S Cobarrubias- Geographies by the Multitude_ACME_July 10-2006 (1)

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Geographies by the Multitude

The Cartography ofBureau dEtudes

Sebastian CobarrubiasUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

[email protected]

Prelude:

We must now, bein to understand our lobal state of war and its development

throuh research into the enealoy of social and political movements ofresistance. !his will lead us eventually toward a new vision of our world and alsoan understandin of the sub"ectivities capable of creatin a new world.#Hardt and Neri, $%%&, '()

!o understand this power of the multitude better we need first to investiate some of its contemporary e*pressions. #Hardt and Neri, $%%&, $'&)

Hardt and Neri allow the spirit of the above cited phrases to uide their

impressive wor+ throuhoutMultitude. !hey reflect upon many e*amples of collectivestrule as they trace an outline of this potential body called the multitude. !his essay

see+s to continue the practice of basin ones theori-in upon social movement activity

by enain with the wor+ of an artactivist collective from Strasbour/rance called

Bureau dEtudesthat is producin its own analyses of the restructurin of the lobal

economy as well as tryin to e*plore potential forms of resistance.

0n November $%%$, durin the first 1uropean Social /orum in /lorence 0taly,

Bureau dEtudesdistributed copies of a map they had produced called 21uropean Norms

of World Construction. !he map had three layers that included institutional lin+s

between the 1uropean commission, trade leislation and the ban+in industry, union

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mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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federations and N45s, and forms of social resistance #riots, clandestine orani-ation,

s6uattin). Within the year, this map was circulatin amonst s6uatters movements in

7arcelona, bein written about by art activists in 8ondon, and bein shipped to Chicao

where roups were inspired by these curious new maps to pursue the idea of map

ma+in.

!his collective is not only producin tools for use in mass mobili-ations. !heir

wor+ is also enain some of the newest tends in both9 3) social theory and political

philosophy: as well as $) cuttin ede critical cartoraphic theory. 71, as part of abroader activist mappin wave, relates in different ways to these two bodies of theoretical

wor+ includin wor+in independently on parallel concepts, and respondin to some of

their calls. 0n this paper, 0 will focus onMultitudeand the common resonances thatBE

shares with many of the ideas that Hardt and Neri present in that wor+, particularly

some of their analyses of the constitutions of current forms of lobal power, the criti6ue

of representation, and the search for new forms of resistance and democracy. 0n reards

to cartoraphic theory, 0 will address some of the e*istin alternative mappin efforts in

4eoraphy as well as calls, from within and without 4eoraphy, for a reinviorated

critical cartoraphy. !hrouh usin the tool of activist cartoraphy throuh a

theoretically implicated lens this paper will attempt to demonstrate how Bureau dEtudes

is producin mappins and political analyses that are pushin both of these literatures

into new directions.

!his essay will bein by briefly reviewin some of the e*istin e*periences of

critical cartoraphy within the discipline of 4eoraphy. !his will be followed by a

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presentation ofBureau dEtudes and one of their mappin pro"ects. How this collectives

wor+ evo+es common notions e*posed in Multitude will be e*plained here as well.

/inally, this paper will situate Bureau dEtudes wor+ within broader calls for a

theoretically reinviorated and politically critical cartoraphy from within and without

4eoraphy.

0n some sense then, this piece as+s critical human eoraphy to continue

e*plorin the shift towards a new theoretically informed cartoraphy as an antaonistic

pro"ect. ; cartoraphy that can help 2plot some initial 2naviational charts3

helpful inunderstandin the political con"uncturein much the same spirit as Hardt, Neri and

Bureau dEtudes.

.

Part I:Experiences of Post-Imperialist Cartographies

?, 3$)

Cartoraphy as a field can seem an odd place to bein discussin some of the

latest practices in lobal resistance movements. Historically, Cartoraphy has been

associated with the imperial pro"ects of the last several centuries by mappin terrae

incognitaein order to facilitate material and conitive con6uest. While it is arued that

more maps are bein produced now than at any time in the +nown past #especially than+s

to 40S and computeri-ed cartoraphy), the ma"ority of these are classically Cartesian and

3 !his notion is inspired in the early writins by =ebord on psychoeoraphy as a practice whichprovides us with tentative and initial maps #similar to the naviational maps of the ;tlantic for 3'thcentury1uropean sailors) in order to naviate the current confiurations of power #see =ebord 3>(?, p. &).

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dedicated towards mappins 2ob"ects such as laciers, streets, military tarets, and

potential mar+ets. Buch of this new mappin actually seems to only deepen the reach of

e*istin institutions already occupyin privileed sites of power #the military,

corporations, etc.). 4iven this panorama, the relevance of cartoraphy to pro"ects of

emancipatory politics can seem limited at best. How then, to articulate a postimperial

cartoraphy ;re the small efforts at recapturin it even worthwhile or should the

practice "ust be dropped altoether ; few recent efforts at buildin this sort of

alternative cartoraphy or countermappin will be mentioned here as buildin a

bac+round upon which efforts such as theBureau dEtudesintervene.

5ne critical intervention into the field of maps, and cartoraphy more broadly, has

been the critical cartoraphy literature. /rom Harleys classic essays #3>??), to =ennis

Woods The Power of Maps#3>>$), to Dohn Eic+les wor+ on 40S #3>>() and the history

of spatial representation #$%%&) this literature has successfully destabili-ed the fi*ity of

cartoraphic representation. 5ften e*perimentin with the social theory of /oucault,

=errida, 7en"amin, =eleu-e and 4uattari amon others, this literature has channeled

attention toward Cartoraphy #and maps in particular) as a historically produced ob"ect

which serves as a powerF+nowlede or even an apparatus of a particular discourse on the

nation, economy, etc. Baps become an instrument which can deepen or solidify a

particular vision of the world often servin concrete interests or actors in specific ways.

!his approach has #and does) contribute a reat criti6ue and a new way of understandin

maps. 5ften this literature has produced inspiration in rethin+in new or 2other ways of

mappin, thouh it has been difficult as of yet for this approach to move beyond this

criti6ue and analysis towards producin a new form of cartoraphy.

