New approaches to Spanish anarchism

Abstract

This article introduces the themes of this special edition, presenting the case that the history of Spanish anarchism needs to be situated within a broader, international history of the left. This view helps to disrupt the image of anarchism as 'exceptional', without losing sight of its specific manifestation in Spain. It proceeds to outline the five articles that make up the remainder of the edition.

The Anarchist in Uniform: The Militarisation of Anarchist Culture during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939)

“…10 In demonstrating anarchism's contributions towards the antifascist 'war culture' of the interwar period, this research is also consciously aligned with efforts to banish notions of the Spanish anarchists' exceptionalism and to integrate this movement within the wider history of the international left. 11 This article will begin by examining responses to war and militarism within European anarchism, noting how the Spanish anarchists' ambiguous intellectual inheritance allowed for a 'popular' militarism to co-exist alongside institutional antimilitarism. Following this, it will outline the dimensions of this popular-militarist vision, beginning with the propagation of a revolutionary brand of military heroism in the early months of the civil war before detailing how the Battle of Madrid enabled this revolutionary militarism to combine with wider traditions of antifascist war, establishing a new pantheon of anarchist military leaders.…”