Anarchism in Switzerland appeared, as a political current, within theJura Federation of theInternational Workingmen's Association (IWA), under the influence ofMikhail Bakunin and Swiss libertarian activists such asJames Guillaume andAdhémar Schwitzguébel. Swiss anarchism subsequently evolved alongside the nascent social democratic movement and participated in the local opposition to fascism during the interwar period. The contemporary Swiss anarchist movement then grew into a number of militant groups, libertarian socialist organizations and squats.
In August 1291, analliance was formed between the cantons ofUri,Schwyz andUnterwalden, establishing theSwiss Confederacy withimperial immediacy, which allowed for the territory's autonomy from theHoly Roman Empire. During thegrowth of the Old Swiss Confederacy throughout the 14th and 15th centuries, it continued to assert its autonomy through a number of conflicts against noble houses such as theHabsburgs and theBurgundians, eventually achievingde facto independence from the empire after its victory in theSwabian War, which exempted the Confederacy from the decisions of theImperial Diet. In its place, the Swiss Confederacy established theFederal Diet, a regular meeting of cantonal delegates with only limited powers. The Diet was the only form of federal authority in Switzerland and the cantons remained essentially sovereign.
During theProtestant Reformation, social inequality grew significantly, as more political and economic power became concentrated in the hands of a few rich families, which began to draw resentment from peasants and free citizens. In response to the rise of these oligarchies,popular revolts started to break out in many of the cantons, with the objective of restoring common democratic rights. Despite the cantonal authorities managing to subdue these uprisings through the granting of concessions,autocratic tendencies continued to slowly transform the democratic cantons into oligarchies, culminating in the establishment of the absolutistAncien Régime in 1648, with therecognition of Swiss independence from theHoly Roman Empire. But the institution of absolutism in Switzerland soon led to theSwiss peasant war of 1653, which resulted in the implementation of a series of reforms including the lowering of taxes, ultimately preventing the country from completely implementing absolutism as had occurred inFrance underLouis XIV.
In 1798, theFrench invasion of Switzerland brought about the collapse of the Old Confederacy, which was replaced with theHelvetic Republic, representing an attempt to impose a central authority over Switzerland. However, afederalist revolt eventuallyoverthrew the Republic, restoring the cantons and re-establishing a federal and decentralizedSwiss Confederation. Following the defeat and dissolution of theFirst French Empire in theWar of the Sixth Coalition, Cantonal constitutions began to be worked out independently and the Federal Diet was reconvened to replace the constitution with a newFederal Treaty, beginning therestoration of theAncien Régime.
But the restoration of the Swiss ruling class brought with it a rise inliberalism andradicalism, calling for greater democracy in the Swiss cantons. Following theJuly Revolution,cantonal assemblies were held calling for new cantonal constitutions, particularly focused on the implementation ofproportional representation and the ability to proposecitizens' initiatives. As liberal and radical groups attained more power,[1] they began to institute widespread reforms including the abolition ofcensorship, theseparation of church and state, the recognition ofpopular sovereignty and the introduction ofrepresentative democracy.[2] In 1848, Switzerland was officiallyconstituted as afederal state, imposing acentral government made up of representatives of a newNational Assembly.
With the outbreak of theParis Commune, the anarchistJames Guillaume drew a contrast between the federalism practiced by the communards with the federalism of Switzerland. According to Guillaume, the Parisian conception of federalism, as inspired by the philosophy ofPierre-Joseph Proudhon, was organized in direct opposition to nationalism and statism, whereas Swiss federalism maintained the nation-state, albeit organized through decentralization.[3]
The re-establishment of the Swiss confederation in 1848 provided a safe haven for many European revolutionaries, many of which had been forced into exile by the monarchist regimes that largely ruled the continent at the time. These expatriates included a significant number of revolutionary socialists and anarchists, who began to lay the groundwork for the labor movement in the country.
