This essay is an excerpt from material sourced from the Melbourne-based Autonomous Web of Liberation email list. It was written anonymously, 'as the result of long conversations with many different people. Although many of the issues discussed are surely relevant for other continents too, the stress has been placed on Western Europe since this is the part of the world that the people who participated in the discussions know relatively well. "We", in the context of this chapter, thus means the people actively involved in autonomous anti-capitalist resistance in Western Europe.'

One problem we face, related to issues of identity and to classic understandings of 'unity' and 'resistance', is the strong inclination to react against 'globalisation' with nationalism (sometimes combined with religious fundamentalism).

'Solutions' like these, tailored for specific and select groups of people at the expense of others, miss the most important positive contribution that 'globalisation' has to offer to a genuine process of positive social change. This is the fact that today, more than ever, dreams of international solidarity and mutual support are within our reach. Such reactions have already engendered aberrations and tragedies in Europe; see the ascendence of a fascist party to the Austrian government and the war in former Yugoslavia (which was engineered with the active participation of Western countries).

But this is only the beginning of what could become a frightening political evolution for Europe, and possibly the rest of the world, if we allow the destructive potential of nationalist reactions to unfold without challenge. And one of the main ways to challenge these reactions is to show to people who look at the future with anxiety that there are other ways out, other alternatives based on positive values.

This problem is particularly serious and relevant for us now because the mainstream media is strengthening nationalist reactions through the way in which it represents our mobilisations. The mainstream media usually give the impression that all we are unhappy with is globalisation, neoliberalism and transnational corporations—but that we could not object to capitalism if we as 'citizens' could convince the politicians to 'control' its expansion. This might happen by making sure that capitalism remained within national borders, or through global redistribution and control mechanisms like the Tobin tax.

Unfortunately, this is the stand of many reformist non-government organisations and so-called 'intellectuals' who have no connections to any grassroots mobilisation processes in Europe (excepting in France, where things are a bit different than in most other Western European countries). NGO's and intellectuals are always looking for opportunities to portray themselves in the media as 'intellectual leaders' or 'speakers' of 'the movement'.

However, the instrumentalisation of our mobilisations by reformist agendas is also the responsibility of the anticapitalist grassroots groups that have done most of the work for these actions—because we have not done very well at making our perspectives more broadly known. Our careful and sceptical approach to media is a good thing in itself, due to the very destructive role that media can play for grassroots movements. But we need to look for ways to make our message clear and loud for all the people who will not have any direct interaction with us or access our autonomous and independent media.

Similarly, nationalist organisations, which were almost absent from the early stages of this process of autonomous anti-capitalist resistance, are becoming increasingly interested in our actions. The latest example is the plan by Catalonian nationalists to organise a meeting of 'nations without state' in Barcelona, to protest against the Development Conference of the World Bank in that city, in June 2001. [Editor's note: The World Bank meeting was later cancelled and shifted online.]

The main reason for nationalist movements' sudden interest in global institutions, when traditionally their field of action has been resistance against the states where they are located, is public sympathy enjoyed by the so-called 'anti-globalisation movement'. Of course, they see an enormous potential to gain political space by projecting nationalism as a solution to 'globalisation'. Those of us who wouldn't like to see our work become political ammunition for nationalism should do something about it very soon, because otherwise it might be too late when we react.

Challenges ahead

In addition to these and other debates, many other challenges will have to be overcome before the processes of creation of free, autonomous and self-sustained spaces in Western Europe can become revolutionary.

First of all, we need to work hard on our communication skills, in order to come to collective understandings, at different levels, of what we want and how we want to get there. This is not a small challenge, as the last three years have amply demonstrated. We should also experiment and improve ways to eliminate all forms and systems of oppression, domination and discrimination within our own circles. Simultaneously we need to uphold the right to difference and take precautions against the formation of dominant collective identities. We need to deal with conflict and dissent constructively, so that they enrich what we do, instead of dividing us.

Furthermore, a lot more knowledge and skill-sharing will be needed throughout the process, both on the level of analysis (through seminars, exchange with people from other parts of the world, etc) in exchanging tools for organisational and economic self-reliance (communication technologies, renewable energy, ecological agriculture, languages, etc).
This needs to be accomplished while avoiding the establishment of leaderships and hierarchies due to specialisation.

Finally, we need to continue the brilliant efforts to develop more efficient and imaginative ways of transmitting our message to the rest of society without depending on the mainstream media.