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5ther approaches to critical cartoraphy have simply ta+en standard techni6ues of

professional map production and cartoraphic research but applied it to critical political

ends. ; ood recent e*ample of this is the cartoraphy team at the Le Monde

Diplomatique "ournal. !his team, coordinated by Ehilippe Ge+acewic-, has now been

producin yearly ;tlases utili-in cartoraphic information and maps to present a critical

analysis and


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as a form of cartoraphic wor+ and research did not continue with the same vior after

the early %s. Nonetheless recent discussions around participatory development and

community development have met with the 40S community and branched into the

rowin field of Eublic Earticipation 40S. !he EE40S community has wor+ed with

roups in both the 4lobal North and South in an effort to bride the technoloical divides

that e*clude community involvement in decisionma+in around 6uestions of

development. !houh not always as politically radical as the early days of the

4eoraphical 1*pedition, the intense amount of e*perience and wor+ by the EE40S

community has lead vast archives and clearinhouses of resources for this sort of wor+,such as9 the 0;E;=&, and the CBGN(. Iet authors such as Wood #$%%() have e*hibited

s+epticism over the deree and 6uality of community participation in EE40S. Gather than

a new form of freein cartoraphic cateories for a rethin+in from the 2bottomup or as

a way to challene the fi*in of cartoraphic +nowlede from a limited number of often

patented computer fi*es and technoloical mediation in cartoraphic production, the

participation can "ust as often become a new way to collect data. ;dditionally, rather

than challenin the spatial status6uo, it can become another form of anestheti-ed

representational politics, channelin community input #or outrae) into reconi-able

parameters.

Without bein e*haustive, other forms of counter mappin that are challenin

the historically predominant role of maps in politics include the rowin field of

0ndienous Cartoraphy which can rane from forms of EE40S, to reappropriations of

historical indienous spatialities, to attempts to reproram and rethin+ alternative forms

&0nterated ;pproaches to Earticipatory =evelopment http9FFiapad.orF(Clary Beuser Gesearch Networ+ http9FFwww.mapcru-in.comF

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of computeri-ed cartoraphyF map creatin software with the cateories of spatial

understandin of a particular first nation prorammed into the code #see Coswell and

Schiot- 3>>'). 0n the art world as of late there has been an intense enaement with

2mappin both as a metaphor to e*plore for artwor+s as well as al literal practice bein

carried out in aesthetically challenin ways'). 4eoraphy as a discipline has recently

discovered this trend #Jryier and Wood $%%'). !his artistic movement, as well as some

of the strands in indienous cartoraphy, are pointin towards a practice of theoretically

reinviorated, a transformed cartoraphy of the +ind suested by the critical cartoraphy

scholars mentioned above.

!he risin trend in activist mappin that this paper enaes with ta+es on many of

the insihts of the new critical cartoraphic approaches mentioned above. ;s a trend,

many of these efforts comin from social movements9 3) are theoretically enaed and

critical of imperial cartoraphy: $) have a clear political enaement: A) attempt to create

participatory fora and rassroots mappin techni6ues: and &) often try to develop a new

aesthetics of mappin and new concepts of 2thins to be mapped.

5bviously, this recent trend in activist mappin is not the first time mappin has

been used by social movements, nor is all activist mappin of the type "ust described

above. Some of them are of the style of the


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theoretically and analytically enaed has also emered as a reappropriation of

cartoraphy for the politics of lobal "ustice. 4lobal "ustice movements in eneral are

enain in dense reimainins of the spatialities of biopolitical power, and economics

and how to interact with what appears as a shiftin eoraphy. !his is often due to

efforts to articulate a lobali-in identity of strule, and some roups are specifically

enain with the tradition of cartoraphy to further their political pro"ects. 5ne of these

isBureau dEtudes.

Part II: Cartographies by the Multitude?

Prelude

Currently new emerent processes are bein produced that, participatin in thenew spatiality of flows and technoloies of networ+ orani-ation, are confiurinhabitats and spatial orders in confrontation and competition with those producedby lobal capitalism Lthat well call, usin Neri and Hardts terminoloy,geographies of empireM. We propose callin these new antaonistic ways ofinhabitin, based on the spatiality of flows and information, communication andnetwor+ orani-ation technoloiesgeographies of the multitude#Eere- de 8ama,$%%A, $ authors translation, italics mine)

Dose Eere- del 8ama, as a participant of a prolific and increasinly referential

activist mappin collective in Spain and Borocco, calledac!itectura, ma+es use of the

notions of eoraphies of the multitude as opposed to eoraphies of empire to capture

the comple*ities of the chanin territories they inhabit and want to intervene in.

Specifically, this roup is based on the challenin eoraphical area of the 1uropean

UnionNorth ;frica border of the Straits of 4ibraltar. !his is how they describe one of

ac!iteturasmappin pro"ects focused on the Straits of 4ibraltar9

the ob"ective of the map LisM increasinly centered on the representation of theflows and conflicts in the border reion. 5n the one hand, the oal was to map themechanisms of militari-ation and the e*tension of the 2border towards the south,

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and the productiveeconomic flows lin+ed to capitalist lobali-ation. 5n the otherhand we tried to map the processes that challene the imperial system and itsborder that permanently traverse and deconstruct it. We characteri-ed those flowsin a eneral manner asflows of the multitude. ;mon these, mirations lin+ed towor+ leap to prominence, but we include the processes lin+ed to networ+s of

social movements and the multiple flows of communication. #Eere- de 8ama,$%%(, authors translation, italics mine)

ac!itecturais only one e*ample of how the terminoloies and concepts such as

2empire and 2multitude are circulatin throuh social movement circuits due to their

evocative power. 0t should be noted thouh that often the use of these notions is not

necessarily based on Hardt and Neris use or elaboration of the terms even if there is an

implicit conversation at wor+. Several activist mappin roups have beun to enae thenotions of empireFmultitude #or somethin similar) and elaboratin them in spatial terms.

Introduction

; wave of this +ind of activist mappin, enain with the latest social theory and

e*perimentin with new political forms of orani-in, has beun to multiply in recent

years with the upswin in lobal resistance mobili-ations and their interconnections.

7esidesac!itectura#www.hac+itectura.net), there is an emerent panoply of collectives

and pro"ects located worldwide #!oret and Suilia $%%': !uc+er, /oreman, Cobarrubias,

Casas and Stallman $%%'). !he rane includes pro"ects such as


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more oriented to business and social control. !he widely distributed map acted as an anti

mar+etin tool durin the event of the 2/orum de las Culturas?. !heres also the Ean

1uropean


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techni6ues, and economic analysis ma+e for some interestin pro"ects. !he followin

brief enaement will present 71 as an e*ample of how contemporary activist

cartoraphic pro"ects are, in their own ways, spatially enactin the notions of

empireFmultitude.

