The PhD project explores emotions and affective bonds within internationalist and eco-feminist movements and to what extent this relates to a new form of intersectional, prefigurative practice of movement-building. As such, it interrogates how we can move from an isolated narrative of identities towards a political struggle, taking into account the complexities of interlocking systems of oppression. Internationalist and eco-feminist movements spearhead intersectional thinking as they centre revolutionary love, a more-than-romantic feeling of relation based on a common vision for liberation. This ‘affective internationalism’ is based on collective healing and feeling each other’s pain in a way that considers hierarchies of solidarity and emotional communication with non-human ecosystems. In this context, the thesis advocates for a deeper understanding of the interconnected emotions of love and anger as transformative tools against systemic violence and capitalist alienation. Through long-term ethnographic fieldwork and participatory methods, the project looks at the possibilities and challenges of building affective bonds within and across movements. Here, emotions between activists and their networks build the groundwork for exploring the larger process of building a movement for liberation from imperialist capitalism.
About Franca Marquardt: https://postgrowth-lab.uvigo.es/people/franca-marquardt/