Anarchist St. Imier International

The Anarchist International of St. Imier was an international workers' organization formed in 1872 after the split in the First International between the anarchists and the Marxists. This followed the 'expulsions' of Mikhail Bakunin and James Guillaume from the First International at the Hague Congress (1872).[1] It attracted some affiliates of the First International, repudiated the Hague resolutions, and adopted a Bakuninist programme, and lasted until 1877.

History

The St. Imier International was created when the Swiss Jura Federation, the most important anarchist section of the old International, sent a proposal to the other sections, several of which then assembled at St. Imier to create a new anti-authoritarian organization. The organization was made up of various national federations of workers' societies, mainly the Italian, Spanish, Belgian, American, French and French-speaking Swiss federations, together with other individual organizations which all opposed Karl Marx's control of the General Council and favoured the autonomy of national sections from centralized control.[1]

At the St. Imier Congress, held on 15–16 September 1872, the delegates proclaimed "[t]hat the aspirations of the proletariat can have no other aim than the creation of an absolutely free economic organisation and federation based upon work and equality and wholly independent of any political government, and that such an organisation or federation can only come into being through the spontaneous action of the proletariat itself, through its trade societies, and through self-governing communes."[1]

The St. Imier International lasted until 1877, while the First International dissolved in 1876. In July 1881, anarchists would initiate the International Working People's Association, or "Black International", which remained active until the late 1880s. A further attempt to create a lasting international organization was made in Amsterdam in 1907 by an International Anarchist Congress, though this would have an even briefer life than the Black International.

Contemporary anarchist internationals include the anarcho-syndicalist International Workers' Association (established 1922), the International of Anarchist Federations (est. 1968), and Black Bridge International (est. 2001). The Anarkismo.net project (est. 2005) is not an international, but provides a means of increasing cooperation between organisations in the platformist and especifismo traditions.

In August 2012, the International Anarchism Gathering took place in St. Imier, partly as a commemoration of the 1872 St. Imier congress.

Other anarchist internationals and international networks

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Steklov, G.M., History of the First International, part 2, chapter 2.
  2. ↑ http://st-imier.org
  3. ↑ http://www.decentralisenow.org

External links

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