Black Flags and Social Movements: A Sociological Analysis of Movement Anarchism

302 Pages·2017·15.406 MB·English

by  Dana M. Williams

CONTEMPORARY ANARCHIST STUDIES
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A SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
OF MOVEMENT ANARCHISM
DANA M.
WILLIAMS

Black flags and
social movements
CONTEMPORARY ANARCHIST STUDIES
A series edited by
Laurence Davis, University College Cork, Ireland
Uri Gordon, Loughborough University, UK
Nathan Jun, Midwestern State University, USA
Alex Prichard, Exeter University, UK
Contemporary Anarchist Studies promotes the study of anarchism as a framework for
understanding and acting on the most pressing problems of our times. The series
publishes cutting-edge, socially engaged scholarship from around the world – bridging
theory and practice, academic rigor and the insights of contemporary activism.
The topical scope of the series encompasses anarchist history and theory broadly
construed; individual anarchist thinkers; anarchist informed analysis of current issues
and institutions; and anarchist or anarchist-inspired movements and practices.
Contributions informed by anti-capitalist, feminist, ecological, indigenous and
non-Western or global South anarchist perspectives are particularly welcome. So, too,
are manuscripts that promise to illuminate the relationships between the personal and
the political aspects of transformative social change, local and global problems, and
anarchism and other movements and ideologies. Above all, we wish to publish books
that will help activist scholars and scholar activists think about how to challenge and
build real alternatives to existing structures of oppression and injustice.
International Editorial Advisory Board:
Martha Ackelsberg, Smith College
John Clark, Loyola University
Jesse Cohn, Purdue University
Ronald Creagh, Université Paul Valéry
Marianne Enckell, Centre International de Recherches sur l’Anarchisme
Benjamin Franks, University of Glasgow
Judy Greenway, Independent Scholar
Ruth Kina, Loughborough University
Todd May, Clemson University
Salvo Vaccaro, Università di Palermo
Lucian van der Walt, Rhodes University
Charles Weigl, AK Press
Other titles in the series
(From Bloomsbury Academic):
Anarchism and Political Modernity
Angelic Troublemakers
The Concealment of the State
Daoism and Anarchism
The Impossible Community
Lifestyle Politics and Radical Activism
Making Another World Possible
Philosophical Anarchism and Political Obligation
(From Manchester University Press):
Anarchy in Athens
The Autonomous Life?
The Politics of Attack
Black flags and
social movements
A sociological analysis of
movement anarchism
Dana M. Williams
Manchester University Press
Copyright © Dana M. Williams 2017
The right of Dana M. Williams to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted
by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Published by Manchester University Press
Altrincham Street, Manchester M1 7JA
www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 5261 0554 7 hardback
ISBN 978 1 5261 0555 4 paperback
First published 2017
The publisher has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for
any external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does
not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain,
accurate or appropriate.
Typeset
by Toppan Best-set Premedia Limited
CONTENTS
List of figures vii
List of tables viii
Preface: where does anarchy begin? x
Acknowledgements xxxi
List of abbreviations xxxiv
Part I: Movement overview 1
1 Introduction to social movements: anarchism as a unique
example 3
2 Anarchists as individuals: a micro-structural analysis 32
3 Anarchists of the world, unite! A meso-structural
analysis 57
Part II: Theoretical interpretation 81
4 The significance of social movement theory to
anarchism 83
5 Anti-state political opportunities 112
6 Anarchism as a “new social movement”? 148
7 Social capital in anarchist movements 174
Part III: Interaction 197
8 Radical isomorphism and the anti-authoritarian diffusion
of leaderless organizations 199
vi CONTENTS
9 Conclusion: Revisiting the epistemology of anarchist
movements 226
Appendix: Sources of knowledge and error 232
Bibliography 236
Index 257
FIGURES
1.1 The 1990s and 2000s North American anarchist
movement (as a network) 13
2.1 Characteristics of the anarchist movement from
Federal Bureau of Investigation slideshow “Anarchist
extremism” 34
3.1 Categories of European anarchist organizations 67
3.2 Worldwide totals of anarchist organizations (from the
IBL, AYP97, and AYP05) 73
8.1 Earth First! groups in the USA, 1990–2009. 217
8.2 Anarchistic franchise organization diffusion 220
TABLES
0.1 Ideologies of the twentieth century xviii
1.1 Typology of claimed anarchist identity and possession
of anarchist qualities 8
1.2 Understanding anarchism via comparative
approaches 25
1.3 Anarchist movements understood via time and level of
analysis 27
2.1 Differences between union and non-union member
anarchists 50
3.1 Categories of organizations in the Anarchist Yellow
Pages (N size) 63
3.2 Number of anarchist organizations per region 64
3.3 Countries and cities with the greatest number of
anarchist organizations 65
3.4 Number of anarchist organization categories in the top
10 most popular countries 66
3.5 Number of anarchist organizations in the Anarchist
Yellow Pages in 1997 and 2005 67
3.6 Number of anarchist organizations by country in
1983, 1997, and 2005 71
3.7a Organizational carry-overs from 1983 to 2005 73
3.7b Aggregate and percent organizational carry-over from
1983 to 2005 74
5.1 Correlations between rights and categories of anarchist
organizations per capita 121