Anarchist Federation (Britain)

Anarchist federation in Great Britain

Anarchist Federation

Abbreviation| AF, AFed
Leader| Collective leadership
Founded| 1986 (1986)
Preceded by| Libertarian Communist Group
Newspaper| Organise!
Ideology| Anarcho-communism
Political position| Far-left
International affiliation| International of Anarchist Federations
Website
afed.org.uk

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The Anarchist Federation (AF, AFed) is a federation of anarcho-communists in Great Britain. It is not a political party, but a direct action, agitational and propaganda organisation.

## History

[edit]

The British anarchist movement had been revitalized during the time of the miners' strike of 1984–1985, which had drawn many new people to anarchism and caused a number of anarchist organizations to spring up in the wake of Class War.[1] In 1984, a number of former members of the Libertarian Communist Group established the Libertarian Communist Discussion Group (LCDG), drawing inspiration from texts such as the Platform by Nestor Makhno and the Manifesto of Libertarian Communism by Georges Fontenis. The LCDG then began to collaborate with the editor of Virus magazine and started publishing their own texts about anarcho-communism, changing their name again to the Anarchist Communist Discussion Group (ACDG). After the split of Syndicalist Fight (SyF) from the Direct Action Movement (DAM) in 1986, the ACDG merged together with SyF and established the Anarchist Communist Federation (ACF).[2]

Throughout the late-1980s, the ACF drew together many people that were new to anarchism, which effectively made it into an entirely new organization, almost completely disconnected from its roots.[3] At the beginning of the 1990s, they participated in the poll tax riots, calling for "the abolition of all hierarchy" and "the creation of a worldwide classless society".[4] According to one report by the Economic League in 1991, the ACF had quickly become "second only to Class War" in terms of its "militancy and commitment to violence".[2] Although a small organization, much of the ACF's influence came from its "cordial relationships" with other libertarian socialist groups, cooperating particularly closely with the autonomous Marxists of Subversion.[5] In 1999, the ACF changed its name one final time, becoming the Anarchist Federation (AF).[6]

By the turn of the 21st century, the AF were involved in the anti-globalization movement and participated in protests against rising third world debt. The Special Branch of the Metropolitan Police began investigating the AF, following 2000's May Day demonstration at Parliament Square, during which some activists had dug up the grass to plant vegetables.[7] Following a series of vandalisms and arson attacks by green anarchists, a large police investigation was launched into Bristol's anarchist community, to which the Bristol Anarchist Federation responded with a statement denouncing the police's "concerted effort to intimidate and divide" local anarchists.[8] In February 2020, eco-socialist activists connected to the Anarchist Federation took part in the occupation of Paddington Green Police Station,[9] but they were swiftly evicted.[10]

## Ideology

[edit]

The Anarchist Federation propagates a theory of anarchist communism, distancing itself from individualist anarchism, anarcho-pacifism and anarcho-syndicalism.[11] It had come to outright reject trade unionism during the suppression of the miners' strike of 1984–1985, which had caused it to question the role of the trade unions in a class conflict.[12] It extends its skepticism of trade unions to any permanent workplace organizations, arguing they can become integrated into the functioning of capitalism.[13]

The AF advocates for prefigurative politics, out of a belief in a "strong correlation between means and ends", which rejects all politicians and political parties.[14] It considers participation in representative democracy to be "ceding political power to someone or some party", and thus favors direct action over electoralism.[15] It further went on to claim that Members of Parliament inevitably become corrupted by power and distant from their own communities.[16]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Cross 2014, pp. 147–148.
2. ^ a b Franks 2006, p. 83.
3. ^ Cross 2014, p. 148.
4. ^ Marshall 1993, p. 495.
5. ^ Franks 2006, p. 84.
6. ^ Franks 2006, pp. 83–84.
7. ^ Vidal, John; Hopkins, Nick (14 April 2001). "Fluffies on the run as spikies win battle of the streets". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
8. ^ Morris, Steven (5 December 2014). "Hunting Badger: police offer £10,000 reward after Bristol anarchist attacks". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
9. ^ Gayle, Damien (18 February 2020). "Paddington Green: inside the anti-terror HQ taken over by climate anarchists". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
10. ^ Gayle, Damien (28 February 2020). "Anarchist climate protesters evicted from Paddington Green". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
11. ^ Cross 2014, p. 147.
12. ^ Franks 2006, pp. 77–78.
13. ^ Franks 2006, p. 235.
14. ^ Franks 2006, p. 98.
15. ^ Franks 2006, pp. 124–125.
16. ^ Franks 2006, p. 128.

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Cross, Rich (2014). "British anarchism in the era of Thatcherism". In Smith, Evan; Worley, Matthew (eds.). Against the Grain: The British far left from 1956. Manchester: Manchester University Press. ISBN 9780719095900. OCLC 941255608.
* Franks, Benjamin (2006). Rebel Alliances: The Means and Ends of Contemporary British Anarchisms. Edinburgh: AK Press. ISBN 1904859402. OCLC 607401812.
* Marshall, Peter H. (1993). "Britain". Demanding the Impossible: A History of Anarchism. London: Fontana Press. pp. 487–495. ISBN 978-0-00-686245-1. OCLC 1042028128.

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Far-left politics in the United Kingdom

Groups|

| Extant|

| Marxist–Leninist|

* Communist Party of Britain
* Communist Party of Britain (Marxist–Leninist)
* Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist–Leninist)
* Communist Party of Great Britain (Provisional Central Committee)
* Communist Party of Ireland
* EPSR Supporters
* Irish Republican Socialist Party
* New Communist Party
* Revolutionary Communist Group
* Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist–Leninist)
* Stalin Society
* Workers' Party of Ireland

|

Trotskyist|

* Alliance for Workers' Liberty
* Socialist Action
* Socialist Party (England and Wales)
* Socialist Party (Ireland)
* Socialist Party Scotland
* Socialist Workers Network (Ireland)
* Socialist Workers Party
* WIRFI Supporters
* Workers Revolutionary Party

Anarchist|

* Anarchist Federation
* Class War
* Freedom Press
* Solidarity Federation
* Haringey Solidarity Group

Left Communist|

* Communist Workers' Organisation
* Socialist Party of Great Britain
* Socialist Studies

Miscellaneous|

* 32 County Sovereignty Movement
* Communist League
* Counterfire
* Independent Working Class Association
* Industrial Workers of the World
* London Black Revolutionaries
* Saoradh
* Scottish Socialist Party
* Workers Party of Britain

Electoral alliances|

* Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition

Defunct|

| Marxist–Leninist|

* Association of Communist Workers
* Black Unity and Freedom Party
* British and Irish Communist Organisation
* Committee to Defeat Revisionism, for Communist Unity
* Communist Labour Party (Scotland)
* Communist League of Great Britain
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* Communist Party of Great Britain
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* Leiston Communist Party
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* Workers Party of Scotland
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|

Trotskyist|

* The Club
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Anarchist|

* Anarchist Federation of Britain
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Left Communist|

* Anti-Parliamentary Communist Federation
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Miscellaneous|

* Big Flame
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Electoral alliances|

* Red Front
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Anarchism

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|

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Theory|

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Organizations|

| Current|

* Anarchist Federation
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|

Defunct|

* Alternative libertaire
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