Anarchism in Sweden first grew out of the nascent

social democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

movement during the later 19th century, with a specifically libertarian socialist tendency emerging from a split in the movement. As with the movements in Germany and the Netherlands, Swedish anarchism had a strong

syndicalist Syndicalism is a labour movement within society that, through industrial unionism, seeks to unionize workers according to industry and advance their demands through strikes and other forms of direct action, with the eventual goal of gainin ...

tendency, which culminated in the establishment of the

Central Organisation of the Workers of Sweden The Central Organisation of Swedish Workers (; SAC) is a Sweden, Swedish syndicalist National trade union center, trade union federation. The SAC organises people from all occupations and industries in one single federation, including the Unempl ...

(SAC) following an aborted

general strike A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...

. The modern movement emerged during the late 20th century, growing within a number of countercultural movements before the revival of

anarcho-syndicalism Anarcho-syndicalism is an anarchism, anarchist organisational model that centres trade unions as a vehicle for class conflict. Drawing from the theory of libertarian socialism and the practice of syndicalism, anarcho-syndicalism sees trade uni ...

during the 1990s.

History and influence

Anarchism was reported to have been extant in Sweden by

Mikhail Bakunin Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin. Sometimes anglicized to Michael Bakunin. ( ; – 1 July 1876) was a Russian revolutionary anarchist. He is among the most influential figures of anarchism and a major figure in the revolutionary socialist, s ...

as early as 1866. Anarchist ideas were prominent in the

Swedish Social Democratic Party The Swedish Social Democratic Party, formally the Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party ( , S or SAP), usually referred to as The Social Democrats ( ), is a social democratic political party in Sweden. The party is member of the Progressiv ...

(SAP) from its founding in 1889 to the early 1900s, with a number of anarchists including Hinke Bergegren becoming leading members. After the exclusion of Bergegren and other anarchists from the SAP in 1908, the party's youth organization – the Young Socialists () – broke away to form a separate anti-parliamentary socialist party. Following the defeat of the Great Strike of 1909, a number of Young Socialists participated in the foundation of an

anarcho-syndicalist Anarcho-syndicalism is an anarchist organisational model that centres trade unions as a vehicle for class conflict. Drawing from the theory of libertarian socialism and the practice of syndicalism, anarcho-syndicalism sees trade unions as both ...

trade union, the

Sveriges Arbetares Centralorganisation The Central Organisation of Swedish Workers (; SAC) is a Sweden, Swedish syndicalist National trade union center, trade union federation. The SAC organises people from all occupations and industries in one single federation, including the Unempl ...

(SAC). During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the SAC received support from the German syndicalist Augustin Souchy, while in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, the Swedish labor organizer Joe Hill was executed. The rise of anarcho-syndicalism influenced the magazine ''

Brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

'', which had been published since 1898, to turn towards anarchism during the 1910s, going on to become the oldest continuously published anarchist magazine in Sweden. Demo-Lund

The Swedish anarchist movement experienced a resurgence as a result of the

protests of 1968 The protests of 1968 comprised a worldwide escalation of social conflicts, which were predominantly characterized by the rise of left-wing politics, Anti-war movement, anti-war sentiment, Civil and political rights, civil rights urgency, youth C ...

, although by this time the Young Socialist Party had ceased to exist. Further attempts to rekindle a national organisation were largely short-lived, with anarchist presence instead taking root in the rising

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...

of the 1970s, particularly within the

punk subculture The punk subculture includes a diverse and widely known array of Punk rock, music, Punk ideologies, ideologies, Punk fashion, fashion, and other forms of expression, Punk visual art, visual art, dance, Punk literature, literature, and film. La ...

and nascent

intentional communities An intentional community is a voluntary residential community designed to foster a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork. Such communities typically promote shared values or beliefs, or pursue a common vision, which may be politica ...

. By the 1980s, Swedish anarchists had come under the influence of the German autonomist movement, with a number of

squats Squat, squatter or squatting may refer to: Body position * Squatting position, a sitting position where one's knees are folded with heels touching one's buttocks or back of the thighs * Squat (exercise), a lower-body exercise in strength and co ...

being established throughout the country, and by the following decade,

green anarchism Green anarchism, also known as ecological anarchism or eco-anarchism, is an anarchist school of thought that focuses on ecology and environmental issues. It is an anti-capitalist and anti-authoritarian form of radical environmentalism, which e ...

was embraced by an increasing number of Swedish anarchists. Following the

revolutions of 1989 The revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, were a revolutionary wave of liberal democracy movements that resulted in the collapse of most Communist state, Marxist–Leninist governments in the Eastern Bloc and other parts ...

, Swedish interest in anarcho-syndicalism was revived. The SAC had continued its activities and grew to over 6,500 members, remaining active in labor organizing up until the modern day. In 1993, the

Swedish Anarcho-syndicalist Youth Federation The Swedish Anarcho-Syndicalist Youth Federation, (, SUF) is a youth-based group in Sweden that supports independent working class struggle. The federation was founded in 1993, in part rooted in the militant autonomism, autonomous youth movemen ...

(SUF) was established as a youth organization in collaboration with the SAC. One of many minor anarchist groups are the Fag Army, a left-wing

queer anarchist Queer anarchism, or anarcha-queer, is an anarchist school of thought that advocates anarchism and social revolution as a means of queer liberation and abolition of systems of oppression such as homophobia, lesbophobia, transmisogyny, biphobia, ...

group, which launched its first action on August 18, 2014, when it

pied A piebald or pied animal is one that has a pattern of unpigmented spots (white) on a pigmented background of hair, feathers or scales. Thus a piebald black and white dog is a black dog with white spots. The animal's skin under the white backg ...

the Minister for Health and Social Affairs,

Christian Democrat Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian ethics#Politics, Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics. Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo ...

leader Göran Hägglund.

Organizations

* Young Socialists (1908-1968) *

(1910-present) * Syndicalist Workers Federation (1928-1938) * Lund's Anarchist Group (1969-1973) *

(1993-present)

References

Bibliography

* * *

History and influence

Organizations

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading