The Art of Spaciousness A reflective journeythrough the phenomenon of political power (version 1.5) Eduardo Rombauer van den Bosch A dissertation submitted to the London Metropolitan Universityin the requirement for the Masters degree of Reflective Social Practice Supervisor: Allan Kaplan July 2015 2 Abstract Inthisdissertation,Iexplorethepossibleeffectsofcombiningareflectivedevelopment practice (the Art of the Invisible) with political activism (the Art of the Impossible). My own journey in bridging these two fields is described to illustrate how, when a practical wisdom is builtfromthisencounter,abroaderunderstandingofpoliticallifemayemergeandbecome embodiedonewhichreversesacommonsenseinwhichthereisnoemptyspacein politics. Drawing on the legacy of Vaclav Havel and in dialogue with other reflective practitioners from both fields, I argue that politics can be faced as an open and fertile space for citizens to create their own ways to participate in the destinies of humankind, and to assume true responsibility andthustonurtureadeepernotionofbelongingintheworld.Howisitpossibletobuild another level of awareness, collectively, in the realm of political action? Myownparticipationinanew-bornpoliticalpartyandacommunityofpoliticalpracticeare broughtforthtodemonstratehowthisunderstandingcanbeheldwithaphenomenological quality of thinking, from which another way of seeing the world and ourselves, in practice is to befound:fromadeeperencounterwithourexperiences,politicalpractitionersmayembody the virtues and attitudes of a radically different political practice. One combination of the two fields of practice is suggested in the holding of formative spaces, in which political practitioners may gain abilities that enables them to embrace the paradoxical aspectsofthepoliticalrealm,andthustocollapsetheseeminglyunavoidablesplitbetween theory and practice that diminishes their authenticity and conviction. Whenadelicatekindofpowerisfound,anever-renewedsenseofspaciousnessemerges, fromwhicharadicallyopen,horizontalandmeaningfulwayofparticipatinginthebroader destiny of humankind takes place. 3 Resumo Nestadissertao,euexploroospossveisefeitosdacombinaodeumaprticareflexivade desenvolvimentosocial(a"ArtedoInvisvel")comoativismopoltico(a"ArtedoImpossvel"). Minha prpria jornada para integrar esses dois campos descrita para ilustrar como, quando uma sabedoria prtica construda a partir deste encontro, uma compreenso ampliada da vida poltica pode surgir e inverter o senso comum de que "em poltica no h espao vazio". A partir do legado de Vaclav Havel e em dilogo com outros profissionais e ativistas de ambos os campos, especialmente com a lder Marina Silva, defendo que a poltica pode ser percebida como umespaoabertoefrtilparaqueoscidadoscriemassuasprpriasformasdeexercerasua responsabilidade, cultivando assim uma noo mais profunda de pertencimento ao mundo. Como quepossvelconstruirumoutronveldeconscincia,coletivamente,nombitodaao poltica? Minhaprpriaexperincianoprocessoquedorigemaumpartidopoltico(Rede Sustentabilidade)enacriaodeumacomunidadedeprticaspolticastransformadoras espelhada,parademonstrarcomooutramaneiradeveromundoeansmesmos,naprtica, podesedesenvolverapartirdeumaabordagemfenomenolgicadepensamento.apartirdo encontromaisprofundocomasexperinciasqueospraticantespolticospodemencarnaras virtudes e atitudes de uma prtica poltica radicalmente diferente. Uma combinao dos dois campos de atuao sugerida por meio de espaos de formao, em queospraticantespolticospodemdesenvolverhabilidadesquelhespermitamabraaros aspectos paradoxais da vida poltica e, assim, superar a separao aparentemente inevitvel entre teoriaeprtica.Quandoumtipodepoderdelicadoencontrado,umsentidorenovadode espacialidade(spaciousness)emerge,dandomargemaabordagensradicalmenteabertas, horizontais e significativas de participao nos destinos da humanidade. 4 Acknowledgments Itisquiteamazingtorealizehowmuchthisdissertationistheoutcomeofjointefforts.Thereare countlessnamesofpeersandfriendswhosupportedmeallthewayhere:fromsmallgesturesof tolerance with my delays, absences and forgetfulness up to various kinds of direct collaborations, this dissertation would not be possible without each one who has supported me.Of course, I could not go without mention some of them:First of all, I owe my deepest gratitude to my tutors: Alan Kaplan, for his never-ending disposition to bringmefurther,andSueDavidoff,forsuchadedicatedsupportinpreparingmetodiveinthe reflectivepractice.Additionally,IexpressmyprofoundgratitudetoDavidHarding,always supportiveofmydemandingcuriosity.Withthisamazingteam,ourgrouphasnodoubtaboutthe uniqueness of this journey, held with the greatest love and dedication. Ialsowanttoexpressmygratitudetoallmycolleagues,whohavebecomefriendsforlife.Our great moments together provided for much learning and many good memories. Myspecialthankstomytwolife-longpartners:ClvisHenrique,whobroughtmestrengthtosee the value of this work; and Henrique Santana, who always shows me the world beyond the visible. I consider this dissertation another step of a great walk with both of you. MyeternalgratitudetoMarinaOliveira,whohassetthemilestonestothispath.Maythiswork honour your generosity. My gratitude is extended to all her partners from Fonte Institute, which has prepared the ground for development practice, and this master programme, in Brazil. Mywarmestgratitudetomypeersandfriends,whowalkedhand-in-handssocloselyinthefield