Six Errors Made by Anarchists About National Self-Determination

by Wayne Price

There are various debates among anarchists. One of the biggest controversies is over “national self-determination”/“national liberation”/“anti-imperialism.” This debate has become particularly intense over the Ukrainian-Russian war and the Palestinian-Israeli war. Some anarchists, such as myself, have supported the Ukrainians and the Palestinians on the basis of national self-determination. Many other anarchists have rejected support for the Ukrainians—and some, support for the Palestinians. They deny any right of national self-determination. Some even deny the reality of imperialism; they are anti-anti-imperialists.

Anarchism and Revolutionary Defeatism

From History is What's Happening by K. C. Sinclair

What is “revolutionary defeatism,” where does it come from, and what is its current relevance for anarchists and other social rebels? As a slogan and stance, revolutionary defeatism was devised by the Russian statist socialist Vladimir Lenin and, to a lesser extent, the Ukrainian statist socialist Grigory Zinoviev, in the context of the First World War.

SENKA – Community, Not Nation!

From An Anarchist Called Mutt.

A Pamphlet from the radical anti-national tendency, the capitalized letters of the Serbo-Croat version of the sentence “Self-management is the essence of our communism/anarchy” (Samouprava je Esencija Naleg Komunizma/ Anarhije) form the word SENKA, which is the name of the collective that signs this text, and is the Serbo-Croatian word for “shadow.’

Some Initial Thoughts On Unity Of Fields

From Puget Sound Anarchists
November 9, 2024

Submitted anonymously –
[I am writing as an insurrectionary anarchist in the u$a and speaking to that context]

Unity Of Fields is a counter-info project that emerged in August of 2024. They describe their project as “a militant propaganda front against the US-NATO-zionist axis of imperialism.” It used to be Palestine Action US and has since changed its orientation.

Focus on Rojava

From Class War

The devastating effects of the lesser evil and anti-imperialism in anarchist circles (II)

Why a focus on Rojava in 2024? Both because of random discussions, but also because the most widespread form of military-revolutionary mythology about Rojava has reappeared as an ideological support for an “anarchist” commitment to the war in Ukraine, going as far as to valorize the career paths of people who have gone from one war to another. On this occasion, a military commitment in Rojava is “naturally” presented as an authoritative justification for joining the Ukrainian troops “in any case”, the case being understood as a leftist or “anarchist” cause.

Of war and revolution: Ukraine

And without wishing to linger further on the Marxist debate around war and revolution, anarchists were historically confronted by the very same dilemma. For some, anti-militarism was a categorical imperative – as it remains now – while for others, wars of resistance against domination were an obligation. And if the “theory” seemed to be clear in its opposition, anarchist practice always revealed a more complex political reality. In the three “great revolutions” of European anarchism – the Paris Commune, the Russian Revolution, the Spanish Revolution –, anarchists never acted alone. They were always part of broader fronts of actors who did not share the anarchist vision, but which by itself did not prevent them from engaging militarily. But then this was the failure of the anarchists, some contend; a judgement whose soundness rests only on the clarity of ideology and hindsight.

Communique from Operation Solidarity, Ukraine

"Greetings, comrades!

We are the Ukrainian anti-authoritarian volunteer network, “Operation Solidarity”.

Since the first days of escalation by Russia, we have taken part in the resistance against the invasion, as have the majority of Ukrainian anarchists and anti-authoritarian left activists because we believe that this war is imperialist and usurping.

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