revolutionary potential. It is time to prepare for the coming insurrection. In this bold and beautifully written book, Eric Hazan and Kamo provide a short account of what is to be done in the aftermath of a regime’s demise: how to prevent any power from restoring itself and how to reorganize society without a central authority and according to the people’s needs. They argue that neither a leadership reshuffle, in the guise of constitutional progress, nor a transition period between a capitalist social order and a communist horizon will do. First Measures of the Coming Insurrection is more than the voice of a new generation of revolutionaries; it is the manual for the coming global revolution.

"This has been a period of many insurrections - from the Arab Spring to the Occupy movements in Greece, Spain and the US - but not of revolutions. Why? First Measures of the Coming Insurrection attempts to answer this vital question by soberly examining the logical space between insurrection and revolution and what it takes to traverse it. It is a serious reflection on what constitutes revolution that is bound to attract much attention." George Caffentzis

"In these days of endless crisis and recurring revolt, Hazan and Kamo provide an exhilarating vision of the insurrectionary upheaval that lies ahead - and the steps that can be taken to ensure the creation of the irreversible. Combative, imaginative and exceedingly timely, First Measures of the Coming Insurrection will stand out as a key reference for the post-2011 generation of activists." Jerome Roos