practice,andwhoneverhesitatedtoholdmefirmerwhenIneeded:AlexandraReschke,Larissa Barros,MarcosWoortmann,RafaelPoubel,RangelMohedano.Witheachofyouthisjourneyfelt more true and worthwhile. I am extremely thankful to my friends in the Czech Republic, Ditta Dolejsiova and Petr Lebeda, and especiallytotheincredibleteamoftheVaclavHavelLibrary,inthepersonofMartaSmolikova. Your kind receptivity and support was determinant for this whole work. Iwouldliketothankallthosewhoinspiredandsupportedmyreflectivework:AmandaGambale, AntonioBrennand,AntonioLino,AronBelinki,AlanDubner,BeatrizPedreira,CaioTendolini, CndidoAzeredo,CarolRamalhete,CassioMartinho,DanielCara,DeniseCastro,DricaGuzzi, Erich Baptista, Fernando Sapelli, Fbio Brotto and Denise Jayme, Gil Scatena, Gisela and Mariana Moreau,IgorOliveira,JosMoroni,LilianaSalvo,MarcelTaminato,MarinaandDavidFeffer, MaristelaBernardo,MichellePrazeres,NecaSetubal,OliverHenman,OscarMotomura,Ricardo Leal, Rogerio Godinho, Talita Montiel. This dissertation would not be the same without the support of each of you. I would also like to express my huge appreciation to all my fellows in Rede: Alessandra Monteiro, AndrLima,BazileuMargarido,EduardoReiner,GabrielaBatista,JooFrancisco,Leonardo Secchi,LucasBrando,MarcelaMoraes,MarinaSilva,MurielSaragoussi,PedroIvo,Pedro Piccolo,RafaelPoo,ShalonSouza,ToinhoAlves,ZGustavo-andsomanyotherswho remained firm in the battle field. Thank you all for keeping up courage, strength and wisdom. 5 Myappreciationisequallyextendedtoallmyfellowsinthecommunityoftransformativepolitical practices, in the persons of Patricia Shaw, Ricardo Young, Izabella Ceccato and Juliana Schneider: your presences enabled this reflective journey to move further. Mygratitudetothefinecontributionofmyproof-readers:BeteToriiandLouGold.Withyour precious help my own thinking has gotten much sharper and clearer. Tomyfamily:myfatherCarlos,motherPatriciaandsisterCristina,whogavemeunconditional support, my warmest love and gratitude.This dissertation is dedicated to my wife, Elisa Marie, my greatest teacher in all my practices. 6 Table ofContents 1. The walls in our worlds .................................................................................................. 8 2. Flowing through the cracks. ........................................................................................ 13 3. Meeting the Impossible ............................................................................................... 19 4. Seeing the Invisible ..................................................................................................... 25 5. Holding Emptiness ...................................................................................................... 31 6. The Art of Spaciousness ............................................................................................. 37 Reference List ................................................................................................................. 44 7 So long as the notion of power is itself corrupted by a romantic opposition with love, soul, goodness and beauty, power will indeed corrupt, as the saying goes. The corruption begins not in power, but in the ignorance about it James Hillman 8 "# $%& '())* +, -./ '-/)0* Wouldnt it be much more fascinatingto participate of the destiny of our common garden? Rubem Alves What can a person who is truly concerned with the future of his or her place, city, country and world do, when she realizes that there is no way other than engaging, somehow, with the political sphere of life? Acommoncitizenwhochoosestoactpoliticallyonbehalfofacause,anidea,adeepcallofthe Soul,alifecommitmentforcommongood,willinevitablyfaceacomplex,difficultandoften exhaustingjourney.Politicalsystems,evendemocraticones,createwideandthickwalls separatingrulersfromcitizens,theso-calledpowerfulfromthepowerless.Byavoidingthat people may become aware of what really happens on the other side and learn how to influence the core of decisions about their own future, political systems become swallowed by their own internal dynamics,andthusdenytheverylifethatthesearesupposedtoserve.VaclavHavel(1975) named this destructive pattern of political systems as entropy1, and has dedicated a great amount of his life energy to explore how to overcome this destructive path: An ordinary human being, with a personal conscience, personally answering for something to somebody and personally and directly taking responsibility, seems to be receding farther and farther from the realm of politics. (1992a) Meanwhile, beyond the walls: Politiciansseemtoturnintopuppetsthatonlylookhumanandmoveinagiant,rather inhumantheatre;theyappeartobemerelycogsinahugemachine,objectsofamajor civilizational automatism which has gotten out of control and for which nobody is responsible. (1992a) Wecanimaginehowamovementofenergyhappensinvisiblythroughthegearsofgovernmental institutions,politicalparties,andinterestgroupscontrolledbyallsortsofintereststhatgoagainst thecommonneedsoflife.Eventhoughweknowthatthebasicfuelofthisoperatingsystemisa greedycombinationofhiddeninterests,liesandthemaintenanceofpeoplesignoranceand alienation,wefindourselvespowerlesstowardstheappropriationofourcommongoods.Yetwe know that a romantic answer is not effective to transform political realms - we cant avoid the fact, asoncesaidBertholdBrecht,thatitisfromournonpoliticalparticipationthatcomesthe abandonedchild,therobber,andmostofall,corruptofficials,thelackeysofexploitative corporations.

