In Defence of Freedom? The Practices of Armed Movements in Pre-1914 Europe: Italy, Spain and France

Abstract

the purpose of this article is to analyse the role played by organized political violence in pre-1914 Europe, with special regard to labour conflicts, through an analysis of the social composition and the practices of four movements which deliberately resorted to armed organization: the Somatén in Catalonia (Spain), the Jaunes trade union in the French Département du Nord, and the Citizen Patrols and agrarian squads in the Province of Bologna (Italy). Despite their different origins and contexts, these movements pursued similar political strategies based upon the deliberate use of violence and guns, and shared anti-socialist, authoritarian and anti-democratic purposes. Analysis of their practices and political cultures enables us to evaluate the nature of the democratic processes in pre-1914 Europe and also helps to contextualize and understand the political and social violence which came to the fore after the end of the war in 1918.