Following the repression of theJanuary Uprising inPoland, European workers began to discuss the need for an international organization, culminating in the 1864 founding of theInternational Workingmen's Association (IWA).[4] In September 1866, the IWA convened itsfirst congress inGeneva, during which the Frenchmutualists came to dominate the discussion, with native Swiss trade unions and educational societies also in attendance, concluding its activities by taking up the demand for the universal establishment of theeight-hour day.[5] The following September, the IWA'ssecond congress was convened inLausanne, where the majority of delegates came from the local Swiss labor movement.[6] It was during this second congress that the international took on a more explicitly socialist program. Here too the mutualists were predominant in the discussions of the congress, raising debates on national banks, trade union investments and education, ultimately bringing about the approval of resolutions to "induce the trade unions to devote their funds to cooperative production"[7] to institute free, compulsory and secular education, and to call for thepublic ownership of transportation.[8]
Shortly after the Lausanne Congress, theinaugural congress of theLeague of Peace and Freedom was held in Geneva, coordinated with the aim of achieving peace between European nations and the establishment of a "United States of Europe". This congress saw the participation of a number of prominent anarchists, includingMikhail Bakunin andÉlisée Reclus, who joined the league's central committee.[9] However, the League's second congress inBern marked a split between the organization's liberal democratic majority and the anarchist minority, which caused Bakunin, Reclus,Mroczkowski andFanelli to leave the League and establish theInternational Alliance of Socialist Democracy, which soon dissolved itself into the various national sections of the IWA.[10]
In September 1869, the IWA'sfourth congress was convened inBasel, in which the Swiss delegates included the anarchistsJames Guillaume andAdhémar Schwitzguébel. This congress saw the French section, which was largely composed of mutualists such asHenri Tolain,Eugène Varlin andBenoît Malon, become isolated from the International by the growingMarxist faction.[11]
In the wake of this excision, on October 9, 1870, anti-authoritarian and anarchist sections of the IWA's Romandy Federation went on to found theJura Federation during a meeting inSaint-Imier. The federation published theSonvilier Circular in 1871, which aligned it against hierarchical political parties and advocated for horizontal revolutionary organizations that modelled themselves after the future society they wished to bring about.[12] When the anarchist faction was expelled from the IWA at the International'sfifth congress, the Jura Federation organized arival congress in Saint-Imier. The congress resolved to reject the expulsion of anarchists from the IWA and other resolutions of theHague Congress and the International's General Council, which they deemed asauthoritarian.[13] From the libertarian section of the split rose theAnti-Authoritarian International, which they claimed to be to true heirs of the IWA.
In September 1873, the two rival Internationals both held separate sixth congresses in Geneva. The Congress of the Marxist section proved to be a failure, as only a small number of regional federations participated and the General Council was itself unable to attend, leading it to eventually dissolve itself. Whereas the anarchist congress was attended by delegates from all over western Europe, with a federation from theUnited States even announcing its accession to the anarchist International. The anarchists agreed to the formal dissolution of the General Council and the autonomy of local federations, as well as the adoption of thegeneral strike as a revolutionary tactic for the first time.[14]
In 1874, Mikhail Bakunin retired toMinusio and died on July 1, 1876. Following Bakunin's death, a number of debates began to emerge within the anarchist movement, concerning the concepts ofinsurrectionism,syndicalism andanarcho-communism. In September 1876, the International held its eighth congress in Bern, during which the proposal to open up the International to non-anarchist organizations was debated.[15] Subsequent congresses thus took positions that were increasingly favorable to Russianpopulism andnihilism,[16] approving of more radical tactics likepropaganda of the deed.[17][18] Debates also took place between thecollectivist position of Bakunin and the newly synthesizedanarcho-communism, which was proposed byPeter Kropotkin, with the Jura Federation officially adopting anarcho-communism at its congress inLa Chaux-de-Fonds.[19][20] Kropotkin and Reclus also founded the Jura Federation's official newspaperLe Révolté on February 22, 1879, and published a number of revolutionary pamphlets,[21] although the political fallout that followed theassassination of Alexander II of Russia in 1881 led to Kropotkin's expulsion from Switzerland.[22] By this time, the Anti-Authoritarian International and the Jura Federation had both largely dissolved.
As a result of the split in the International, the socialist movement within Switzerland became split across the same lines. InRomandy, anarchism became the predominant tendency, whereas inGerman-speaking Switzerland, it wassocial democratic tendencies that took the lead.
When theSocial Democratic Party was founded in 1888, a number of German-speaking anarchists and syndicalists joined the party and its affiliated trade unions, influencing party policy towards anarchist, federalist and syndicalist ideas. However, anarchist activists were often the target of expulsion by Swiss authorities, a practice which was even applied by social democratic police officials. German and Austrian anarchists were only able to briefly agitate in Switzerland before themselves being expelled, at the behest of social democratic figures.[23] The social democrats also led to expulsion of anarchists from theZürich Socialist and Labour Congress, which had been convened by theSecond International.[24] The Social Democrats went on to win their first eat in theNational Council during the1896 Swiss federal election.
