The concept of anarchy is often presented as a recipe for pure disorder. The Anarchist Turn brings together innovative and fresh perspectives on anarchism to argue that in fact it represents a form of collective, truly democratic social organisation.

The book shows how in the last decade the negative caricature of anarchy has begun to crack. Globalisation and the social movements it spawned have proved what anarchists have long been advocating: an anarchical order is not just desirable, but also feasible.

The contributors, including leading anarchist and critical theorists, argue that with the failure of both free markets and state socialism the time has come for an 'anarchist turn' in political philosophy. In doing so they relate the anarchist hypothesis to a range of other disciplines such as politics, anthropology, economics, history and sociology.

Jacob Blumenfeld is a researcher in Philosophy at the New School for Social Research, New York. He has taught at various schools in the City University of New York.

Chiara Bottici teaches Philosophy at the New School for Social Research, New York. Her recent publications include A Philosophy of Political Myth (2010) and Men and States (2009). She is editor of The Politics of Imagination (2011) and co-author of Imagining Europe: Myth, Memory, and Identity (2012) and The Myth of the Clash between Civilizations (2010).

Simon Critchley teaches Philosophy at the New School for Social Research, New York. He is the author of many books including The Faith of the Faithless (2012), Impossible Objects (2011), The Book of Dead Philosophers (2008) and Infinitely Demanding (2007).