What is Anationalism?

Anationalism grew out of the radical movements for Internationalism and cosmopolitanism  in the early twentieth century and was a reaction of anarchism against escalating war hysteria. Today few remember this movement.

by Bernat Castany Prado. University of Barcelona

The term “anationalism” was coined in the early twentieth century by Eugène Lanti, an anarchist activist (1879-1947), to designate a new political movement that sought to eliminate the nation not only as a variable in the international workers struggle, but even more as the basic unit of all socio-political organization.

Nearly a hundred years later hardly anyone remembers that project. Neither the Encyclopedia of Nationalism (2000), coordinated by Athena S. Leoussi nor the Encyclopedia of nationalism (1999), coordinated by Andrés de Blas Guerrero, even include the entry “anationalism”.

Nor does it appear in the main theoretical writings on nationalism (Ernst Gellner, Anthony D. Smith, Ellie Kedourie, Michael Billig or Eric Hobsbawm), nor even in studies that advocate postnationalism (Jürgen Habermas, Pascale Casanova, Edward Said, Bernat Castany) is  Eugène Lanti or anationalism mentioned once.

The purpose of these lines is to put back into circulation a concept that today seems to us necessary to clarify and streamline some of the political identities being debated these days… Continue reading “What is ‘Anationalism’? How Bosses exploit Patriotism and Religion”