Revolution and the State: Anarchism in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939

Description

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. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents Acknowledgements Abbreviations Notes Introduction 1. Spanish anarchists and the Republican state, 1931–;1936 The libertarian movement in Spain Republic or revolution On the eve Conclusions 2. Revolution and the state, July–;December 1936 Proletarian freedom and its limits The reconstruction of the Republican state Revolutionary resistance Conclusions 3. Radical anarchism: programme and alliance, January–;April 1937 The people armed? The socialisation campaign Revolutionary alliances Conclusions 4. May 1937: from a second July to the ‘Spanish Kronstadt’ Beginning again The mobilisation of the ‘anti-state’ The ‘comités superiores de defensa’ Consequences Conclusions 5. The Spanish revolution in retreat, May–;December 1937 Militarism, nationalism and the ‘war that is not for true freedom’ The ‘anarchist ship back on course’? Neo-anarchism and the FAI The revolution in retreat Conclusions 6. The experience of defeat, 1937–;1939 The apex of statist anarchism The fracturing of revolutionary solidarities Anarchists in isolation Conclusions Conclusion Recurring personages Bibliography Index