History and Mission of B.E.

!heBureau dEtudespro"ect bein to carry out its pro"ects in 3>>$, thouh the

oriins of their mappin e*ercises bein around 3>>? with a collection of political art

called the 2archives of capitalism. !he roup bean to e*periment with what may be

called protoversions of maps and flowcharts of economic networ+s as a form of

publicFpolitical art. Some of their early wor+ included representations of economic

institutions or powerful individuals in their city and reion. !he frustration with the

political economy of the art world as well as the actions of unemployed and s6uatters

movements at the time too+ the efforts of the BEinto even more politically enaed art

wor+.

;fter several other collective pro"ects in /rance, the roup bean to 6uestion how

to brea+ out of the typical allerymuseum circuit for art. 0n coordination with other

artists and in reaction to structural unemployment they founded the 2(#ndicat Potentiel

#the 2Eotential Union), a roup that has enaed with issues of casuali-ed labor and

culture wor+ers under neoliberalism. !he roups #both Bureau dEtudes and (#ndicat

Potentiel) are tihtly networ+ed with other autonomous activist roups, with particularly

stron connections developin with s6uatters movements around Western 1urope

#Holmes $%%A). 5ne of the central oals of these roups is the production of

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>( #Holmes $%%A, 4raeber $%%$, http9FFwww.revuedumauss.comF).3%

Geflections on the chanin nature of the economy as well as the increasin

prominence of lobal resistance movements and the calls to articulate a new sort of

international solidarity, pushed Bureau dEtudes #BE) toward a lonterm enaement

with cartoraphic representation as a way to wor+ on and communicate these sameissues. Earticularly after the first 2lobal days of action in 3>>? 33and the widespread

emerence and ac+nowledement of lobal resistance movements, these cartoraphic

e*periments seem to have e*panded in scope and reach, increasin their networ+in,

e*chane of ideas, and practices amon other movement roups as an e*plicit stratey of

movinBEout of the allerymuseum dynamic and into more open circulation #Holmes

$%%A). !he maps bein produced, which often show dense networ+s of institutional actors

in reional and lobal economies function as tools to incite conversation and analysis,

and they have been widely disseminated and used throuh movement events and

atherins. =istribution of the material has occurred throuh events such as the 1uropean

Social /orum, counter summits aainst +ey international institutions, No 7order camps

aainst miration policin, as well as other movement spaces #see

http9FFutanente.free.frF, Holmes $%%A). !he roup has produced over a do-en ma"or3% !hese efforts have resulted in other collectives e*perimentin with mapma+in as a form ofintervention and have even helped create a spinoff series of political seminars discussin new eoeconomic and eopolitical chanes throuh the practice and metaphor of mappin. !hese seminars include

periodic enaement and dialoue with university scholars, such as the recent seminar ontinental DriftinNew Ior+ with =avid Harvey #see http9FFwww.3'beaverroup.orFdriftF).

33See the Eeoples 4lobal ;ction website for more information9http9FFwww.nadir.orFnadirFinitiativFapFmayday3.htm

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maps, as well as accompanyin te*ts, that are used by different participants in lobal

resistance and anticapitalist efforts. BE has additionally helped to establish the

)ni*ersit+ Tangente, a sort of free web resource and networ+in space for critical

reflection and research reardin lobal transformations, radical activism, and political

sub"ectivity.BEcontinues to produce new maps and is increasinly tryin to respond to

the political con"unctures and perceived needs of movements, with Holmes in particular

articulatin the broader theoretical possibilities of social movements and cartoraphic

practice #Holmes $%%A, U! $%%A, !actical Bedia $%%A).

L!Mhese maps present an e*cess of information, shatterin sub"ectivecertainties and demandin reflection, demandin a new a-e on the worldthat we really live in. !hese are synoptic visions of the contemporary,transnational version of state capitalism, as constructed by collusionbetween specific individuals, transnational corporations, overnments,interstate aencies and Tcivil societyT roups. !hey ma+e visible theinstitutional patterns that have structured themselves in an overarchin,terrifyinly abstract space, almost totally beyond the rasp of thedemocratic counterpowers formerly e*ercised within the purview of thenational states, and indeed, almost totally invisible at least until recentlywhen the communicative possibilities have allowed a certain measure ofconitive mappin to be performed by inhabitants. #Holmes $%%A)

Bureau dEtudes, in addition to their maps, has elaborated on how they

understand the economy of the art world, the information ae and the possibilities for

autonomy and rebellion. Wor+in throuh their te*ts, and in particular the pro"ects of

(#ndicat Potential and )ni*ersit+ Tangente, one sees then the choice of usin

cartoraphy to decipher systems of power as an elaborate and intentional choice based on

how 71 understands their social and economic role and possibilities. 0n fact a lot of

interestin parallels can be drawn with Hardt and Neris notions of the immaterial

laborer and the production of social cooperation. BE, as immersed in the modern art

world and the information ae, combine the roles of political artists and hac+ers into one,

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articulatin lin+s between two forms of immaterial labor and politici-in them.

;dditionally they appropriate the ability to produce communication and social relations

by circulatin the products of their s+ills throuh antaonistic networ+s. !hey articulate

the oals of some of their wor+ throuh the notions of political and economic autonomy,

notions of free and nonmonetari-ed e*chane challenin notions of scarcity, and

producin what they call 2autonomous +nowledes that can be circulated throuh circuits

of social movements, youth roups, unemployed collectives, artists, hac+ers, researchers,

etc.3$#Bureau dEtudes $%%$a R $%%$b). 0t is interestin to note how some of the notions

of the possibilities of immaterial labor have resonated in movement networ+s whether ornot any particular roup or theorists te*t has, the ideas have one beyond the te*ts

themselves into a wider social field. !houh it is unclear whether 71 would aree about

the heemonic tendencies of immaterial labor, both Hardt R Neri and 71 seem to be

driftin in a similar social field of thouht with reards to the possibilities of

appropriatin immaterial production for new antaonistic political pro"ects autonomous

from those who focus on either the sei-ure of state power, or on leal reconition from

the state.

The Norms of orld Production

Bureau dEtudesmaps in the European -orms of %orld Production series are

particularly instructive in showin how BE is tryin to use a form of mappin to

challene accepted cateories of 1urope.

