Postcolonial anarchism
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Post-colonial anarchism is a term used to describe anarchism in an anti-imperialist framework. Whereas traditional anarchism arose from industrialized Western nations—and thus sees history from their perspective—post-colonial anarchism approaches the same principles of anarchism from the perspective of colonized peoples. It is highly critical of the contributions of the established anarchist movement, and seeks to add what it sees as a unique and important perspective. The tendency is strongly influenced by indigenism, anti-state forms of nationalism, and anarchism among ethnic minorities, among other sources.
The term was first coined by Roger White. Between 1994 and 2004, White wrote a series of essays reflecting on his experiences in the anarchist movement. He identifies racial isolation and
Issues
Post-colonial anarchism is syncretic and diverse, incorporating a wide range of sources, as is to be expected from a tendency which draws from such a wide range of perspectives.
Nationalism
Anarchism and nationalism have a long history, going back to prominent anarchist theorist
Post-colonial anarchism argues that a key element of imperialism is the waging of culture war by the conquerors against subject nations in an attempt to destroy the identity of the conquered and make them easier to govern. Post-colonial anarchism therefore seeks not only the abolition of capitalism and the state, but is an effort by colonized peoples to promote, preserve, and defend their cultures, dignity, and identity. As Ashanti Alston puts it in "Beyond Nationalism but Not Without It":
For me, even the nationalism of a Louis Farrakhan is about saving my people, though it is also thoroughly sexist, capitalist, homophobic and potentially fascist. Yet, it has played an important part in keeping a certain black pride and resistance going. Their "on the ground" work is very important in keeping an anti-racist mentality going. As a black anarchist, that’s MY issue to deal with cuz they’se MY FOLKS. But it points to where anarchism and nationalism have differences, and that is in [non-black] anarchists having NO understanding of what it means to be BLACK in this fucked up society.[2]
At root, the basic difference between anarchism and anti-state nationalism is that in nationalism the primary political unit is the
African anarchism
Sam Mbah and I. E. Igariwey in African Anarchism: The History of a Movement make the claim that:
To a greater or lesser extent, all of [...] traditional African societies manifested “anarchic elements” which, upon close examination, lend credence to the historical truism that governments have not always existed. They are but a recent phenomenon and are, therefore, not inevitable in human society. While some “anarchic” features of traditional African societies existed largely in past stages of development, some of them persist and remain pronounced to this day.
The reason why traditional African societies are characterized as "anarchies" is because of their horizontal political structure and absence of classes. The traditional legal system of Somalia, known as Xeer, is one example of this.
Xeer, pronounced
Black or "Panther" anarchism
Black anarchism opposes the existence of a
Black anarchists have criticized both the hierarchical organization of the
Black anarchists are thus influenced by the civil rights movement and the Black Panther Party, and seek to forge their own movement that represents their own identity and tailored to their own unique situation. However, in contrast to black activism that was, in the past, based in leadership from hierarchical organizations, black anarchism rejects such methodology in favor of developing organically through communication and cooperation to bring about a social, cultural and economic revolution that does away with all forms of domination. From Alston's @narchist Panther Zine:
"Panther anarchism is ready, willing and able to challenge old nationalist and revolutionary notions that have been accepted as ‘common-sense.’ It also challenges the bullshit in our lives and in the so-called movement that holds us back from building a genuine movement based on the enjoyment of life, diversity, practical self-determination and multi-faceted resistance to the Babylonian Pigocracy. This Pigocracy is in our ‘heads,’ our relationships as well as in the institutions that have a vested interest in our eternal domination."[6]
Celtic anarchism
Ecology
The influence of the modern revival of Celtic culture on anarchism are particularly evident within the radical wing of the
In Ireland
The armed struggle against
Anarchists are not nationalists, in fact we are completely against nationalism. We don't worry about where your granny was born, whether you can speak Irish or if you drink a green milkshake in McDonalds on St Patrick's Day. But this doesn't mean we can ignore nations. They do exist; and some nationalities are picked on, discriminated against because of their nationality. Irish history bears a lot of witness to this. The Kurds, Native Americans, Chechins, and many more have suffered also - and to an amazingly barbaric degree. National oppression is wrong. It divides working class people, causes terrible suffering and strengthens the hand of the ruling class. Our opposition to this makes us anti-imperialists. ...
So fight national oppression but look beyond nationalism. We can do a lot better. Changing the world for the better will be a hard struggle so we should make sure that we look for the best possible society to live in. We look forward to a world without borders, where the great majority of people have as much right to freely move about as the idle rich do today. A worldwide federation of free peoples - classless and stateless - where we produce to satisfy needs and all have control over our destinies - that's a goal worth struggling for.[9]
Independence anarchism
Independence anarchism (also known as anarcho-independentism) attempts to synthesise certain aspects of
Some examples of independence anarchist organizations in the Catalan Countries include the Federació Anarcocomunista Catalana (FACC) and the Icària collective in the 1980s, and Recerca Autònoma in the 1990s.[11] One example of an independence anarchist group in Catalonia active nowadays is Negres Tempestes, a self-identified anarcoindependentista organization that participates in struggles to defend the Catalan language and culture, while opposing "dogma, states or borders". They also view the state as "a basis of authority, repression and economic exploitation".[12]
Independence anarchism frames national questions primarily in terms of equality, and the right of all peoples to cultural autonomy,
References
- ^ White, Roger. Post Colonial Anarchism Essays on race, repression and culture in communities of color 1999-2004 (PDF). Oakland California: Jailbreak Press. Archived from the original on 3 January 2006. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Ashanti Alston. Anarchist Panther Zine issue 1 Archived 2008-09-07 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Post Colonial Anarchism, by Roger White. Anarchism, nationalism, and national liberation from an APOC perspective.
- ^ Louisa Lombard (October 2005). "Elder Counsel". Legal Affairs. Archived from the original on 2012-02-18. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
- ^ Peter Leeson. "Better Off Stateless" (PDF).
- ^ @narchist Panther Zine October 1999, 1(1).
- ^ the EarthFirst! Journal Archived 2007-05-25 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Flood, Andrew. "Insurrection in Ireland", Anarkismo.net.
- ^ An Anarchist Perspective on Irish Nationalism, Andrew Flood. Workers Solidarity Movement (Ireland)
- ^ "Qui som". Negres Tempestes. Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ ISBN 978-84-96044-90-6.
- ^ Negres Tempestes (20 March 2006). "Negres Tempestes Presentation". Retrieved 27 March 2021.
Further reading
- Larson, Ole Birk (2018). "Anti-Imperialism". In Adams, Matthew S.; Levy, Carl (eds.). The Palgrave Handbook of Anarchism. London: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 149–167. S2CID 150357033.
- Ramnath, Maia (2018). "Non-Western Anarchisms and Postcolonialism". In Adams, Matthew S.; Levy, Carl (eds.). The Palgrave Handbook of Anarchism. London: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 677–695. S2CID 150357033.