groups

The topic of this particular meeting was 'leadership'. While Abahlali has never stated that it is an anarchist movement many have drawn parallels between 'Abahlalism' and 'anarchism'. Certainly the movement considers both the state and the vanguardist left to be oppressors.

Neha Nimmagudda (2008-07-17)

Revolutionary perspectives today: society is a factory

Kämpa tillsammans! (Struggle Together!) is a communist group who are mainly concerned with theory building. The group, founded in 1997 with members from Malmo and Gothenburg, have their roots in the extra-parliamentary left.

The Workers Opposition began to form in 1919, as a result of the policies of War Communism, which set a precedence for the domination of the Communist Party over local party branches and trade unions. During the civil war, the Workers Opposition began agitating against the lack of democracy in the Communist Party as a result of the centralising actions of the party’s bureaucracy.

Though those present no longer agree with all of the meetings conclusions, they are reproduced here for reference.

London Anarchist Youth
Minutes of meeting: 26.02.04

Present: 10 people

Reportbacks:
Feedback on history and perceived failures of the previous incarnation of LAY

Organising:
Aims of LAY decided:
they are..

Lasting only from 2002 to 2004, it suffered many of the weaknesses common in the contemporary anarchist movement of the English speaking world.

NEFAC's Wayne Price's interesting account and analysis of the development and decline of the North American continental anarchist federation the Love and Rage Revolutionary Anarchist Federation.

Note: this is the text from a pamphlet produced in late 1987 by the Campaign for Real Life. The pamphlet was more interesting as it included more examples of the group’s leaflets and posters, and newspaper articles.

The text has not been changed, except for spelling mistakes, even though the writer’s views have changed over the past 20 years.

Why set up a stall?
Setting up a literature table at events is a lot of work; why should you put so much energy into this? Answers:

A. Tabling makes money
B. Tabling provides outreach for your group
C. Tabling provides activity for members looking for something to do.

1. Be specific...

Minutes of meetings form a historical record of a group's work. They serve as a record of decisions and details when people's memories fail or when they disagree. They remind people of assignments they've taken on and deadlines they need to meet. They inform those not present of what happened at the meeting.

The heckler
One of the most common behaviours, the heckler is often aggressive, argumentative and gets satisfaction from provoking others. First off don't let him or her upset you - stay calm. Try to find merit in one of his/her points; express your agreement, and then move on to something else.

The one who won't shut up

One thing central to any functional group is regular meetings. In a healthy organisation almost all decisions will be made at these meetings and there will be a sufficient level of discussion to ensure all those attending have a good idea of the activity and arguments in the different struggles the organisation is involved in. Meetings might also have some time given over to education.

There have been and are large disagreements within the anarchist movement over how anarchist organisations should formulate policy and whether or not agreed policy should be binding on the members of the organisation. The author of this articles comes from a tradition within anarchism sometimes called 'platformism'.

There are four simple requirements for an effective organisation.

People

The more democratic a group or campaign is, the more effective it is, as all people involved can have an input and feel a part of the project.

Although often basic, this information is essential for the smooth-running of an organisation and sticking to these simple guidelines can make the difference between a long lasting successful group and a failure.

The Pallarés group was one of the very first anti-Franco urban guerrilla groups which sprung up after the end of the Spanish Civil War and Revolution of 1936-9, and the victory of the fascist and right-wing army of General Franco.

Part of the widespread armed resistance to the regime, the Los Queros guerilla band operated in the city of Granada and in its environs in the years following the end of the Civil War of 1936-9, and the victory of the fascist and right-wing army of General Franco (pictured).

AFA was originally set up in 1985 as a broad front anti-fascist organisation. The main fascist organisation at this time, following the demise of the National Front after Thatcher took power in 1979, was the British National Party (BNP), a more extreme split from the NF.