" In a person's life, as we know, there is a moment when the complexity of structure begins suddenly to decline and his path turns in the direction of entropy. This is the moment when he, too, succumbs to the general law of the universe: the moment of death. Somewhere at the bottom of every political authority which has chosen the path to entropy (and would like to treat the individual as a computer into which any program can be fed with the assurance that he will carry it out), there lies hidden the death principle., says Vaclav Havel (1975) 9 Thefewwho,withtheauthenticdesiretoservethecommongood,aredeterminedandstrong enough to succeed in occupying some chunks of space in formal politics, can sometimes reverse or diminishsomeofthesedestructivethreads.Hopefully,theiractionswillcreatefieldsthatgrowin time,andtheirleadershipcapacitywillallowthemtoopenspacesforactivecitizenstoengagein behalfofthelivingimpulsesinsociety.However,whiletheseactorslearnhowtooccupythese spaces, other forces also learn how to handle them on behalf of their particular interests. And this is how, even when leaders are not corrupted, they are usually constrained, contained, controlled, so that they do not threaten the hegemonic forces. Thissituationbecomescriticalwhenwerealizethatthewholeplanetisgoinginadestructive direction, already at critical speed, and the political responses are far from enough. The increasing use of dirty energy and avoidance of clean solutions, the deepening of social inequality, all sorts of intoleranceanddestructionofancientcultures,theprivatizationofwater,theirresponsible productionandconsumptionoffood,andthewholechemicalindustryprofitingfromthediseases producedbyitseffects,theforestsbeingdestroyed,warsbeingsponsoredbyweaponindustries, hypocrisymaintainingthenarcoticindustry,slaveandsemi-slaveworkdumpingeconomies worldwide, climate changes all this brings an exponential increase to this scenario. Theperverseconcentrationofwealthandpowerincreasesthecapacityofthesehiddenforcesto transformpoliticalsystemsintomachinesthatproducedecisionsandallocatecommonresources for their own benefit. And these ruling forces become able to do good deeds that a few succeed to implement to be used as a kind of cover excuse to legitimize their bad deeds. What has been said here has been denounced over and over in many different ways, ever since Thomas Hobbes wrote(1651) his Leviathan: an ever-increasing control of our destinies in the hands of a few who operate, through the state, the economy and our cultural lives. However,importantstudiesindicatethattheemergenceoftheso-callednetworksocietyhas pushedhumankindtotheedgeorintoatransitionstatethatmayaffectstructurallythiswhole scenario.Therevolutionofcommunicationtechnologiesandthecommonthreatsthatimpel humankind to realize itself as a community (such as climate change), combined, are pushing forth a globalizedworldthatinfluencesallspheresofhumanlife.InthatwhichManuelCastells(2009) hasnamedspacesofflownewformsofspatialarrangementsthatallowdistant,synchronous, real-timeinteractionsanunimaginablerangeofopportunitiesforcitizenshipparticipationhas beenlaunchedtowardsourfuture,andtheoldstructuresofgovernancedonotseemcapableof absorbing what is being suggested in this new context. MoisesNam(2013,p.243)arguesthatasweepingwaveofinnovationsisbuilding,onethat promises to change the world as much as the technological revolutions of the last two decades did. It will not be top-down, orderly, or quick, the product of summits or meetings, but messy, sprawling, andinfitsandstarts.Yetitisinevitable.Drivenbythetransformationintheacquisition,use,and retention of power, humanity must, and will, find new ways of governing itself. Precisely, the end of theefficacyofoldstructuresofpoweriscausedbytheinabilityofthecentrestocopewiththe profusion of actors who became able to influence their decisions. Fromthebordersofthesociety(Silva,2013),awiderangeofnewmodesofactionemerges, organizedarounddifferentthemesandcausessuchastransparency,theraisingofecological andorganiceconomy,horizontalandcooperativemovementsandorganizations,opensource technologies the examples are endless. People are finding other kinds of activism as expressions of other developmental perspectives. New ways of influencing the public sphere are being invented everyday, now less biased by ideological utopias, but perhaps driven by the desire to generate real solutions that may inform different pathways for the whole paradigm to be changed. In the network society, a new, highly interactive and horizontal culture enables the rapid formation of the so-called democratic cells (Box 1824, 2015), spaces in which bridges between peripheries andcentresarebuiltwithinnovativeapproachesthatreinventourwaysofparticipatinginthe 10 society. Meanwhile, the old structures of governance and the values that sustain them seem to be incheck.Isthistheendoftheformsofpowerthatwehaveknown?Possiblyyes,becausethe increasingcomplexityofthescenarioseemstoodynamictobecontrolledbythesameold centralizedstructuresofgovernanceandtheemergenceofNewPowers(Heimans,2014) provesirreversible.Yes,wecanforeseeamajorstructuralshiftcomingbut,asbothNamand