Struggles against exclusion in Exarcheia Square, Athens

Battles forSocio‐SpatialHegemony in the Exilic Space of Exarcheia

“…There have been a number of iterations of groups that carry out these sweeps. Pettas (2018) indicates that a certain portion of those initially involved in the People's Assembly lobbied for direct actions that did not exclude violent confrontation, while Dalakoglou and Poulimenakos (2018) specifically identify this as emanating from K-Vox, who initiated neighbourhood patrols. In 2016, the main (and most controversial) group that would carry out these actions formed, known colloquially (and fittingly) as the Security Team (Security Team 2016).…”

“…In 2014, the continued existence of perceived “cannibalistic” behaviour led to the creation of another, more stable assembly, the above‐quoted People’s Assembly of Exarcheia. This assembly initially consisted of a diverse group of individuals that displayed both strategic and ideological differences (Dalakoglou and Poulimenakos 2018:179; Pettas 2018:163), but out of which emerged the primary tactical framework for neighbourhood intervention in the years to follow (to be discussed below). Nonetheless, in 2016, yet another amalgamated assembly, the Exarcheia Reappropriation Assembly, was formed, initially consisting of roughly a dozen groups from within Exarcheia and beyond, including the People’s Assembly, Parko Navarino, and K‐Vox, a squatted social centre on Exarcheia Square spearheaded by the anarchist group Rouvikonas.…”

“…This framework consisted of two distinct categories of intervention. The first category consisted of the organising of numerous events in the square aimed at the production of collective joy, attempting to provide inclusivity for families and children, but also activities that bring bodies into the square for concerts, movie screenings, book bazaars, farmers’ markets, and so forth (Exarcheia Reappropriation Assembly 2016a, 2016b, 2016c, 2016f; Pettas 2018). These events temporarily push out perceived “social cannibals”, specifically drug dealers and those who simply utilise it as a space to hang out.…”

“…The neighbourhood of Exarcheia in Athens, Greece has long been recognised as the socio‐spatial epicentre of the Athenian anarchist and anti‐authoritarian milieu wherein several self‐organised spaces, groups, and initiatives have thrived (Apoifis 2016; Cappuccini 2018; Dalakoglou and Vradis 2011; Ioannou 2016; Kitis 2015; Kritidis 2014; Pettas 2018; Schwartz et al. 2010; Vradis 2012).…”

“…The neighbourhood of Exarcheia in Athens, Greece has long been recognised as the socio-spatial epicentre of the Athenian anarchist and anti-authoritarian milieu wherein several self-organised spaces, groups, and initiatives have thrived (Apoifis 2016;Cappuccini 2018;Dalakoglou and Vradis 2011;Ioannou 2016;Kitis 2015;Kritidis 2014;Pettas 2018;Schwartz et al 2010;Vradis 2012). However, none have tried to contextualise the neighbourhood in a broader sense as an example of a common phenomenon that has persisted throughout the history of the capitalist world-system, that is, as a perennial manifestation of autonomous organising referred to in this paper as exilic space.…”