Wedging open established civil spheres: A comparative approach to their emancipatory potential

In this chapter, I develop a theoretical account to explain how and when civil spheres can become emancipatory, noting that they need first to become established in institutions but recognizing that their establishing can itself block further emancipation - unless they can somehow be wedged open to admit causes and constituencies hitherto deemed uncivil. Radical acts can, on occasion, help to wedge open civil spheres. Having set out my theoretical account, I go on to explain how it has been read through the case of the United Kingdom in which I was born and raised - the House of Lords inspired my concept of civil establishment - as well as the case of Mexico where I have conducted research over twenty-five years, here drawing on the Zapatista movement of the 1990s as an example of radical action.