The infoshop: the alternative information centre of the 1990s

This article introduces the infoshop movement, a network of independent information centres run by political activists throughout Europe and the USA. The article defines and describes the nature of the infoshop, the services it provides and the nature of its organisation. It then goes on to present a theoretical model for the infoshop, based in particular on Hakim Bey’s concept of the “temporary autonomous zone”. It examines the significance of the infoshop as a node in the complex networks of information‐exchange and activism that constitute the contemporary “alternative public sphere”. It notes the autonomous, non‐hierarchical nature of infoshops and how they might be thought of as “free spaces” connected by complex, though informal, communications networks. Finally, it proposes that infoshops play a key role in developing autonomy, solidarity and reflexivity in the creative processes of activist politics.