Castells emphasise, this shift is not necessarily for the good. Regardless of which kind of political system and governance models are to come, we can have at least one certainty: No citizenship, no Democracy, said Havel (no date, p. 6). Active citizenship is theonlywaytoreversetheentropyofapoliticalsystem2.Ifdemocraticcellsremainmarginal, distantfromwhatmostpeopleareexperiencingintheirrealities,activecitizenswillneverreally influencemajordecisions.Theproblemhereis,asCastellsdemonstrates,thatemerging movementstendtospliteasily,duetoanindividualisticandatomizedtraitoftheirorganisational cultures. Abroadervisionofcitizenshipisneededinordertobondtheemergingbutalsoscatteringforces into an actual capability. This means that a deep and wide shift in the very understanding of political practicebyallofus,citizens,musthappen.Inourday-to-day,despiteallthenewpossibilitiesof action,wearestillconditionedbyakindofthinkingthatunderminesourcapacitytoactmore broadlyandeffectively.Whenwordssuchaspower,politician,andpoliticalareusedwitha pejorative connotation, a negative image of politics is formed in our imagination, and voil! - the wall is formed. A deep change is necessary in our whole way of thinking about political life. There is a nobility to be rooted in our very understanding of politics, rescuing its real meaning of Service from our deep sense of reality. Poweristobeunderstoodnotascommonsenseinducesustounderstandthecapacityto makeotherpeopledowhatwewant.Thiscommonsense,inthisperspective,ispowerover, based on manipulation and control; it is not true politics, but politicking. Power is inherent in the veryexistenceofpoliticalcommunitiessaysHannahArendt(1972,p.151),anditspringsup whenever people get together and act in concert, but it derives its legitimacy from the initial getting togetherratherthanfromanyactionthatthenmayfollow.Soithasnothingtodowithviolence, force, nor property. In this sense, it is the capacity of people to act together for the common good; it ispowerwith.Inthisvision,attheheartofpoliticsistheactionofconversation;theencounters between different human beings with their individual worldviews, interests, social backgrounds, etc. butwhoarticulatenewactstospeaktheirintentionsandwhobecomeresponsibleforkeeping commitmentstogether.Whencitizensfindtheirinherentpower,theworldisaffectedin unpredictable ways. Modernity by opening an abyss between thought and action (Arendt, 2005, cited in Hayek 2014, - 69) combined with traces of other authoritarian cultures that still live in us3, has eroded human solidarityandallspontaneousformsoflivingtogether,andpushesustowardscorruptionofthis nobility of politics. Additionally, because the nature of politics requires us to count on other, an other whowecannotchoose,whoisdifferentfromus,andwithwhomwedontknowhowtorelate properly. The wall just like the world is not just out there: it is between I and the other who belongs to other ideologies, other movements, other organisations, and other narratives of life.

2 Thewaysinwhichcitizensattitudesinfluencethepublicspherehasbeenwidelydiscussedinsidepoliticalscience, under the theme of Civic Culture (Renno, 1998, pp 85), which recognizes how a democratic political culture requires a structural shift on the day-by-day life of citizens. However, as Renno indicates (1998, pp. 86-89) the traditional science recognizes its limitation in regards to cope with the immense complexity of variables that informs this relationship. 3 In his classical work of Brazilian historiography, Srgio de Holanda (1995) demonstrates the origins of one of the most authoritarian political cultural traces of Brazil: the cordiality. The fear of loneliness, he argues, is the ground for a mask in whichnorealfeelingsarebroughtforthwhenthesemaybesomehowconfrontingtheother.Thispatternengendersa kind of superficiality in which even the most tyrannical attitudes can be convened as noble gestures. 11 Inthefaceofthiswall,thenwecaneasilygettotheconclusionthatitisbettertocomebackto smallthings,toourownlives,toourownwork,inthesafespacewherewemeetthosewhoare more like us or even better, our loneliness. And this is truly a valid choice as well, because small is beautiful indeed, and there will never be major changes if we dont bring them to our own small-scale practices: we will not bring happiness to the world without happiness in our own lives. But this choicehasadeepimplication:thisattitudeispreciselywhattheentropicforcesmostexpectfrom us, and we know (even if unconsciously) that we are responsible for our acquiescence. There must be another way! one may choose to think instead. Our initial question impels us to act precisely when we no longer can avoid facing our responsibility. Well then, how are we to assume our real power as citizens, not succumbing into hopelessness in the face of the wall? What kind of practicecanemancipateusfromthismachine-likeparadigm?Howcanthegapbetweenthis deeper understanding and the limiting realities of practice be fulfilled? This dissertation is about the searchforapracticalwisdomorphronesis- 4 whichcombinespoliticalactivismwithareflective journey of a becoming development practitioner.

