Introduction. Anarchism and the national question—historical, theoretical and contemporary perspectives
Gutierrez, José A.ORCID: 0000-0003-2335-2677 and Kinna, RuthORCID: 0000-0002-1920-464X
(2022)
Introduction. Anarchism and the national question—historical, theoretical and contemporary perspectives.
Nations and Nationalism, 129
.
pp. 121-130.
ISSN 1354-5078
This article provides an introduction to the themed
section ‘Anarchism and the national question—historical,
theoretical and contemporary perspectives.’ We discuss
first the long and often overlooked engagement of anarchists with the colonial and national liberation question,
particularly—but not exclusively—in the heyday of the
movement (from the second half of the 19th to the first
decades of the 20th century). We discuss in particular the
overlaps and tensions between anarchists and republicans
(those who favoured republics as opposed to monarchies)
and anti-colonial nationalists (anti-colonialists who defended the right of national self-determination). Then we
proceed to discuss the potential for a dialogue between
anarchist and nationalism studies based on three interventions. First, to problematise the narrative that conflates
nations with state-building processes. Second, to better
grasp the emergence of alternatives to the nation–state as
a historical construct. Third, to complicate narratives that
associate in an unproblematic fashion internationalism and
classless society. Finally, the introduction highlights the four
questions which lie at the core of the themed section and
discuss briefly how the papers relate to these.