Anarchism in Croatia

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Anarchism in Croatia first emerged in the late 19th century within the socialist workers' movement. Anarchist tendencies subsequently spread from neighboring countries, taking root in a number of cities throughout the country. The movement experienced repression from a succession of authoritarian regimes before finally reemerging around the time of the independence of Croatia.

In 1868, the Croatian–Hungarian Settlement brought the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia under the rule of Austria-Hungary,^[1] beginning a period of significant industrialization in the country, which saw the emergence of the first workers' associations in cities throughout Croatia. In 1869, the first strikes broke out in Osijek and Rijeka and there were debates over the establishment of a Croatian branch of the International Workingmen's Association. Croatian workers eventually began to express their demands in the new Workers' Friend newspaper, which was launched in 1874. Meanwhile, a split in the early Social Democratic Party led to the emergence of an anarchist faction, which extended its influence to Croatia.

In 1885, the Croatian worker Ignjat Graff was detained in Osijek and accused of anarchist agitation by the authorities, which seized several issues of Freiheit from him.^[2] In 1887, the Radnik newspaper began publication in Dubrovnik. In 1890, workers in Zagreb celebrated May Day for the first time. In 1894, the Hungarian anarchist Henrik Wieneke began to agitate in the city of Osijek, leading the mayor to express fear of "propaganda of the deed" and the administration of Károly Khuen-Héderváry to warn of the spread of anarchist views among state officials and the home guard.

In 1898, a socialist newspaper began to be published in Zadar and the Italian anarchist Attilio Pieroni moved to Split. The same year, the musicologist Franjo Kuhač published a work titled Anarchy, in which he criticized the emergence of Art Nouveau in Croatia. The authorities then began to point to the influences of Serbian anarchists in Osijek.

In 1900, the French anarchist Joseph Signac was expelled from Rijeka, while arrest warrants for Italian anarchists began to circulate Croatia, many wanted for their connections to the assassinations of

Following the

Individual anarchists continued to agitate in Croatia, with some becoming involved in the

Following the death of Josip Broz Tito, a performative anarchist group formed in Zagreb during the 1980s. Initially nameless, it later changed its names several times, some of which included: Train Toilet Band, Svarun and Autonomija. This group mostly held limited performances and "empty demonstrations", in which members ridiculed politics by giving silent speeches and handing out black leaflets. The group eventually disbanded around the time of the breakup of Yugoslavia.^[8]

Following the independence of Croatia, the Croatian anarchist movement began to slowly reconstitute itself. Anarchists began to participate in the anti-war movement against the Croatian War of Independence. The Zagreb Anarchist-Pacifist Movement (ZAPO) was formed spontaneously to agitate against the war, holding events throughout the 1990s, before eventually dissolving itself in 2001, once the Yugoslav Wars had drawn to a close.^[9] During the 1990s, anarchism was largely subcultural, with many anarchists forming connections with Croatian NGOs and participating in the opposition movement to the government of Franjo Tuđman and the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).^[5] Food Not Bombs collectives also began to emerge around this time, organizing the distribution of food in cities throughout Croatia.

On October 31, 1999, Anfema (Anarchofeminist Action) was created in Zagreb, intensifying the problematization of women's issues in the anarchist movement. Anfema began to create an alternative feminist scene, as group members had argued that in institutionalized feminist associations, too many relationships were still based on hierarchy and domination, only without men. In early 2000, they published the first issue of WOMB magazine. The main activities of the group were organizing workshops and informing citizens about the problems of women in society.^[10]

At the turn of the 21st century, anarchist organizations built around

In February 2008, the Network of Anarcho-Syndicalists (MASA) was formed at a national meeting in Zadar, holding their first congress in Zagreb on April 12 of that same year, where it formally constituted its aims and structure. It was made up of local groups in Zagreb, Pula, Split, Rijeka and Zadar, with contacts in various other cities, and participated in a number of direct actions throughout Croatia.^[11]

In 2009, MASA opened the Centre for Anarchist Studies,^[11] a registered NGO formed with the intention of collecting and publishing anarchist literature, holding lectures and public discussions, and promoting the study of anarcho-syndicalist theory.^[14]

Following a number of neoliberal reforms and with the

• List of anarchist movements by region
• Anarchism in Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Anarchism in Hungary
• Anarchism in Italy
• Anarchism in Serbia