The Anarchist Federation (AF, AFed) is a far left federation of anarcho-communists in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

. It is not a political party, but a direct action, agitational and propaganda organisation.

History

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 Class War is an anarchist group and newspaper established by Ian Bone and others in 1983 in the United Kingdom. An incarnation of Class War was briefly registered as a political party for the purposes of fighting the 2015 United Kingdom gener ...

. 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 Platform may refer to: Technology * Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run * Platform game, a genre of video games * Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models * Weapons platform, a system or ...

'' by

Nestor Makhno Nestor Ivanovych Makhno, The surname "Makhno" ( uk, Махно́) was itself a corruption of Nestor's father's surname "Mikhnenko" ( uk, Міхненко). ( 1888 – 25 July 1934), also known as Bat'ko Makhno ("Father Makhno"),; According to ...

and the
Manifesto of Libertarian Communism
' by

Georges Fontenis Georges Fontenis (27 April 1920 – 9 August 2010) was a school teacher who worked in Tours. He is more widely remembered on account of his political involvement, especially during the 1950s and 1960s. A libertarian communist and trades unionist, ...

. The LCDG then began to collaborate with the editor of ''

Virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsk ...

'' magazine and started publishing their own texts about

anarcho-communism Anarcho-communism, also known as anarchist communism, (or, colloquially, ''ancom'' or ''ancomm'') is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that advocates communism. It calls for the abolition of private property but retains res ...

, changing their name again to the Anarchist Communist Discussion Group (ACDG). After the split of Syndicalist Fight (SyF) from the

Direct Action Movement The Solidarity Federation, also known by the abbreviation SolFed, is a federation of class struggle anarchists active in Britain. The organisation advocates a strategy of anarcho-syndicalism as a method of abolishing capitalism and the stat ...

(DAM) in 1986, the ACDG merged together with SyF and established the Anarchist Communist Federation (ACF). 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. At the beginning of the 1990s, they participated in the

poll tax riots The poll tax riots were a series of riots in British towns and cities during protests against the Community Charge (commonly known as the "poll tax"), introduced by the Conservative government of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The largest pr ...

, calling for "the abolition of all hierarchy" and "the creation of a worldwide classless society". 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". Although a small organization, much of the ACF's influence came from its "cordial relationships" with other

libertarian socialist Libertarian socialism, also known by various other names, is a left-wing,Diemer, Ulli (1997)"What Is Libertarian Socialism?" The Anarchist Library. Retrieved 4 August 2019. anti-authoritarian, anti-statist and libertarianLong, Roderick T. (20 ...

groups, cooperating particularly closely with the autonomous Marxists of Subversion. In 1999, the ACF changed its name one final time, becoming the Anarchist Federation (AF). By the turn of the 21st century, the AF were involved in the

anti-globalization movement The anti-globalization movement or counter-globalization movement, is a social movement critical of economic globalization. The movement is also commonly referred to as the global justice movement, alter-globalization movement, anti-globalis ...

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 May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. Tr ...

demonstration at

Parliament Square Parliament Square is a square at the northwest end of the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster in central London. Laid out in the 19th century, it features a large open green area in the centre with trees to its west, and it contai ...

, during which some activists had dug up the grass to plant vegetables. Following a series of

vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The term ...

s and

arson attack Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, water ...

s by

green anarchists Green anarchism (or eco-anarchism"green anarchism (also called eco-anarchism)" in '' An Anarchist FAQ'' by various authors.) is an anarchist school of thought that puts a particular emphasis on ecology and environmental issues. A green anarchi ...

, a large police investigation was launched into

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

's anarchist community, to which the Bristol Anarchist Federation responded with a statement denouncing the

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

's "concerted effort to intimidate and divide" local anarchists. In February 2020,

eco-socialist Eco-socialism (also known as green socialism or socialist ecology) is an ideology merging aspects of socialism with that of green politics, ecology and alter-globalization or anti-globalization. Eco-socialists generally believe that the expansi ...

activists connected to the Anarchist Federation took part in the

occupation Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

Paddington Green Police Station Paddington Green Police Station was a Metropolitan Police Service station located in Paddington, Central London, England, and closed in 2018. History Building work on the station was completed in 1971. As well as providing local services, th ...

, but they were swiftly evicted.

Ideology

The Anarchist Federation propagates a theory of

anarchist communism Anarcho-communism, also known as anarchist communism, (or, colloquially, ''ancom'' or ''ancomm'') is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that advocates communism. It calls for the abolition of private property but retains res ...

, distancing itself from

individualist anarchism Individualist anarchism is the branch of anarchism that emphasizes the individual and their will over external determinants such as groups, society, traditions and ideological systems."What do I mean by individualism? I mean by individualism th ...

anarcho-pacifism Anarcho-pacifism, also referred to as anarchist pacifism and pacifist anarchism, is an anarchist school of thought that advocates for the use of peaceful, non-violent forms of resistance in the struggle for social change. Anarcho-pacifism rejects ...

and anarcho-syndicalism. It had come to outright reject trade unionism during the suppression of the miners' strike of 1984–1985, which had caused it question the role of the

trade unions A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

in a class conflict. It extends its skepticism of trade unions to any permanent workplace organizations, arguing they can become integrated into the functioning of

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...

. The AF advocates for

prefigurative politics Prefigurative politics are the modes of organization and social relationships that strive to reflect the future society being sought by the group. According to Carl Boggs, who coined the term, the desire is to embody "within the ongoing political p ...

, out of a belief in a "strong correlation between means and ends", which rejects all politicians and political parties. It considers participation in

representative democracy Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy, is a type of democracy where elected people represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy. Nearly all modern Western-style democracies function as some type of represe ...

to be "ceding political power to someone or some party", and thus favors direct action over electoralism. It further went on to claim that

Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

inevitably become corrupted by power and distant from their own communities.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Anarchist Federation (Britain) 1986 establishments in the United Kingdom Anarchism in Scotland Anarchism in the United Kingdom Anarchist Federations Anarchist organisations in the United Kingdom

Anarchist communism Anarcho-communism, also known as anarchist communism, (or, colloquially, ''ancom'' or ''ancomm'') is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that advocates communism. It calls for the abolition of private property but retains res ...

Anti-nationalism in Europe Far-left politics in Scotland Far-left politics International of Anarchist Federations Organizations established in 1986 Platformist organizations