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Some people believe anarchism and national liberation are incompatible, or decolonization means the creation of ethno-states.
What's the actual history, and the real methodology of those fighting against colonialism?
*
A THREAD.
First stop: Kuwasi Balagoon http://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/kuwasi-balagoon-letters-from-prison#toc3
What's the actual history, and the real methodology of those fighting against colonialism?
*
A THREAD.
First stop: Kuwasi Balagoon http://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/kuwasi-balagoon-letters-from-prison#toc3
Many Paris Commune prisoners were exiled to the French penal colony New Caledonia. Louise Michel supported the independence struggle of the native Kanak, while other prisoners supported the French.
The take on colonialism was an early difference between anarchism and socialism.
The take on colonialism was an early difference between anarchism and socialism.
Read more on the Kanak uprising and Louise Michel's solidarity with it, and other Communards' active repression of it, here.
(If you just read tweets and never longer texts, I die a little inside. People who read don't say decolonization=ethno-states) https://salvage.zone/in-print/civilization-vs-solidarity-louise-michel-and-the-kanaks/
(If you just read tweets and never longer texts, I die a little inside. People who read don't say decolonization=ethno-states) https://salvage.zone/in-print/civilization-vs-solidarity-louise-michel-and-the-kanaks/
The Strandzha Commune in the Balkans in 1903 was one of the first anarchist revolutions. It arose out of the national liberation movements against Ottoman rule, balancing internationalism & liberation from imperialism, with federated, multi-ethnic communes
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strandzha_Commune
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strandzha_Commune
The intersections of Zapatismo, the anarchism of the Flores Magón brothers and the PLM, and indigenous anticolonial resistance made up the most radical currents in the Mexican Revolution and one of the foremost examples of the rallying cry, "Land and Freedom!"
One of the most famous anarchist revolutions was the liberated territory created in southern Ukraine by the Black Army (Makhno, Marusya, Voline, etc.)
The spark was when Lenin gave Ukraine (colonized by Russia) to imperialist Germany to pay them back for assistance to the...
The spark was when Lenin gave Ukraine (colonized by Russia) to imperialist Germany to pay them back for assistance to the...
...Bolsheviks. Ukrainian peasants wanted independence but not the anti-semitic nationalism and capitalism of Petliura, so they organized themselves in free communes and a volunteer army, and were instrumental in defeating the White Army. https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/malcolm-archibald-atamansha
From 1929-1931, there was the Shinmin Commune, organized by the Korean Anarchist Communist Federation. Korea had been annexed by imperial Japan. A part of the independence movement didn't want a new state, but a federation of free communes.
https://anarchyinaction.org/index.php?title=Shinmin_Prefecture
https://anarchyinaction.org/index.php?title=Shinmin_Prefecture
The anarchist movement in Catalunya has taken a variety of positions with respect to the Catalan independence movement.
A common position is critical solidarity, being engaged in the streets but not supporting the creation of a new state. https://crimethinc.com/2017/10/03/anarchists-on-the-catalan-referendum-three-perspectives-from-the-streets
A common position is critical solidarity, being engaged in the streets but not supporting the creation of a new state. https://crimethinc.com/2017/10/03/anarchists-on-the-catalan-referendum-three-perspectives-from-the-streets
Black anarchists have long spoken about the need to oppose imperialism and win autonomy for the African diaspora. Here, lifelong revolutionary Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin goes into detail https://libcom.org/library/anarchism-black-revolution-lorenzo-ervin
In "Decolonizing Anarchism" ( @AKPressDistro ), Maia Ramnath explores the connections between the anarchist and anticolonial movements in India, also unravelling questions of global significance. https://www.akpress.org/decolonizinganarchism.html
Then there's the case of the Kurdish liberation movement, which is internationalist, confederal, and against all nation-states. https://www.akpress.org/revolutioninrojava.html
And we haven't even gotten to Bakunin's support for national liberation movements, Malatesta aiding the fight against the British in Egypt, or Greek anarchist partisan Marinos Antypas who fought Ottoman rule.
Want to know about anarchism and decolonization? The Indigenous Anarchist Federation ( @IAF__FAI ) has a recommended reading list here: https://iaf-fai.org/2020/04/23/recommended-readings/
There's no excuse for uninformed takes.
No States, no Masters, but a world where many worlds fit.
There's no excuse for uninformed takes.
No States, no Masters, but a world where many worlds fit.
One final addition, "With Land, Without the State" on the Mapuche struggle to recover their land. "We were the first anarchists. Our politics is an anti-politics." https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/john-severino-with-land-without-the-state-anarchy-in-wallmapu
