Radically Legal

Berlin Constitutes the Future

Joanna Kusiak (University of Cambridge)

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English

Cambridge University Press
06 June 2024

Social discrimination; Constitution: government & the state; Pressure groups & lobbying; Housing law; Urban & municipal planning

Right in the middle of the German constitution, a group of ordinary citizens discovers a forgotten clause that allows them to take 240,000 homes back from multi-billion corporations. In this work of creative non-fiction, scholar-activist and Nine Dots Prize winner Joanna Kusiak tells the story of a grassroots movement that convinced a million Berliners to pop the speculative housing bubble. She offers a vision of urban housing as democratically held commons, legally managed by a radically new institutional model that works through democratic conflicts. Moving between interdisciplinary analysis and her own personal story, Kusiak connects the dots between the past and the present, the local and the global, and shows the potential of radically legal politics as a means of strengthening our democracies and reviving the rule of law. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

By: Joanna Kusiak (University of Cambridge)
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 214mm, Width: 138mm, Spine: 10mm
Weight: 290g
ISBN: 9781009516945
ISBN 10: 1009516949
Pages: 202
Publication Date: 06 June 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Joanna Kusiak is a Junior Research Fellow at King's College, University of Cambridge. Her work focuses on urban land, housing crises and the progressive potential of the law. In 2021 she was one of the spokespeople for Deutsche Wohnen & Co enteignen, Berlin's successful referendum campaign to expropriate stock-listed landlords. In 2023 she won the Nine Dots Prize.

Reviews for Radically Legal: Berlin Constitutes the Future

'In this fascinating book, Joanna Kusiak weaves together the story of how residential housing was turned into a financial asset, the struggle for recovering it for human dignity by invoking a long-forgotten provision of Germany's constitution, and her life as a social advocate, scholar and mother. She offers hope, a strong dose of humour, and a strategy for others in search of a more humane world.' Katharina Pistor, Columbia Law School 'We live in an age when many citizens might feel powerless in the face of powerful financial corporations. However, Kusiak's account is an inspiring analysis of how the public good can be championed. Written in an engaging, first-person style, it shows how the law can be used to protect people - not just control them. A novel blend of legal sociology and political anthropology, this is highly useful for anyone who wants to make sense of the clash between private equity and public good - or is curious to know what our future cities may look like.' Gillian Tett, Financial Times