4 Phronesis, in Aristotles terms, is an intellectual virtue that is reasoned, and capable of action with regard to things that aregoodorbadforman,accordingtoFlyvbjerg,(2003),itconcernsvaluesandgoesbeyondanalytical,scientific knowledge (episteme) and technical knowledge or know how (techne) and it involves judgements and decisions made in the manner of a virtuoso social actor. 12 It is possible to imagine thousands of tiny, inconspicuous, everyday decisions whose common denominator is precisely the spirit and ethos of a politics that is aware of the global threat to the human race,and which does not support general consumer resignationbut rather seeks to awaken a deeper interest in the state of the world and rally the will to confront the threats hanging over it. Above all, however, it is possible to imagine thatthrough the agencyof thousands of properly chosen, carefully combined, and well-timedpublic actions, the positive local climate in a country - that is, a climate of solidarity, creativity, cooperation, tolerance and deepening civic responsibility is slowly, inconspicuously, but steadily strengthened. What is at issue here is not a set of dogmas, postulates and ideological theses, but a political style, a political atmosphere, the inner spirit of politics. Vaclav Havel Wroclaw University - 1992 13 1# 2)-'+,3 4%/-.3% 4%& 5/(56*# The river does not want to achieve, but stay wide and deep. Guimares Rosa In the year 1998, in the deep Amazon, a political group was elected in the state of Acre, breaking decadesofaseriesofcorruptandviolentgovernments.DisciplesoftheAmazonianmartyrChico MendesbroughtforthwhatIfoundarevolutionaryideaofFlorestania,whichmightbetranslated intoEnglishasForestshipamixingofForestandCitizenship.TheFlorestaniaconcept embracedthecommunityofthelandandforestincludingsettlers,indigenouspeoplesandthe multiple other-than-human members of the states ecosystem, not only as beneficiaries, but also as active participants of their whole development. Drivenbythisveryideaandbymyadmirationforoneoftherepresentativesofthisgroup,the Senator (and then Minister) Marina Silva, I arrived in Acre after their first re-election, as a member oftheirstrategicplanningteam.ThroughoutthevariousmeetingsIwasfacilitating,itamazedme how one voice would influence some of their most relevant choices through the cracks of the formal structure: it was Toinho Alves, regarded as a mentor of this political group from its beginning, and creator of the concept of Florestania. Toinho had become critical of the contradictions of that very government,andchosetokeepactiveoutside,intheborderland.Themessageofhisspeeches andwritings,illustratedwithwisdomstoriesofthepeopleandotherformsoflifeintheforest, stakedaclaimfortheirgovernmentscoherence;standingforthesamehorizontal,ecologicaland open approach to power that made me admire Marina Silvas political style. YearslaterIwouldlearnfromToinhoastorythatillustratedtheirkindofpoliticalpractice,which valued the citizens participation from the borders: in the indigenous cultures the Cacique (the Chief) holdssocialresponsibilitiesatthecentreofthetribe,whilethePaj(thehealer,orshaman)has another political role: he perceives the subtle dynamics of the spiritual world, and keeps constantly attentivetothelifedeepintheforest,soheisabletotranslatetotheCaciquewhatishappening beyond the reach of his sight. In the practical wisdom of those small traditional societies, the centre isawareofitstendencytooverlookimportantthings,andremainsawaketothebreathoflife coming from the peripheries (Alves, 2014). Iconsiderthisancestralwisdomaguidancetounderstandthevitalimportanceofthedynamics betweenthecentresandbordersasapivotpointforourquest.Inmoderncivilization,centresof powerareformedascohering,gravitationallociofhegemoniccontrol.Assuch,theybecome resistant to influences coming from the border regions, filled with what seems strange, chaotic and less reliable ideas originated outside of that cosy world created by the centre. So hegemonic forces will tolerate their existence, and even use them on their own behalf when possible, as long as they do not reach a threatening level of political influence. VaclavHavel(1991,2007)has,throughouthisjourney,indicatedasimilarvisionhowitcanbe possibletoreverseapoliticalsystemsentropyfromthebordersandhowtransformativeapower centrecanbecomewhenitholdsanopenattitudetowardtheborders.Asacharismaticyoung dramatist and activist living under a totalitarian regime, and even though he was part of a very small group,Havelengagedtoreversecitizenspassivitybycommunicatingdirectlywiththecentreof that authoritarian regime, with such a persuasive ability that it became impossible to ignore him. He himself became a centre of new power - from a dissenting group to jail, then to presidency, and to 14 aninternationalpoliticalsuperstarstatus,Havelkeptanunfailingsensitivitytowhatwas happening at the borders, clearly standing for the most advanced issues of his time, in a constant effort to reverse the machine-like political culture of modernity. Whenonehasthechancetocomefromthebordersintoapoliticalsystem,onefindsavery complexwebofmanycentres,whichhavetheirownborders,formedbyothercentreswhichare also borders of other centres, and so on. Beyond appearances and formalities, the political fields do notcorrespondstrictlytostaticforms:agroupthathaslittlepowercanbecomesuddenlyakey actorforarelevantchoice;apoliticalinstancethatnowispowerfulmaysoonnotevenexist;a leader who is today is an attractor of hope can become tomorrow a symbol of the past. It is in the nature of politics to be unstable and uncertain, like a swamp. Borders and centres are formed in the midstofthiswebofuncertainty,inafundamentallyrelationalprocessinwhichacentrecannot effectivelyactwithoutcarryingalongitsborderssincetheinteractionwithbordersiswhat constitutes every centre. (Kaplan, 1997) Ofcourse,thiscomplexanddynamicunderstandingcontrastswiththehegemonicmentalitythat prevails in the political arena. In politics, there is no empty space - this is the only law of politics thisisthecovenantedtruththatjustifiesthekindofpracticeofthosewhoseenowayotherthan doingbusinessasusual.Butthisbeliefis,perhaps,whatthenewinfinitenewspacesoffloware potentially putting on check.