3$;s an interestin e*ample of some of these ideas we can read the openin lines of the Banifesto of the)ni*ersit+ Tangente9


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;bsent from the local landscape, invisible to the na+ed eye, a labyrinth oflaws and standards lends tanible form to our e*istence. !he 1uropeanUnion is an attempt to produce the world we live in. !he instruments ituses are norms9 industrial standards, territorial models, ideoloicaluidelines, truth criteria. !hese become the second nature of an

e*pandin, acceleratin drive to ma+e this vast, unpredictable humanreion into a playround for capitalism. Sophisticated services have nowarisen to lead corporations throuh the tanle of aencies that their ownlobbies helped to create, as a smo+escreen to hide and further their owninterests.

#2European -orms of %orld Production map leend)

"/)'E 01 -ormopathic omple2

http9FFut.yt.t%.or.atFsiteFcarteFnormopathiccomple*$%%$;3.pdf

!he map is intended to be polemical and to facilitate the imaination of lobalactivists in picturin a di--yin array of institutions, actors, personalities, orani-ations

and movements. !he map is made up of three parts. 5n one side of the map is the

2Normopathic Comple* #1urope) which puts before the reader a series of 1U

institutions, nationstate institutions, corporations, lobbies, thin+tan+s, personalities,

policy initiatives, reulatory aencies, court systems, police forces and a wide array of

norms and laws that facilitate the e*pansion of the above #see /iure 3 for an e*ample)..

8in+s are drawn between the different items to create a sort of networ+ map of corporate,

state and reulatory power #reulatory doesnt always seem e6uivalent to state here).

Eart of the second sideFlayer of the map is that of 2orani-ed civil society. Here one sees

a series of N45s, 1U committees on civil society, and nonindustry policy platforms that

are nonetheless lin+ed in multiple and comple* ways with the nationstate and 1U as well

as with industry #if not directly then throuh secondary roups, such as tas+ forces, thin+

tan+s, etc.: see /iure $)

"/)'E 3 4rganised i*il (ociet#

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http9FFut.yt.t%.or.atFsiteFimaesF7UG1;UV$%=V$%1!U=1SV$%

V$%E=/Foranised.pdf).

!he final layer in the map is 20n+lins of ;utonomy and includes a wide array of social

movement activity. !he movements are purposefully represented with hyperporous

boundaries #see /iure A).

"/)'E 5 n!lings of 6utonom#

http9FFut.yt.t%.or.atFsiteFdownloadsF0n+linautonomy$%%A;$.pdf)

5ne issue melds into another includin thins such as9 2antiprison, 2abolition of the

state, 2reappropriation of public oods and services, 2heterodo* research centers and

more.

71s effort definitely embraces and even encouraes the visceral response one

may have when faced with the sort of overnance force that is presented, and they dont

try to separate this emotion from the detailed wor+ of representin networ+s of political

and economic power. When tryin to ma+e sense of the uses of this map it may seem

li+e an overwhelmin, nearparanoid representation of the 2lobal neatly severed from

the autonomous sphere where 2hope seems to lie. 0t is unclear where action is to be ta+en

at times from this sort of pro"ect since it can have a paraly-in as well as alvani-in

effect, a reaction that 71 has reconi-ed and not discouraed, thouh analy-in the

roups wor+ further it can be seen that 71s oal is not to stymie action, nor provo+e a

conclusion that could lead to apathy or inaction, but rather embrace the comple*ity and

confusion with which we are faced. !he representations at wor+ in European -orms of

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%orld Production can lead to some 6uite interestin 6uestions and challenes to be

addressed.

!he dynamic of the lobal economy that appears is that of comple* interactions

and conflicts amonst and between a) corporate7state7regulator# apparatitob)

official ci*il societ#toc) autonomous spheres of politics and economics.

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0nterpretation of the layers of European -orms of %orld Production map9

!his conception can provide an interestin sort of framewor+ for understandin the

production and dynamics of a lobal economy, or at least a lobali-in politicaleconomy

NORMOPATHIC COMPLEXcorporate-state-think tanks-

regulatory apparati-

OFFICIAL CIVIL SOCIETY

larger NGOs, policy task forces,EU committees on civil society

Inklings of Autonomysocial movementspace,

alternative economies,

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within the reion of 21urope. 5ne e*ample of this is how the map presents the

2boundedness of actors involved in constructin this 2reionali-ed version of the lobal

such as the 2nationstate and the firm or corporation. ;s opposed to the conceptions of

political economy that posit states and firms as fairly distinct entities that conflict and

collaborate #as proposed by =ic+en, $%%A3A), theBEmap demonstrates a hih deree of

permeability of spheres with reards to the state, corporations, and the norms of

reulation. No clear line e*ists where one could demarcate 2state or 2firm. !he messae

fromBE seems to be that the intertwinin and networ+in of political and economic

forces doesnt permit neat division between the spheres. ;ccordin to this readin, theproduction of a particular form of the 2lobal or 2suprareional is not 6uite the result of

a dynamic of conflict and collaboration between states and firms conceived of as separate

wholes but rather of the emerence of a larer whole that is able to produce rules and

norms that benefit the channelin of flows and power in certain directions and towards

certain actors.

Eart of the idea of this map then is that it is the interplay of these three layers #the

Normopathic, 5fficial Civil Society, and 0n+lins of ;utonomy) that is creatin many of

the social contours of a new 1urope. !hese are fieldslayers where many #thouh by no

means all) of the tensions around the idea of 21urope are bein fouht out. !he map

ma+es an abstract thin li+e 21U or 21urope ac6uires a body throuh its institutions and

3A=ic+ens manificent and encyclopedic wor+ in the various editions of /lo&al (hiftread li+e andencyclopedia to current economic transformations. !he boo+ deals with all sorts of issues but oneimportant theme that comes up aain and aain are the comple* dynamics of conflict and collaboration

between states and firms. While fascinatin in and of itself, and helpful in challenin some of the simplerversions of either 2whither the nationstate or the 2state is the prime mover interpretations oflobali-ation, the boo+ still leaves one with the impression that states and firms remain to distinct andidentifiable bodies that interact as entities e*terior to one another9 6uestions of how publicprivate

partnerships are challenin this scheme, of influences of corporate lobbies, or of 6uestions of revolvindoors between corporate boardrooms and political appointments are not dealt with to any deree.

3


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laws, it becomes less a distant bureaucracy and more li+e a taret in your daily life. !he

cartoraphic practices of Bureau dEtudesinvolve the location of one law, institution,

corporation, and then followin the multitude of connections and networ+s that brin

those same laws, institutions into a larer framewor+. !houh the institutions seem solid,

their e*istence or role is irrelevant outside the web of relations that produces a particular

21urope. !he neoliberal 1urope of power becomes more than a hierarchically orani-ed

functionalist set of powerF+nowlede dispositifs, and is more readily understood as a

comple* articulation of continent actors and institutions.

!he map has primarily been used as a wor+shop tool for teachins. !he map

impresses people with its di--yin comple*ity, and leaves readers wonderin what to do.

Iet it also shows "ust how many points at which this new 21urope is vulnerable and at

how many level of society it can be challened. 0t has certainly produced a more directed

dialoue about what the 1U is #beyond the countersummit that used to happen twice a

year) and how to challene it, and it has also helped spread the idea of mappin as a tool

to map out power and to map out collective strules. BE is also wor+in with other

collectives now at developin online map enerators that could be much more

participatory with input from different roups and campains3&.

3&Bureau d8Etude8s maps should not be considered as entirely selfcontained. No one map contains all therelevant information nor possible answers to 6uestions. !he conception of cartoraphy that 71 is wor+inwith seems to be that maps are always incomplete and should be thouht of and produced accordinly. ;san e*ample some U! maps can be read in with each other to deepen analysis con"unction #as if layers orcontinuations of other maps). We can start with the 2%orld /o*ernmentmap #and wor+in with Holmesinterpretation), different reional states and blocs are shown such as the 1uropean Union, the United States,Gussia, China and 0ndia. While these states may be interactin on their own in other ways, a process ofarticulation is visuali-ed throuh a map of financial interation on the part of deterritoriali-ed institutionalinvestors such as 7arclays and /idelity investments throuh their dealins in bond mar+ets, amon otherthins #Holmes, $%%&b, (). We can follow the trail to another map, %orld /o*ernment1 Barcla# PL#seehttp9FFutanente.free.frF$%%AFbarclays.pdf) which details the networ+s and lin+aes of this investment fundto other parts of the service and manufacturin economy. ; third map can help us complete part of the

picture. /o*erning -etwor!s#seehttp9FFutanente.free.frF$%%AFoverninbynetwor+s.pdf) maps out thehitech communications infrastructures that underpin many of the financial transactions by powerfulinvestors. How different reulatory framewor+s uide the development of certain communications

$
http://utangente.free.fr/2003/barclays.pdfhttp://utangente.free.fr/2003/governingbynetworks.pdfhttp://utangente.free.fr/2003/governingbynetworks.pdfhttp://utangente.free.fr/2003/barclays.pdfhttp://utangente.free.fr/2003/governingbynetworks.pdf


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0n


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and often ephemeral radical movements amon other concepts, are circulatin throuh

antaonistic networ+s currently3'.

!he 2Normopathic Comple* layer is a representation of a networ+ed form of

overnance and sovereinty. !he 1uropean Commission is pic+ed as a center for the

map, larely because this is a map about the 1U and 1urope, thus providin a visual

structure and point of view. 5ne 6uic+ly notices thouh that the relations, institutions,

actors, etc., that play a role in the shapin of the 1uropean Union pro"ect are dense,

comple* and farreachin. !he lin+s and networ+s spinnin out from the center #and thecentral nodes of 7russels bureaucracy) reach 6uic+ly to corporate lobby structures, new

security and intellience areements, important family lineaes, international institutions,

investment ban+s, reulatory and industrystandards ma+in bodies, and so on 3. !he

resonances with a notion of 1mpire as a decentered networ+ed form of power that

operates in all spheres of civil society and e*ists as a means to reproduce that society

alon certain lines, becomes increasinly vivid as one traces the lin+aes and flows

across the 2Normopathic Comple*. ; chane #ontoloical for Hardt and Neri) in the

form of sovereinty, and in the ability to locate a 2central nervous system or 2control

center for this form of power, become 6uite clear from this layer of the 71s European

3'4iven the wor+ ofBureau dEtudesin this particular series of maps, the lin+s between it andMultitudewill mostly reflect insihts form the sections of the boo+ on =emocracy and Bultitude. !houh the sectionof the boo+ on War is relevant to enae in dialoue with other pro"ects by theBureau dEtudes, 0 will

brac+et it this off for now.3

!his Normopathic layer also lends itself to an interestin readin of the state. !hrouh thecomple* interrelations of the statecorporatene*us, both the state and firms become mutually empowered.0n a sense the arument is similar to Sas+ia Sassenss #$%%%), and oes a step beyond. 0n this framewor+some states power deepens, thouh where the state intervenes, or at what level and scale of society, may

be chanin. !he map also brins up the issue of where is the state 0n the case of the 1U bein e*amined,the 2state may be outrowin the 2nation. So while the 2state as a set of social relations may beempowered throuh the construction of a particular +ind of 1urope, the 2nationstate itself may or may not

be.

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-orms of %orld Production. 71 lends an additional contribution to this understandin of

power by suestin that one can find a center relative to ones situation or point of view.

!houh 1mpire is a pervasive system of biopolitical power, and no absolute center e*ists,

you can find a center relative to your position that becomes a pathway to understandin

the multiple articulations of empire that stretch well beyond the chosen center. /or

e*ample 71 places the 1uropean Commission and +ey lobbies in the center of the imae

of this networ+ of power. While one 6uic+ly reali-es that this centrality does not sinify

a unilateral node of concentrated power, it does ive the means to start thin+in about

1mpire or somethin of the li+e, from a particular point, location, or understandin #a


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how 2orani-ed civil society bro+en down alon identifiable subpopulations and

roups helps "ust as much to deepen the reach of already powerful political and

economic networ+s as to challene them. !he 6uestion of what some of the lonterm

results miht be of bein leally articulated to an officially sanctioned 2third sector is

posed. What miht it mean to have orani-ations that are proposed to 2represent the

interests of the 2peoples before an increasinly powerful soverein form #the

2normopathic comple*) throuh certain sanctioned and leally constituted channels

#such as thin+tan+s, policy tas+ forces, leal protest, etc.) 5rani-ed Civil Society in

this case can 6uic+ly become a form of constituted power as opposed to the constituentpower of the multitude. !he representative form of many of these orani-ations can

hinder the morphin sinularities merin into a transformin common that will allow

the multitude to manifest itself as a political pro"ect.

!hen!lings of 6utonom# layer visually represents different strules, moments

of insurrection, social movements roups and campains lin+ed precariously across each

other, with one topic flowin in an unclear fashion toward the other. !he strules are

represented in an unbounded and often indeterminate way as opened bubbles channelin

into each other. 1ach appears as a sinular moment or place within and amorphous

whole. 0t seems li+e a field of unreali-ed potential and possibility, thus the 0n+lins.

!his openendedness of the fiures estures toward the as of yet unreali-ed form and

political pro"ect of the Bultitude. 5ne can invo+e it throuh moments and illustrative

e*amples yet it is un+nown, and not #or never) here as of yet. ;t times different points or

bubbles are morphin into each other or seem to share space of commonality accordin to

themes, techni6ues, eoraphya 2swarmin of similar issues, campains and

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movements could this be a series of sinularities producin a common 0t is

additionally interestin to note that althouh the entire map ma+es reference to the 1U

pro"ect, in the 0n+lins map there is much less respect towards the sorts of borders and

boundin of what we miht consider 1uropean. While the Normopathic and 5rani-ed

Civil Society layers focus much more on 21uropean institutions and at times their

lin+aes to international sites, the 0n+lins maps includes strules that stretch into the

Biddles 1ast, North ;merican and elsewhere suestin in a similar way the incapacity

of understandin the multitude accordin to common eoraphic divisions of the world

such as nationstates or NorthSouth. ;s suested in 1mpire one of the first demands ofthe multitude may be for its own riht to mobility and transnationalism.

"ther Common Notions

7esides the possible relations between one of 71s map series and Multitude, it is

possible to find other points of converence between 71 and HardR Neris wor+.

Deleu9ian ontologies:

!o further understand the renderins of the lobal political con"uncture that may

be at wor+ in these maps, we could turn to 7rian Holmes, a collaborator with the Bureau

dEtudes. Holmes states


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71s maps can be seen as >3) for a lobal conitive mappin of the scales and structures of a lobal system

unraspable to any #accordin to Dameson) individual sub"ect wanderin throuh it. Iet

the 2totality of the 2lobal represented in these maps shows itself, to a lare deree, to

be continent and con"unctural. While the networ+s of overnance visuali-ed throuh

the maps can be frihtful, the sheer number of points also suests a certain vulnerability

of any particular point in the networ+. 0t is the entirety of the networ+ wor+in as a whole

as an ecoloy of institutions that concedes it its overarchin power. =isruptin any

point, assist in disruptin the overall ecoloy. !his understandin of power and ways itwould have to be mapped are a+in to the notions visible in Empire and Multitudeof a

productive power that operates as or throuh a series of points. !here is no one center,

overnment or institution that holds power, but rather a reime of overnance that

reproduces #and rema+es) itself and the society it re6uires continuously.

6utonomous cogniti*e production

Why does Bureau dEtudes attempt to produce both these maps with their

representations of specific actors and the concepts of networ+ed power embedded in

them !o a lare deree this can be answered by situatin Bureau dEtudes oals within

lobal resistance movements, in particular those sectors tryin to find tools for the

construction of alternative 2nonstateFnonprivate sphere forms of politics and

economics. 71s research then has the oal of creatin pools of +nowlede to aid in this

endeavor eneratin 2autonomous +nowlede as they put it9

;utonomous +nowlede can be constituted throuh the analysis of the way thatcomple* machines function LM !he deconstruction of comple* machines andtheir 2decoloni-ed reconstruction can be carried out on all +inds of ob"ects,LM0n the same way as you deconstruct a proram, you can also deconstruct the

$


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internal functionin of a overnment or an administration, a firm or an industrialor financial roup. 5n the basis of such a deconstruction, involvin a preciseidentification of the operatin principles of a iven administration, or the lin+s ornetwor+s between administrations, lobbies, businesses, etc., you can define modesof action or intervention, #Bureau dEtudes;)ni*ersit+ Tangente, $%%$, A)

;dditionally 71s emphasis on autonomous politics and their visuali-ations of

these throuh maps such as 2n!lings of 6utonom#is based on their conviction that non

capitalist and nonstate forms of social orani-ation and production already e*ist, much

in the same way that Hardt and Neri point to e*istin and historical moments of

rebellion as precursors of the multitude. 71 posits that throuh the potentiation of these

autonomous political forms throuh articulation, over time and in strule we can

witness a , 3>'3>>) can

be seen here. 71 additionally claims that this common can be 2+nowledes in the

scientific sense. !hese are +nowledes that are researched, shared, built on, criti6ued,

referenced, etc. as with any form of e*pertise.

Part III:Calls for a Theoretically ein!igorated Cartography

!his new wave of activist mappin, as e*emplified by Bureau dEtudes, is

contributin to a theoretical and analytical e*pansion of the field of Cartoraphy. 0t is

interestin to situate 71 #and other collectives wor+) within the e*pansive literature on

3? /or an interestin e*ample of this see )ni*ersit+ Tangentewebsite #http9FFut.yt.t%.or.atFsiteFinde*.html)under the 2Chantier Cartoraphies. 71 is now tryin to create interactive map enerators that willfacilitate user participation on a continuous basis in tryin to understand and subvert current capitalistorani-ation #see footnote $$).

$
http://ut.yt.t0.or.at/site/index.htmlhttp://ut.yt.t0.or.at/site/index.html


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critical mappin such as that mentioned earlier in the paper. Not only is 71s wor+

buildin on alternativeFcritical mappin literatures in 4eoraphy thouh. 0t is also e6ually

in dialoue with a broader inter R nondisciplinary reenaement with cartoraphy as a

critical practice. !hese reenaements seem to pic+ up steam durin the midlate

nineties Xuestions of how to understand the lobal, how to embrace diverence and

dis"uncture throuh cartoraphy, and how to use the above to further an antaonistic

political pro"ect, all run throuh these literatures as do multiple conceptions of what

needs be mapped.

