Reassessing the Transnational Turn: Scales of Analysis in Anarchist and Syndicalist Studies(Routledge Studies in Cultural History)

This edited volume reassesses the ongoing transnational turn in anarchist and syndicalist studies, a field where the interest in cross-border connections has generated much innovative literature in the last decade. It presents and extends up-to-date research into several dynamic historiographic fields, and especially the history of the anarchist and syndicalist movements and the notions of transnational militancy and informal political networks. Whilst restating the relevance of transnational approaches, especially in connection with the concepts of personal networks and mediators, the book underlines the importance of other scales of analysis in capturing the complexities of anarchist militancy, due to both their centrality as a theme of reflection for militants, and their role as a level of organization. Especially crucial is the national level, which is often overlooked due to the internationalism which was so central to anarchist ideology. And yet, as several chapters highlight, anarchist discourses on the nation (as opposed to the state), patriotism and even race, were more nuanced than is usually assumed. The local and individual levels are also shown to be essential in anarchist militancy.

Table of Contents:
Part I: Introduction 1. Introduction: Problematizing Scales of Analysis in Network-Based Social Movements Constance Bantman and Bert Altena Part II: Anarchist Theories of Nation, State, and Internationalism 2. Nations Without Borders: Anarchists and National Identity Davide Turcato 3. Kropotkin’s Theory of the State: A Transnational Approach Ruth Kinna 4. A Networking Historian: The Transnational, the National and the Patriotic in and Around Max Nettlau’s Geschichte der Anarchie Bert Altena Part III: Transnational Practices and Identities, Diasporic Cultures 5. Anarchists as Emigrants Isabelle Felici 6. A Golden Gate of Anarchy: Local and Transnational Dimensions of Anarchism in San Francisco, 1880s-1930s Kenyon Zimmer 7. “The Game of the Goose” Italian Anarchism: Transnational, National, or Local Perspective? Pietro DiPaula 8. Sedentary Anarchists Raymond Craib Part IV: The Resilience of Localism and Nationalism 9. More Than an Antonym: A Close(r) Look at the Dichotomy Between the National and Anarchism Nino Kühnis 10. The Dangerous Liaisons of Belle-Epoque Anarchists: Internationalism, Transnationalism, Nationalism in the French Anarchist Movement (1880-1914) Constance Bantman 11. “Mother Spain, We Love You!”: Nationalism and Racism in Anarchist Literature During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) Martin Baxmeyer

About the Author :
Constance Bantman is lecturer in French at the University of Surrey. Bert Altena is a former lecturer at Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication.