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“The Winter Palace” in Malmö : Subversive Activists, Welfare-State Anarchists, or Just a Slightly Radical Cultural Association?

Egefur, Fredrik LU (2023) In Palgrave Studies in the History of Social Movements p.111-135
Abstract

The Winter Palace (TWP) was a venue and association within the left-wing alternative environment in Malmö between 1987–1989, with premises in the port area. The venue ran a pub and café; arranged concerts, public lectures, and movie screenings; broadcasted radio; published fanzines; and more. The idea was that the proceeds would be used to build a Southern Swedish center for anarchist propaganda and political struggle. However, this idea did not fully realize, and the extensive mix of cultural activities is probably better remembered today than the more explicit political activities that were carried out. In the early 1990s, the far-left environment in Sweden changed. A more autonomous (and violent) group led a long and controversial... (More)

The Winter Palace (TWP) was a venue and association within the left-wing alternative environment in Malmö between 1987–1989, with premises in the port area. The venue ran a pub and café; arranged concerts, public lectures, and movie screenings; broadcasted radio; published fanzines; and more. The idea was that the proceeds would be used to build a Southern Swedish center for anarchist propaganda and political struggle. However, this idea did not fully realize, and the extensive mix of cultural activities is probably better remembered today than the more explicit political activities that were carried out. In the early 1990s, the far-left environment in Sweden changed. A more autonomous (and violent) group led a long and controversial squatting event in Malmö, resulting in the biggest operation to date by Swedish police against this kind of activity. Apparently, a generational shift had taken place and the methods used by TWP were criticized for not being political enough. This article follows the events at TWP during its active period and draws several conclusions from the similar squatting movement in western Europe at the same time. It also discusses if there was a specific way of Swedish alternative left-wing actions in the 1980s.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Anarchism, Autonomous scene, Squatting, Welfare-state anarchism
host publication
Palgrave Studies in the History of Social Movements
series title
Palgrave Studies in the History of Social Movements
pages
25 pages
publisher
Palgrave Macmillan
external identifiers
  • scopus:85158080540
ISSN
2634-6567
2634-6559
DOI
10.1007/978-3-031-27370-4_5
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
cf88c70d-9462-4632-b762-8f0276b28f69
date added to LUP
2023-08-16 11:17:51
date last changed
2024-06-15 05:55:02
@inbook{cf88c70d-9462-4632-b762-8f0276b28f69,
  abstract     = {{<p>The Winter Palace (TWP) was a venue and association within the left-wing alternative environment in Malmö between 1987–1989, with premises in the port area. The venue ran a pub and café; arranged concerts, public lectures, and movie screenings; broadcasted radio; published fanzines; and more. The idea was that the proceeds would be used to build a Southern Swedish center for anarchist propaganda and political struggle. However, this idea did not fully realize, and the extensive mix of cultural activities is probably better remembered today than the more explicit political activities that were carried out. In the early 1990s, the far-left environment in Sweden changed. A more autonomous (and violent) group led a long and controversial squatting event in Malmö, resulting in the biggest operation to date by Swedish police against this kind of activity. Apparently, a generational shift had taken place and the methods used by TWP were criticized for not being political enough. This article follows the events at TWP during its active period and draws several conclusions from the similar squatting movement in western Europe at the same time. It also discusses if there was a specific way of Swedish alternative left-wing actions in the 1980s.</p>}},
  author       = {{Egefur, Fredrik}},
  booktitle    = {{Palgrave Studies in the History of Social Movements}},
  issn         = {{2634-6567}},
  keywords     = {{Anarchism; Autonomous scene; Squatting; Welfare-state anarchism}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{111--135}},
  publisher    = {{Palgrave Macmillan}},
  series       = {{Palgrave Studies in the History of Social Movements}},
  title        = {{“The Winter Palace” in Malmö : Subversive Activists, Welfare-State Anarchists, or Just a Slightly Radical Cultural Association?}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27370-4_5}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/978-3-031-27370-4_5}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}