Conceptualizing the state: tactical decisions and violence at the ZAD Lützerath

This paper examines how activists' conceptions of the state shape – and are shaped by – their tactical decisions during violent confrontations, focusing on a partial eviction at the ZAD Lützerath, a protest camp in Germany. Drawing on ethnographic fieldnotes and internal debates, it shows how activists shift between viewing the state as socially accountable and as an autonomous, oppressive force. These views inform whether they pursue restraint or militant resistance. Crucially, lived experiences of eviction and police violence reinforce perceptions of the state's autonomy, prompting defensive, sometimes violent, responses – even when such actions may undermine public support and broader movement goals.