8iebman and Eaulston, from 1ducation departments, ma+e some of early calls for

a new cartoraphy beyond 4eoraphy. 0n

8iebman and Eaulston see a new +ind of cartoraphy and mappin pro"ect as the +eys to

brea+in out of >&, $) with a diversity of interactin

social aents, what is needed then are spaces for dialoue amonst these diverent actors

#3>>&, '). Bappin this diversity becomes a form of postmodern politics for Eaulston and

8iebman. 0n a way similar to Dameson #3>>3), these authors see a spatial loic ta+in

precedence over a temporal loic #associated with what they call the 2modern). 7y

focusin on mappin these spatialities, the &, A). Whereas 2older Western forms of

cartoraphy attempted to achieve closure, synthesis, and order, the critical social

cartoraphy called for by these authors emphasi-es maps as wor+s of artportraits #3>>&,

() that ideally should be available for dialoue and input from readers of the maps. Baps

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Within the discipline of 4eoraphy, some of the e*plorations of new cartoraphic

forms of have e*plicitly addressed new forms of representation and new relations

between the mapma+er, the map, and the map reader an e*ploratory form of map

resonatin with cartoraphic pro"ects such as Bureau dEtudes. Dohn Eic+les #$%%A)

implicitly enaes with and pushes beyond the calls for a new cartoraphy reviewed

above, #e*plorin the possibilities of tryin to understand the 2interte*tuality of maps

#$%%A, 3'3). Eic+les loo+s for maps that are open to multiple and different readins or

that can be read in con"unction with other te*ts. He also suests the notion of the

2writerly map a map that can enae its reader as a potential author or cartorapher.Eic+les even states that these ways of understandin and usin maps may already be

possible within e*istin cartoraphy and thus re6uire an epistemoloical rather than a

technoloical shift. Nonetheless, to thin+ of a map production process that ta+es this shift

into account opens even more doors into reconceptuali-in, not only the uses, but even

the raphic appearances of maps. !he ob"ects that may be mapped could be different than

the traditional ob"ects of cartoraphy. Deremy Crampton #$%%3) also calls for a new

relation between maps and map users throuh the tools of 2distributed mappin.

Crampton calls for a new lin+ between cartoraphy and critical human eoraphy, as well

as an e*ploration of tactics of 2cartoraphic resistance or the use of maps in strateies of

social strule.

; further step in articulatin calls for a reinviorated social cartoraphy comes

directly from the theoretical wor+ of a collaborator of 71s mappin pro"ects. 7rian

Holmes, in several pieces, has "umped into the debate on the lobal economy,

cartoraphy and emancipatory politics. Holmes, li+e the authors wor+in in Eaulstons

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pro"ect, also refers to Dameson call to a lobal conitive mappin pro"ect #Holmes,

$%%&a R b) and brins in the analysis that !ally and 7artolovich #3>>') suest, buildin

aain on =eleu-e and /oucault #Holmes, $%%&b). Holmes wor+ as articulates the

connections between some of the theoretical contributions mentioned above, political

economy and the politicalFartistic e*periments byBureau dEtudes and similar roups.

Holmes presents cartoraphies in a dialectic between dominant and dissentin

maps. !his becomes politically relevant because for Holmes .

;pparently, even the basic representational loic at wor+ in maps becomes somethin to

3> !houh to Damesons credit, it should be noted that the maps called for are not meant to be 2totali-inin the sense that there are no 2!rue maps and the usefulness of the map is not in its accurate2representation of 2reality but in its usefulness for sub"ects interaction with the world of late capitalism#3>>3).

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surpass. !he same authors bein to ma+e use of poststructural theories to attempt to

overcome this and reali-e a new form of cartoraphy.

Harleys wor+ was one of the first attempts to apply poststructural thouht to

mappin from a cartoraphers perspective. Iet while his criti6ues of traditional map

ma+in are a classic by now, his thouhts for a new cartoraphy, important as they were,

are considered by some as not oin 6uite far enouh #;lbert, $%%A). ;ccordin to Saul

;lbert, a critical artistcartorapher, while Harley successfully deconstructs the 2map as

a te*t, the new maps that he invo+es still follow an older cartoraphic loic ofrepresentation. 2; sub"ect is still invo+ed by maps representations, even thouh

Harleys new cartoraphy does tac+le the 2internal power of maps #Harley in ;lbert and

;lbert, $%%A, 3&).

Holmes and ;lbert attempt to tac+le this difficulty. Ba+in specific reference to

maps of the lobal economy and of power, Holmes compares cartoraphic styles of

classic eopolitical economy to efforts by 71 !he first style is that of a >&). 0nterestinly, Holmes notes that Castells draws on Chesnaisseveral times for his analysis in The 'ise of the -etwor! (ociet#. !he map is a curious adaptation of thedyma*ion imae +nown for brea+in NorthSouth dichotomies superimposed with a star+ center

periphery representation of power #Holmes $%%&b, p.$A see alsohttps9FFp-wart.wd+a.hro.nlFmdrFpubsfolderFbhimaesFflowmapsFchesnaismap."p)

A
https://pzwart.wdka.hro.nl/mdr/pubsfolder/bhimages/flowmaps/chesnaismap.jpghttps://pzwart.wdka.hro.nl/mdr/pubsfolder/bhimages/flowmaps/chesnaismap.jpg


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#clic+ on imae to see larer lin+ see footnote $)

!he second form of map is that of


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/urther ideas on how to build this new cartoraphy are developed by Saul ;lbert.

;lbert also some of the same notions of =eleu-ianli+e 2diarams of power and brinin

in 6uite a bit of 8atour and Serres ;lbert mentions how 8atour sees cartoraphy as bein

rather similar to ;ctorNetwor+!heory in its practices but not necessarily in its

epistemoloical bases and 2representational norms #;lbert and 8atour in ;lbert, $%%A, &

'). ;lbert claims in fact that9

8atourTs e*ample unintentionally chal+s an outline around the missin half ofHarleys criti6ue9 that cartoraphy is potentially an ontoloical investiation. 0f itremoves its apriori assumptions, it becomes a +ind of spatial ontoloy, one that iswell e6uipped with both the tools and methods of constructivist research, and the

deontoloical moral standard of TirreducibilityT. #;lbert, $%%&, ');lbert then brins up Serres discussion of 26uasiob"ects #such as ruby balls, hand

tools, and chairs) as means used to articulate particular roles, sub"ect positions and sets of

social relations that are interconnected and continent. Baps are seen as a possible

e*ample of these 26uasiob"ects9

!his is how Serres would view the map, as a formalisation of human relations, arepresentation with which each actant becomes a sub"ect. !his is the use of themap as a communicative tool: as successive actants enae with the map, eachlocates their sub"ectivity in its representational schema, the T0T is shifted fromperson to person, between person and multitude, or from multitude to multitude.T;nalytical cartoraphyT, and the power relations Harley identifies in it, is ane*ample of the Tdeterministic practicesT this use of the map may ive rise to.#;lbert, $%%&, >)