* * * * * * * * * * * Ive been experiencing this paradigmatic contrast since my early days of promoting youth activism. AsIorganizedvariousforums,networksandcoursesthatintentionallymixedNGOsandpolitical partiesfortheco-creationofpublicpolicies,Ilearnedhowpartygroupsmanipulatedthose conversations - by defining who would be the last one to speak, grabbing someone elses ideas as if they were their own, hiding relevant information, etc. Young politicians were taught how to control theirenvironment,andhowtomanipulatethosearoundthemtolegitimatetheirpositioninthe centre. From the moment I began realizing how authoritarianism is built in practice as a political culture, I began an activism aiming to reverse this intergenerational thread. I believed in the shared exercise of power as a solution for political changes, and searched for all possible means to discover how to transformpoliticalpractices.Isoughtguidancefromagroupofelders,internationallyengagedin nurturing civil society networks, and the facilitation practice was presented to me as a professional paththatcouldallowmetoengageinattemptingtogeneratenewformsofpoliticalculturewhile moving inside and outside different action fields. ThisbeginningofaprofessionaljourneyhappenedwhileapoliticalforcewasemerginginBrazil, thefirstonetoreachpowerwithastrongsocialbasis.Aseriesofinnovationsandparticipatory instanceswerebeingintroducedingovernmentalprocesses,whichincreasinglydemanded professionals capable of holding space for new forms of conversation and dialogue with citizens. A newandwidefieldofpossibilitieswasjustaheadofme,inside,outsideandonthebordersof governments from municipal to national levels, in a joint effort to Democratize Democracy5 (Santos, 2007).Mywayofcollaboratingwastoofferfacilitationasameanstosupporttheattitudinal

5 Democratize Democracy has been one of the main mottoes to frame the impulse of participatory public policies in Brazil, fromaleftpoliticalperspective.BoaventuraSouzaSantos(2007)framesthisideaundertheconceptoftwo democracies,whichproposesthatacitizen-orientedandculturalperspectiveisanecessaryresponsetoahegemonic andutilitarianvisionofdemocracyasameremechanismofgovernance.Participatorybudgeting(Oramento Participativo) and National Conferences would be the practical milestones of this political vision. 15 changesrequiredtothedevelopmentofamorehorizontalandcollaborativepoliticalculture (Rombauer, 2003). Duringmorethantenyearsmymainworkwastofacilitatemajordialogues:attheministryof Cultureintegratingadiverserangeofactorsintosupportingaradicallynewconceptofpublic policies; with an environmental conference involving hundreds of thousands of children who would choose priorities for actions, starting in their schools up to a charter to be presented to the Brazilian President; conversations between judges, policemen and prisoners to define common principles for thejusticesystem;inter-ministerialmeetingsnegotiatinghighlycomplexmatters.Iwasina privilegedpositiontoexperiencewhatthissharedpowerreallymeansandwhathappenswhen thepoliticalsystemisreceptivetoinfluencefromitsborders:collectivechallengeswerebeing resolved integrating the long and short term perspectives, and participants enhanced their capacity toinfluenceeachotherpositively.Asthesedialogicalfieldsofactionexpanded,itwasasifour societysvitalneedsandcreativeimpulsesgainedlifeandbreathednewvitalitythroughthe structure of governance. Along the way, I designed an innovation that would take these participatory spaces a step further in which citizens could engage more directly from their own spaces, either localities or thematic fields, bycreatingtheirownfreeconference(Rombauer,2009).Nowpeopleathomesorschoolsor even prisons could bring these discussions into their lives and bring their lives into the discussions. Therangeofparticipantswasdiversified;thecostperpersonwasdramaticallyreduced;andthe qualityoftheproposalsincreased(Derivi,2011).SoIstartedtoarticulatetheideatobetakento another level:every free conference could dialogue with conferences in other areas, and thus to becomeamulti-thematicreflectiveandpropositionalspace.Thiswasasolutionforanother problem I was working with inside the Strategic Planning Department: new horizontal (inter-agency andinterdisciplinary)programmeswerefailingduetointernalcompetitionandentrenched bureaucracy in the governmental structure. However,eventhoughmuchinterestwasdeclaredforthisinnovation,adeeperin-action elaboration could not be presented to the responsible department. Over the few years that followed, Iwitnessedthepowerfulinertiaoftheoldwaysofdoingpolitics:ministerialpositionswerebeing "horse-traded"; negotiations included forms of corruption; a retrograde developmental agenda full of giantpublicworkscontractsbecamestronger;innovativecultural,educational,energy,andsocial policieswerebeingbypassed;allinfavourofthesameoldpoliticsthatmeantmaintainingthe