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| International of Anarchist Federations | |
|---|---|
| Name | International of Anarchist Federations |
| Founded | 1968 |
| Type | International federation |
| Location | Europe (origin) |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Ideology | Anarcho-syndicalism; anarcho-communism; platformism; especifismo |
International of Anarchist Federations is a transnational network of anarchist federations founded in 1968 that brought together federations from Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Oceania. It emerged during a period of postwar reconstruction and social movements linked to the legacies of the Spanish Civil War, the Russian Revolution aftermath, and decolonization struggles. The coalition interacted with trade unions, student movements, and guerrilla currents while seeking to coordinate responses to Cold War alignments, NATO enlargement, and United Nations debates.
The formation drew on antecedents such as the Spanish Civil War militias connected to the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo and the Revolutionary Workers' Movement milieu influenced by figures like Buenaventura Durruti, Nestor Makhno, and currents from the First International. Early congresses referenced documents from the Makhnovshchina legacy, the Kronstadt rebellion, and the 1920s Italian anarchist movement traceable to organizations like the Unione Sindacale Italiana and activists associated with Errico Malatesta and Sébastien Faure. During the 1970s and 1980s the federation debated positions in relation to the May 1968 events, the Solidarity movement, and the Iranian Revolution while interacting with anti-colonial movements such as the Algerian War veterans and Latin American uprisings connected to the Sandinista National Liberation Front and the Zapatista Army of National Liberation. Post-Cold War shifts prompted engagement with networks like People's Global Action, responses to the World Trade Organization protests in Seattle, and alliances during the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street mobilizations.
The federation model emphasized federative councils similar to those in the Makhnovist movement and the Free Territory experiments, with rotating delegates and recall mechanisms inspired by the CNT-FAI praxis. Decision-making used plenary assemblies echoing methods from the International Workingmen's Association and coordination committees akin to those in the International Federation of Trade Unions. Member federations retained autonomy paralleling structures in the Socialist International and the World Federation of Trade Unions while maintaining liaison with regional networks such as the European Anti-Fascist Action formations and the Latin American Anarchist Federation traditions. Financing relied on collective dues and fundraising strategies comparable to those used by the British Labour Party and the German Social Democratic Party affiliates in community projects, adapted to anarchist federal principles.
Doctrinal influences included classical anarchist theorists like Peter Kropotkin, Mikhail Bakunin, and Alexander Berkman, and later strategists from Nestor Makhno to Voline and Colin Ward. The federation synthesized strands from anarcho-syndicalism, anarcho-communism, platformism debates initiated by the Group of Russian Anarchists and critiques responding to Leninism and Trotskyism. Political positions often referenced anti-authoritarian analyses originating in responses to the Paris Commune and to disputes with Communist International affiliates. Ethical commitments aligned with principles advanced by activists in Greenham Common, grassroots organizations linked to Mahatma Gandhi-inspired civil disobedience, and mutual aid practices promoted in movements around the Great Depression relief efforts.
Over time the international encompassed federations from countries with deep anarchist histories such as federations akin to the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo, the Federación Anarquista Ibérica-influenced groups, Italian federations recalling the USI (Unione Sindacale Italiana), French groupings descended from the Fédération Anarchiste, and British organizations tracing lines to the British Anarchist Federation. Affiliates included federations from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, Germany, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, as well as networks in Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, South Africa, Kenya, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States. Some member organizations maintained links to radical labor currents like the Industrial Workers of the World and cooperated with community projects inspired by Mondragon Corporation experiments.
Activities ranged from workplace organizing and neighborhood mutual aid—echoing tactics used by Shining Path-era community committees in rhetoric-distinct ways—to direct action against far-right formations such as those confronted in Charlottesville, Virginia and Lisbon street clashes. The federation coordinated solidarity campaigns for imprisoned activists associated with events like the Trial of the Chicago Seven analogues, anti-nuclear protests at sites like Greenham Common and against pipelines referenced in disputes akin to the Standing Rock resistance. International congresses and summer schools paralleled gatherings like the World Social Forum and training models similar to Amnesty International capacity-building; publications circulated analyses comparable to journals produced by the Institute for Anarchist Studies and archival projects inspired by the International Institute of Social History.
The federation engaged with trade unions such as the Solidarnosc-style independent unions and with communist and socialist parties during popular fronts reminiscent of alliances in the Spanish Civil War. It participated in coalitions alongside environmental networks like Extinction Rebellion, feminist collectives drawing from Second-wave feminism legacies, and indigenous movements connected to the EZLN. Dialogues occurred with non-governmental organizations similar to Médecins Sans Frontières in humanitarian coordination, while tensions arose vis-à-vis parties aligned with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union tradition and electoralist currents evident in the New Left.
Critics cited organizational fragmentation comparable to splits in the Socialist Party of America and the British Labour Party factions, accusing the federation of sectarianism paralleling historic disputes involving Trotsky-influenced groups and platformist controversies that echoed debates around the Organizational Platform of the General Union of Anarchists (Draft). Accusations included alleged insufficient engagement with electoral politics similar to critiques lodged against the Green Party in some contexts, debates over responses to armed struggle referencing comparisons with Sinn Féin-linked strategies, and controversies regarding positions on international conflicts reminiscent of disputes during the Bosnian War and the Yugoslav Wars. Internal inquiries occasionally invoked archival disputes like those involving the International Brigades records.
Category:Anarchist organizations Category:International federations