(voices of resistance from occupied london)

This summer we ticked off yet another destination in the long, long list of places we have at times chosen to visit together with the sovereign: They used to be there to make plans and decisions (or so they claimed), now they are there to merely fulfill the needs of the spectacle. We used to be there to try and block them from making these decisions. We are still there, following them wherever they go. But what are we there for now?

As much as it might sound like a cliche, this year’s anti-G8 mobilisation in Rostock, Germany was a crucial one for many of us. It offered much hope for the recovery of a movement that has admittedly seen a downfall in past years (did it go downfall post-9/11? Perhaps so).

Rostock brought plenty of hope: Unlike Scotland two years ago, the set mission (to block off access to the meeting space of the sovereign) was accomplished, if only temporarily. A victory?

It’s time to talk... and there’s a lot to say. It would be unreal not to acknowledge that, from its very beginning, this journey was based around the notion of the spectacle. The real terrain of struggle between us and the sovereign is far, far away from whatever red zone; the latter come as means to symbolise everyday struggles, to draw lines and distinguish sides. Perhaps more than anywhere else, the red zone is where “they” are separated from “us” so clearly while in such close proximity. Like some German comrades point out elsewhere in this G8-special, the Rostock riots (like most riots)

“...were one of the few signals against the meeting of the self-declared rulers of the world that could not be co-opted or re-interpreted”.

We are thrilled to see that a lively discussion has opened around this summer’s mobilisation and our future tactics. No article published here is fully endorsed by the editorial collective; how could it. There is no party line to follow here and our differences are thankfully many: Perhaps our German autonomist comrades (page 38) find it useful to focus on “more participatory” militancy and how this can be achieved. Others might see this as a contradiction in terms, if only in the sense that it surrenders to the logic of the spectacle, and blurs its own edges:

These are the few moments when we break out of legitimacy’s borders - so how can such action ever be legitimate? Should it be? Some other visitors to Berlin, coming from the European South seem to feel that this summer’s game was lost many summers ago, when the Autonomen succumbed to housing legality (page 34). Burn the movement’s greenhouses today and you will be soon gasping for air.

This small collection of illustrations and texts written on Rostock is hopefully nothing but the beginning. The dialogue needs to continue and many want it to: Perhaps it’s finally time for a summit of our own (page 44). This was a good summer for our movement; let’s make sure that what comes next is spring._