;fter ;lberts hihly theoretical enaement he comes close to a deadend9 after

havin complicated Harleys initial criti6ues and elaboratin an interestin theoretical

conversation between ;N! and cartoraphy now what What are the e*amples of this

new +ind of cartoraphy that9 visuali-es 2diarams of power: maps actors thouh

without any a prioriassumptions: acts as an articulator of human relations and multiple

sub"ect positions dependin on when its used and by whom !oward the end, ;lbert

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actually turns toBureau dEtudes in order to point to a concrete e*ample of his useful but

hyperabstract theori-in.

The Theoretical #esthetics of Bureau d$Etudes$ Cartography

4iven the visual nature of maps, it is useful to spend a moment discussin how

71 may be enactin some of the abovementioned calls for a reinviorated cartoraphy

throuh visual techni6ues. What +inds of aesthetic and representational strateies are

bein deployed$3 0n a way similar to te*ts, maps tell stories throuh what they include,

what they e*clude and how. ;ccordin to Harley, a maps internal power is < 2embeddedin the map te*t, determined by the inclusions and e*clusions of information written into

the map, #8iebman and Eaulston, 3>>&: Harley in 8iebman and Eaulston,3>>&, &).

Cartoraphers ta+e events and ob"ects >&, A). 0n an even more provocative liht, another author states


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information travels unidirectionally from mapma+er to map user, Holmes brins up

wor+ by the C-ech cartorapher Jolacny on how we may bein to thin+ of cartoraphic

information as bein communicated throuh a feedbac+ loop which circulates

continuously between mapma+ers, users, and a eneral body of #spatial) +nowlede that

is drawn upon to then produce future maps #Holmes, $%%&a, A).

BEdeploys the techni6ues of cartoraphic visuality in several peculiar ways to

further their pro"ects. 5ften their maps are drawn in such a way as to appear unfinished

#especially for social movement activity) or as e*tendin to the very edes of the sheet asif pushin beyond it #with reards to institutions of overnance). No one map is a

finished wor+ in this way, the 2flows e*tendin beyond its sheets$$.

;nother techni6ue used by U! has been the distinct ways of depictin overnance

institutions and official orani-ations as opposed to social movements. 0nstitutions,

includin many N45s as well as corporations, overnments and laws are depicted with

concrete shapes representin their functions and straiht lines connectin them in

networ+s to other roups. !he wor+ bein done by these imaes ives the reader an

impression of officialdom, statutes, laws, order. Baps of movement activity, especially

the 20n+lins of ;utonomy map layer mentioned above, as well as the =ue se >a#an

$$Bureau dEtudeshas 2pushed this idea of the 2unfinished and 2under continuous construction map evenfurther. ;fter the 1nron scandal, and the wealth of information on financial structures leaned from thedebacle, U! made a call for roups to pursue pro"ects of collaborative mapma+in of con"unctural politicaland economic 2powers that be, that could be continually added to throuh the latest techni6ues of opensource software. Currently Bute maa-ine has beun to ta+e on this call throuh a pro"ect called 2BappinContemporary Capitalism #Worthinton $%%&). !houh in very initial and e*perimental staes, this couldta+e cartoraphy itself into interestin theoretical territory. !he criti6ues about the 2internal power ofmaps #e*ercised throuh e*clusion and closure) voiced by Harley and echoed by so many miht be at least

partially answered by a pro"ect that allows almost anyone to enerate their own maps or build on e*istinones.

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Todos map$A, show openended bubbles with bits of information splattered around. 5ne

can follow a route but it feels more li+e an itinerary than a 2map, so to spea+. !he

movements seem to be presented more as a series of intense moments and coaulations of

enery.

; final comment on the visual aspects of these maps deals with the sheer amount

of information on them and the incredible density of icons and lines demonstratin

lin+aes between points on a networ+. !he density of icons can ma+e it difficult to

naviate the map, or 2find your way, so to spea+. 5n loo+in a bit deeper one can saythat these maps are an initial representation of usin what we could call internet

epistemologies practices associated with the internet as ways of attainin and

structurin +nowlede as well as carryin out lare parts of the research. While 0m

throwin the term out somewhat playfully, it is useful to enable a possible readin of the

map as a visuali-ation of followin the multiple lin+s of different websites or the results

of multiple searches. 5ften items appearin as icons in the maps are rouped in what

seems to be either classical 2eoraphical pro*imity #as in countries that appear toether

on a political map), or sectoral pro*imity. 8in+s in these maps thouh may have little

correspondence to pro*imity and one must often follow a thread from one point of the

map throuh a mess of items all around the other side of the map in order to find what is

bein represented as a 2direct lin+.

$ASee appendi* $ and related lin+http9FFutanente.free.frF$%%AF6uesebayan.pdf

A
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Conclusions

!hese efforts at enactin a critical cartoraphy, on the part ofBEamon others, is

challenin us to loo+ at the possibilities of a reinviorated cartoraphy distanced from

the colonial maps of the past and the =iital 1levation Bodels of military services in the

present. !hey ive us opportunities to apply and interact with different theories of the

lobal and of power #as with 1mpire) as well as push them into new 2territories of

lobali-in spatiali-ed imainaries of resistance and democracy #as with the Bultitude).

!hese maps are also creatin a space for political enaement, not only because of the

sub"ect matter addressed but also throuh the channels of distribution and feedbac+chosen throuh different social movements communications spaces.

So what could be ne*t /or critical human eoraphy, it may be important to

consider how the e*ample ofBureau dEtudes is pointin researchers to e*amine efforts

emerin from outside the institutional limits of the university as a way to further

conversations on new analyses of power, democracy and uses of cartoraphy as a radical

tool.

A


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BIB%I"GPH'

;lbert, Saul #$%%A). >').Modernit# at Large1 ultural Dimensions of /lo&ali9ation.Binneapolis9 University of Binnesota Eress.

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S Cobarrubias- Geographies by the Multitude_ACME_July 10-2006 (1)

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