CfP: Anarchists, Marxists, and Nationalists in the Colonial and Postcolonial World

Call for Papers: ESSHC 2014 Panels: Anarchists, Marxists, and
Nationalists in the Colonial and Postcolonial World, 1870s-1940s:
Antagonisms, Solidarities, and Syntheses

*Papers dealing with Africa and Africans are strongly encouraged

From its inception in the First International, the anarchist and
syndicalist movement played a significant role in the colonial and
post-colonial world as an influential force in revolutionary, national
liberation, and anti-imperialist movements. While this role has received
increasing attention in a growing scholarship, the literature remains
underdeveloped and rather limited. The intersections between anarchism
and syndicalism, and other Left oppositional currents, including Marxist
and nationalist movements, are understudied and lack systematic
examination especially with respect to the global South. Such
intersections provide an important index of anarchist and syndicalist
influence by drawing attention to their role in larger coalitions as
well as their imprint on other movements and ideologies; conversely, to
properly understand the history of other Left and labor currents it is
necessary to take into account their interactions with anarchism and
syndicalism. These interactions assumed a wide range of forms:  although
historical antagonisms between anarchism and Marxism often shaped their
relations, there were also many instances of solidarity and
collaboration; while anarchism generally opposed nationalism in
principle, it cooperated with a surprising number of nationalist
movements; finally, anarchism and syndicalism contributed key elements
to a broad spectrum of oppositional currents that reflected syncretic
ideologies, organizational forms, and practices.

We invite papers that examine examples of antagonisms, solidarities, and
syntheses between anarchism and syndicalism on one hand, and Marxist and
nationalist currents on the other. The papers should address historical
movements, rather than intellectual history, narrowly conceived; they
should analyze intersections, not parallels or apparent similarities
between different currents; and explore the complex relations and
overlaps between anarchist, Marxist, and nationalist movements. Case
studies should focus on the colonial and post-colonial world (Africa,
Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean).

Possible lines of enquiry include interactions in the following areas:
- national liberation and anti-colonial struggles
- anti-imperialist networks and alliances
- agrarian struggles
- international labor solidarity, trade unionism, as well as activities
in state-run unions
- struggles against colonial and neo-colonial racial oppression
- interracial, multiethnic, local/diasporic solidarities
- student and worker alliances
- underground networks and struggles

This CFP is for two planned panels to be held at the European Social
Science History Conference in Vienna, Austria, April 23-26, 2014.

Please send abstracts (250 words) to the panel organizers, Steven Hirsch
(shirsch@artsci.wustl.edu) or Lucien van der Walt
(l.vanderwalt@ru.ac.za) by March 1, 2013.