dominance of established interests. I concluded that truly participatory spaces were becoming mere factoidswithoutrealcapacitiesofinfluence.Aspoliciesandpracticesdriftedinincreasingly conservativeandlessinnovativedirections,Isearchedforanotherstancethatrequiredanew concept of development and participation, and, indeed, a new concept of politics. SomeyearslaterIwouldfindmyselfinaleadershiproleofanindependent,horizontalandopen citizensmovement.TheMovMarina6 wasbasedontheideaofanewwayofdoingpolitics:a pioneering,spontaneous,internet-organizedandwithhundredsofautonomouslocalandthematic groups;andallitsstrategieswereco-createdandgroundedoninitiativescomingfromthose multiplespaces.Thismovementbecameacentrepieceofa2010presidentialcampaign,and becausetheleadershipstyleofourcandidate,MarinaSilva,wasalsodeeplyopenandnon-hierarchical, it was natural for a strong bond to form; a field of trust-based action and exchange was established, in which information and creative ideas could move from the borders to the centre, and from the centre back to the borders, with relative ease.

6 MovMarinastandsforMovimentoMarinaSilva,createdin2007byanindependentgroupofcitizens(Machado, 2007)whichbelievedthatthesymbolicroleofMarinaSilvacouldhaveapedagogicaleffectintothepoliticalscenarioif brought forth as a candidate. 16 Myrolewasbasicallytomonitorandmaintainavitalopennessatthatcentreofpower,sothat actorsintheborderscouldperceivethemselvesas,andtrulybe,co-creatorsinourmovement. Indeed, a surprising stream of creative actions emerged from those cooperative forms and actually influencedthecorestrategyofthecampaign.(IwasgladwhenToinhoappearedfromthe borderlands, as if our Paj, bringing powerful insights from the field.). The2010presidentialcampaigncarriedusintoagreatcontradiction.Theoutstandingresult7 caused Marina Silva to be perceived as a serious political player and attracted many new forces to hercause.But,frommyperspectiveandmyunderstandingofourmovementsnewwayofdoing politics,wefacedaninternaldefeat.Thedifferingoperatingstylesofsomeofthekeyactorswho gathered around our candidate clashed with ours. There was not enough trust, and a whole series of undermining internal conflicts reduced the capability of our campaign as a whole. Thisfragmentationincreasedaftertheelection,whenanewnonpartisanmovement(thenew politics)wascreatedaimingtoexpandandconsolidatethefieldofpoliticalenergythathad emergedfromthepresidentialcampaign(Borges,2011).Althoughthevisionofcreatinganew politicsremainedasacentralidea(IDS,2011),theleadingapproachwasnotopen-centred,and many of us from the earlier Movmarina stage did not know how to relate with this new structure of power. For us, although the vision being carried on was clearly an evolution of our discussions, its practicedidnotexemplifywhatweunderstoodasthenewpoliticsnordiditshowanyinterestin groundingthenewphaseinthelessonsofouraccumulatedexperience(DAngelo,2012).SoI stoodintheborderoftheborder,whereIcouldfindtheopennessandauthenticity,andmore meaningful ways of acting. Along the years, as the new politics movement faced an identity crisis (how to be effective without any real space to act inside the political system?), it also seemed that, in the group around Marina, ourdifferenceswerebeingslowlyintegrated,andweseemtogainmaturity.Itwasbecoming clearerthatthenewpoliticsshouldnotignoretheoldstructures,andthenewandtheoldwere complementary.Sothen,atthebeginningof2013,adecisionwastakenofsettingupanew politicalinstitutionbasedontheideaofaradicalopennesstopeoplesprotagonism,through horizontalandsharedwaysofpower.RedeSustentabilidade(Rede)wasbeingconceivedto becomeanon-partypartystandingfornewandindependentcitizenshippowers,andforthe development of a qualified and participatory platform for sustainable development. Afterourpartyfailedtobesanctionedintimeforthefollowingelections,Redekeptactive informally, and joined a forming alliance of parties for the electoral campaign. Marina Silva became thevice-presidentialcandidatetogetherwiththepresidentialcandidateEduardoCampos,an extremelyskilledleaderbelongingtothetraditionalpolitics,whothuswasembracingthemain visionandproposalsofRede.Histragicdeath8 forcedthereturnofMarinaSilvatothecentreof presidential elections. The sudden increase of vote intentions she attracted provoked a jeopardizing response: the campaign of the president running for re-election intensively defamed her, her family andmainallieswithanoverwhelmingcampaignoflies.Awaveofconfusionandangerwas created, and corroborated to push our population even farther away from politics.9

Withallmeansofpropagandausedtodamageherimagebeforethepopulation,MarinaSilva became perceived as an unprepared and reactionary leader. And, in such a dramatic situation, our

