International of Anarchist Federations

History

Context

Birth of anarchism and first organizations

In the 19th century, the development of capitalism saw the formation of several opposing political ideologies and movements, particularly anarchism, Marxism, and socialism. Anarchists advocate for the struggle against all forms of domination perceived as unjust, among which is economic domination, with the development of capitalism. They are particularly opposed to the State, viewed as the institution enabling the endorsement of many of these dominations through its police, army, and propaganda. They want to replace the State and capitalism by equalitarian, voluntary, stateless societies.

During the 1880s, the Anti-authoritarian International, a foundational organisation in anarchist history—which brought together a major part of the anarchists and provided important theoretical foundations for the movement—disappeared. It was replaced by other systems of organisation among anarchists, notably companionship and, later, anarcho-syndicalism.

Birth and spread of the anarchist synthesis

From the 1920s until approximately the 1940s, intense debates traversed anarchist circles regarding their modes of organisation. Two positions emerged and opposed each other: on the one hand, Platformism, promoted by Nestor Makhno, argued that anarchists should gather in an organisation with a clear and restricted political line; on the other hand, Synthesis, promoted by Errico Malatesta, Volin or Sébastien Faure, considered that to unite all anarchist tendencies in one organisation, it must be open to and inclusively gather all these currents.

Within the framework of these theoretical oppositions, and in response to the reformism of the CNT in the late 1920s, the first anarchist federation of the Synthesis line was born: the Iberian Anarchist Federation (FAI), founded in 1927. The Francophone Anarchist Federation (FAF) was founded in 1937, and other similar organisations spread throughout the world, in Japan or Korea, for example.

Founding of the IAF and subsequent history

In 1968, the International of Anarchist Federations (IAF) was established at the congress of Carrara, building on the previously established international network at the initiative of the FAF, the FAI, the FAIt and the Bulgarian Federation in exile.

Established along synthesist lines, the IAF brought together anarchist federations from Argentina, Australia, Britain, Bulgaria, Cuba, France, Germany, Greece, Iberia, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland. The IAF affirmed its commitment to the principles of anarcho-communism at its second congress in 1971, but soon lost its Cuban section due to its soft line on the Castro government. Nevertheless, the IAF managed to develop further links in Hong Kong and Vietnam and made contact with other anarchist federations in Europe and South America.

According to the historian Ruth Kinna, the organization is part of the tradition of the First International and adopts principles of decentralized federation and group autonomy to strengthen local struggles. She writes that their goal is:The abolition of all forms of authority, whether economical, political, social, religious, cultural or sexual, the construction of a free society, without classes or States or frontiers, founded on anarchist federalism and mutual aid.

Congresses and gatherings

The IAF holds congresses every 4 years. The last ones were the following:

• Congress of Besançon, France, 2004
• 8th Congress of Carrara, Italy, 2008
• Congress of Saint-Imier, Switzerland, 2012
• Congress of Frankfurt, Germany, 2016
• Congress of Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2019
• Congress of Massenzatico, Italy, 2023

The IAF was also involved, especially through the FAF, in organizing Anarchy 2023, to celebrate the 150 years since the founding of the Anti-authoritarian International. This was arguably the biggest anarchist gathering of the 21st century, uniting more than 5,000 of them.

Members

As of 2026, the groups and federations which are members of the IAF are as follows:

References

Bibliography

References

1. "Members – International of Anarchist Federations".
2. "About".
3. "Meetings".
4. Kern, Thomas Kern, Benjamin von Wyl, Benjamin von Wyl, Thomas. (2023-08-08). "‘Sabotage everywhere’: at the Swiss birthplace of global anarchism".
5. "Le plus grand congrès anarchiste du 21e siècle".
6. "Members – International of Anarchist Federations".