The Funambulist 064: The No-State Solution

In the summer of 2025, nine Western States formally recognized the State of Palestine. This State recognition and the resurrection of the moribund so-called “two-State solution” is combined with a criminalization of calls to liberate Palestine “from the river to the sea.” This issue asks: can liberation ever take the form of a state? Borrowing a phrase Sophia Azeb used multiple times in the history of The Funambulist (since our first conversation in 2014), The No-State Solution intends to revisit this concept in the context of Palestine in challenging the very idea of “solution” (Sophia Azeb & Rebecca Gross), but also in other liberation struggles such as the Kurdish (Havin Guneser) and Zapatista (Linda Quiquivix) ones. It warns us against state dreams, such as the ones implemented in Sierra Leone and Liberia (what William C. Anderson calls “Black Zionism” in his contribution), and questions the differences between State and community forms of governance, in particular when it comes to healthcare, as made evident in Cuba and Venezuela (Lisbeth Moya González). Finally, it envisions borderless, stateless futures in Aoetaroa (Kai-rui Cheng) and Kanaky (Florenda Nirikani). As for the artwork on the cover, it is an original creation by Samir Harb.