7 Marina Silva gathered 20 million votes far beyond the predictions of pollsters. 8 Eduardo Campos has died on a tragic airplane crash, nearly a month after the beginning of the electoral campaign. # Asaresult,themostconservativecongresseverinourhistorywaselected,andalong-termseriesofretrocessions, including some harming basic human rights articles of our Constitution, is now at stage; and waves of street protests and the lowest popularity of a president in the history of Brazilian democracy are indications of a natural response against this practice. 17 campaignwas(again)notabletointegrateitselfinternally,neithertoresistexternallythe destructive campaign machine of the ruling forces. What practical wisdom may we discover here? * * * * * * * * * * * Wemustbearinmindthatsomeofthegreatestpoliticalconquestsofhumankind,liketheendof slavery,universalsuffrageandhumanrights,emergedfromthemarginsandfacedfierce resistance. Small groups with a deep call, many times isolated, start at the border areas where it is easier to hold a true intention together. Setbacks are part of any struggle, from which new learning andresiliencecanbebuilt.Thecapacityofinfluencingwidercirclesgrowsasmarginalpositions gain expression and support, up to the point where there is a breakthrough into mainstream political awareness.Hereiswheregreatpoliticalleadersmakeadifference:theirpersonalcharismatic authorityholdsthevision,integratedifferences,andmotivateawiderangeofactorstobringtheir best to the cause. Nowadays,manycausesemergefromtheborderstryingtousetheemergentnetworking opportunitiestospreadtheirmessagesandsinkdeeperrootsinsociety.Ahugemosaicisbeing drawn and only history will show its final form. But there do seem to be some foundational features: widespreadandinclusiveInternetallowinglarge-scaleparticipationtoincreaseexponentially;the so-calleddemocraticcellsbuildingbridgesofnewrelationsbetweencitizensandpublic authorities;andageneralreceptivenesstoinnovation.Thecommonkeywordsofthenewpolitics usually stress openness -- Open Government, Open Data, Open Democracy. RedeSustentabilidade(2015)isjustatinypartofthismajormosaic,andyetitstandsfora historicalshiftthatnootherpoliticalpartyinthecountryisdeclaring:anintegrationoftheseliving democraticcellsintoasustainablefuture,basedonamorecomplexunderstandingofourreality, whichencompassesdifferentlevelsofsustainability.Itclearlydoesnotaimtoseizepowerinthe traditionalhegemonicterms,buttoallowaconsistentbodyofideasandpeopletofindpositions insidethesystem,whileatthesametimeholdingstrongcooperationflowsthroughcentresand borders(Garcia,2013),thusallowingtheirtransformativeenergytogeneratetransformative synergiesthroughoutthepoliticalarena.Arewegoingtosucceed?Willtherebeanothermore efficient political group that can better serve their transformative potential? We dont know. What I can highlight from this whole experience, following Arendts and Havels earlier diagnosis, is that we are all immersed in a fragmented and divided world: the openness we strive for is not yet embodied in attitudes, in relationships, in our political culture and without this deeper shift, all of our activism falls into a black hole. Any honest reflection will bring us to the understanding that no answers can emerge from this or that group, from outstanding leaders or from models or universal solutions. Stronger forces than our fragmenting patterns are to be found. Thisiswherepracticalwisdomistobediscovered:inlearninghowtoact,tothink,tobeinthese spaces of flux with a simultaneous capacity to transform our own culture that still induces so much ofourthinkingandfeelinganddoingintoacolonized,exploitativeandutilitarianapproachtolife. Bridging this gap from the visible level of action to the invisible level of our culture requires a kind of knowledge rarely (if at all) found in books, in their languages that speak about our world. Practical wisdom goes deeper, it speaks out of the way we live in the world; it is invisibly being woven by many hands from inside the realm of action, responding to our need of understanding and narrating our realities with ideas that speak directly to our selves in practice.

Ifthereisapracticalwisdomtobefound,wemustsearchthroughtheconfoundingandobscure realm of our political experiences, further into the invisible. 18 The more sensitive a person is to all the dangersthat threaten him, the better able he is to defend against them.For that matter, I have always thought that feeling emptyand losing touch with the meaning of life arein essence only a challenge to seek new things to fill one's life,a new meaning for one's existence and one's work. Isn't it the moment of most profound doubtthat gives birth to new certainties?Perhaps hopelessness is the very soilthat nourished human hope;perhaps one could never find sense in lifewithout first experiencing its absurdity. Vaclav Havel Salzburg Festival 1990 19 7# 8&&4+,3 4%& 9:;-**+&&+,3 4%& 9,?+*+