The International Workingmen's Association (IWA), known historiographically as the Anti-authoritarian International to distinguish it from the First International (1864-1872) that preceded it and the rival Marxist International (1872–1876), refers to the anti-authoritarian and anarchist branch of the First International. Active between 1872 and 1881, it is both one of the earliest anarchist organizations in history and one of the most significant in terms of theoretical, ideological, and historical influence.
Born out of the schism within the First International during the Hague and Saint-Imier congresses, it gradually brought together a majority of the First International's members and federations, while its Marxist rival faded away. During its short decade of existence, it served as a birthplace and anchor of the anarchist movement, already containing many of the multiple tendencies and orientations that would shape the movement in the following decades, such as collectivist anarchism, anarcho-communism, illegalism, insurrectionary anarchism, anarcho-syndicalism, etc.
By the late 1870s, faced with repression and shifting ideological discussions and interests, the organization declined and was eventually replaced, by a number of its members, by the Black International (1881–1887). Since its disappearance, several anarchist organizations, such as the International Workers' Association (1922–present) or the International of Anarchist Federations (1968–present), retook parts of its legacy.
History
Context : Conflicts within the First International The International Workingmen's Association (IWA), or the First International, was a workers' association founded in London in 1864. It was a fundamental organization in the history of the workers' movement, quickly bringing together many figures linked to its history, such as Karl Marx, Mikhail Bakunin, James Guillaume, Friedrich Engels, Errico Malatesta, and Carlo Cafiero. Different political movements were represented, ranging from Marxism to anarchism, as well as more moderate socialists and Proudhonists.
Between the late 1860s and the early 1870s, the Marxist and Blanquist factions allied against the anti-authoritarian/anarchist faction. These conflicts were both theoretical and personal, with each faction seeking to tip the International in its own direction. Marx enjoyed the support of the organization's General Council, while Bakunin was backed by the Jurassian, Belgian, Italian, Spanish federations, the latter of which, at the time, made up a large part of the International on its own.
Hague and Saint-Imier Congresses : mutual exclusions, effective schism within the First International and historiographical birth of the Anti-authoritarian International
These conflicts led Marx, who saw his position becoming increasingly marginalized within the organization, to attempt to 'purge' the anti-authoritarians/anarchists in September 1872 before it fell under their control. Consequently, he convened the Hague Congress, which was conducted using questionable methods, and expelled Bakunin and the most prominent members of his faction from the International.
A few days after this congress, Bakunin and his side of the International, organized the Saint-Imier Congress, which expelled Marx and his allies from the International in return. They signed a federative pact establishing the autonomy of the International's member federations from the General Council, which was stripped of its authority. While it was not initially envisioned as a purely anarchist organization, aiming instead to welcome all anti-authoritarian socialists, regardless of their faction, the congress adopted fundamental tenets of anarchist ideology, declaring:
That the destruction of all political power is the first duty of the proletariat; That any organisation of a supposedly provisional and revolutionary political power to bring about this destruction can only be another deception and would be as dangerous to the proletariat as all the governments existing today; That, rejecting all compromise to achieve the realisation of the Social Revolution, proletarians of every land must establish solidarity of revolutionary action outside of all bourgeois politics.
These three points, which have since often been reiterated and synthesise a part of anarchist ideology, were not truly central to the delegates of that period, who were much more interested in the question of the federative pact, thus, the organisation was relatively open to socialists during its early years.
This congress marked the historiographical birth of the Anti-authoritarian International, while the rival faction became known as the Marxist International (1872–1876), with both claiming to be the First International. In general, the majority of members and federations joined the Anti-authoritarian International in the following years while the Marxist International decreased and ultimately disappeared.
The Congress of Geneva (September, 1873) In September 1873 the International held its Second Congress in Geneva (officially the Sixth General Congress since it was considered the legitimate heir to the IWA founded in London in 1864). It coincided with the Congress held by the Marxists in the same city, although theirs was a failure since only a small number of regional federations participated and the General Council could not attend due to lack of funds. On the other hand, the anarchist Congress, inaugurated on September 1, was attended by delegates from Britain, Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain. A federation from the United States also announced its accession.
Congress agreed to the dissolution of the General Council and it was proposed that the next Congress be held in Spain, but the Spanish delegate José García Viñas opposed it because he thought that within a year "Spain will be in full social revolution or in full reaction." Regarding the issues that were debated, he highlighted the general strike issue, with which, according to the proposal, "the revolutionary solidarity between the different localities and regions would be effective; understanding that the workers should be ready to go on strike to prevent the concentration of the forces of the bourgeoisie on the points or regions where a revolutionary movement would break out." On this subject Congress agreed as follows:
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