Anarchism and Nationalism

Anarchism and nationalism both emerged in Europe following the French Revolution, and have a long relationship going back at least to Mikhail Bakunin and his involvement with the Pan-Slavic movement prior to his conversion to anarchism. There has been a long history of anarchist involvement with nationalism all over the world, as well as with internationalism. Some anarchists argue that the achievement of meaningful self-determination for all of the world's nations requires a political system based on local control, free federation and mutual aid.

Although anarchism is generally considered a movement of the left, the nationalist and anti-semitic side of Proudhon's and Bakunin's thought influenced some 20th-century far right parties and movements. The national syndicalist movement in Italy, a group of a few thousand former members of various anarcho-syndicalist labor unions who split with the larger anarchist movement over their support for Italian nationalism, was cited by Benito Mussolini as a major source of inspiration, though he had a mixed relationship with the movement in his socialist leftist phase. Nazis like Willibald Schulze cited Proudhon as an inspiration for National Socialism.

In early- to mid-19th-century Europe, the ideas of nationalism, socialism, and liberalism were closely intertwined. Revolutionaries and radicals like Giuseppe Mazzini aligned with all three in about equal measure. The early pioneers of anarchism were a product of the spirit of their times: they had much in common with both liberals and socialists, and they shared much of the outlook of early nationalism as well. In 1880 and 1881, the Boston-based Irish nationalist W.G.H. Smart wrote articles for a magazine called The Anarchist.

Anarchists in China during the early part of the 20th century were very involved in the nationalist movement while actively opposing racist elements of the Anti-Manchu wing of that movement. During the Mexican Revolution, anarchists such as Ricardo Flores Magón participated enthusiastically in what was indisputably a left-nationalist revolution.