Transatlantic Anarchism During The Spanish Civil War And Revolution 1936 1939

Between 1936 and 1939, the Spanish Civil War showcased anarchism to the world. News of the revolution in Spain energised a moribund international anarchist movement, and activists from across the globe flocked to Spain to fight against fascism and build the revolution behind the front lines. Those that stayed at home set up groups and newspapers to send money, weapons and solidarity to their Spanish comrades. This book charts this little-known phenomenon through a transnational case study of anarchists from Britain, Ireland and the United States, using a thematic approach to place their efforts in the wider context of the civil war, the anarchist movement and the international left.

This book analyses the processes of revolution and state reconstruction that took place in the Republican zone during the Spanish civil war. It focuses on the radical anarchists who sought to advance the revolutionary agenda. Their activity came into conflict with the leaders of the libertarian organisations committed to the reconstruction of the Republican state following its near collapse in July 1936. This process implied participation not only in the organs of governance but also in the ideological reconstitution of the Republic as a patriarchal and national entity. Using original sources, the book shows that the opposition to this process was both broader and more ideologically consistent than has hitherto been assumed, and that, in spite of its heterogeneity, it united around a common revolutionary programme. This resistance to state reconstruction was informed by the essential insight of anarchism: that the function and purpose of the modern state cannot be transformed from within. By situating the struggles of the radical anarchists within the contested process of state reconstruction, the book affirms the continued relevance of this insight to the study of the Spanish revolution.

For a brief period, the Spanish people offered the world a glimpse of a future that differs by orders of magnitude from the tendencies inherent in the state capitalist and state socialist societies that exist today.-Noam Chomsky --Book Jacket.

A comprehensive view of the anarchists' role in Spain from 1936 to 1939, both during the conflict and in their unique social and economic experiments behind the lines. The author examines the part anarchists played in the defence of Madrid, as well as life in the rural and urban collectives.

This volume contains a selection of original documents from the period 1936-39. These include first hand accounts of the constructive aspects of the revolution - the collectives in town and country, in industry, in public services and in agriculture; reports on meetings and demonstrations in favour of the Spanish workers' struggle; verbatim reports of speeches made by the CNT-FAI 'luminaries' justifying their compromises in accepting government posts; appreciative statements by non-anarchists on the positive contribution by the Spanish comrades in the armed struggle as well as in creating a new society.

The Spanish Civil War became the setting for the struggle between revolution and counter-revolution as well as being, for many outsiders, the place of armed conflict between the forces of democracy and fascism. This book is a path-breaking synthesis of political, social and cultural history concerning the anarchist revolution during the Spanish Civil War by Spain's leading historian of the Civil War.

A piercing study of the tactics and behavior of the anarchists during the Spanish Revolution.