Nevertheless, the influence of anarcho-syndicalism had brought with it the strategy of the mass strike, as the early 1900s saw a wave of localized general strikes spread through the country, despite Swiss trade union leaders remaining largely skeptical of the practice.[25][26] The anti-strike rhetoric that followed in their wake saw a surge inanti-semitic andxenophobicconspiracy theories, which blamed the strikes on Jewish speculators and foreign anarchist revolutionaries.[27]
The Swiss anarchist press also began to flourish during this period. In 1900,Il Risveglio anarchico was established by a group of Italian emigrants and exiles, led byLuigi Bertoni, in collaboration with Romand anarchists such asJean Wintsch andJacques Gross.[28] The paper published anItalian language edition and aFrench language edition, which published different articles and had different target audiences. There was also a brief period between 1903 and 1907 when aGerman language edition was published.[29] On May 1, 1914, the newspaperLe Falot was founded by a group of anarchists, syndicalists and free thinkers inValais,[30] declaring that it would not be the organ of any political party and instead defended the syndicalist route of organizing through trade unions,[31] taking advantage of the prohibition of socialist newspapers.Le Falot demonstrated concern about the living conditions of immigrant workers and denounced the poor conditions offered in various localities, as well as discrimination againstArabs in Switzerland.[32]
After the outbreak ofWorld War I, when the Social Democratic Party began to pursue the policy ofBurgfrieden, they received criticism from a number of far-left groups, including even theYoung Socialists, who had come under the influence of the anarchist physicianFritz Brupbacher and the pacifist theologianLeonhard Ragaz.[33] Anarchic tendencies continued to proliferate within the Young Socialists throughout the 20th century, particularly in the Bern section, which eventually began pushing for the abolition of the Social Democratic Party's central presidium.[34]
During the war, the price of basic necessities rose while wages sank. Some workers were drafted into the military, but were not compensated for their lost wages and were even paid less than they had been in industrial work.[35] The issues ofLe Falot criticized the war as an "absurd massacre" and held that the remedy to the present conditions was through trade union organization. The newspaper took a leading role in developing trade unions, forming a union of about 150 workers in Vouvry, with a total of 12 unions being created by the initiative before the end of 1916. In January 1917, the Workers' Federation of Valais (FVO) was founded andLe Falot became its official body, publishing reports from the FVO secretariat and information about the various sections.[36] TheDada movement also emerged inZürich out of a reaction to the war, developing an art style fromanti-capitalist and anarchist philosophies that expressed itself throughnonsense andirrationality. Meanwhile, the heightened inequalities, combined with the new political climate that followed in the wake of theRussian Revolution, led leaders of the Social Democratic Party, labor unions and the left-wing press to establish the Olten Action Committee (OAK), in order to provide a unified leadership for the labor movement.[37]
On October 9, 1918, an explosives store with material of German origin discovered in theSeebach embankment near Zürich, which previously had been attributed to sabotage preparations by the German Consulate, was traced back to a fictitious anarchist group by the right-wing district attorney Otto Heusser and increased fear of revolution among the bourgeoisie. These fears of revolution led to theFederal Council deploying a military occupation of Zürich in November 1918, claiming that due to the economic and political instability the troops were needed to maintain order.[38] The city's labor unions accused the government of attempting to establish a military dictatorship and the OAK called for a peaceful one-day strike in Swiss cities,[38] in a move which Zürich's local labor leaders considered overly cautious. During a planned celebration of the first anniversary of theOctober Revolution, and following news of theGerman Revolution successfully overthrowing themonarchy, the military violently dispersed protesting crowds in Zürich.[39] The OAK responded to these altercations by proclaiming ageneral strike and calling for nine demands, including the institution ofproportional representation,women's suffrage, the48-hour week and the reorganization of the military into a "people's army".[40] But the government responded by rejecting the demands and mobilizing theArmy. The general strike was therefore initiated on November 12, with its greatest participation coming from the industrial areas of German-speaking Switzerland.[41]Clovis-Abel Pignat, on the first page ofLe Falot of December 1, analyzed the situation and proposed to adopt a program in case of victory of the Revolution inValais. He was himself persuaded by the imminence of change: "From the train where the events are going to the countries around us, it is to be expected that its implementation will be soon. There are currents that it is unnecessary to bring back, and despite the fierce obstructionism by the owning and governing classes, the popular will will eventually triumph. For all conscious men, there is not a minute to spare. Groups must train everywhere to undertake extensive propaganda among the people. The day of salvation is approaching. Let's go ready!"[36] However, theFederal Assembly passed several measures to break the strike, giving the OAK an ultimatum to call it off, which they complied with.[42] In Basel and Zürich, many workers initially refused to believe that the strike had been called off, with some radical union leaders such asErnst Nobs even ignoring the decision entirely. But eventually the moderate leaders prevailed and work largely resumed as normal.[43] By the end of the strike, some workers had already been killed by soldiers, while many of the union leaders were trialed and convicted for their involvement.[44] With the defeat of the strike, debates on the organization of political training and election participation came back in the columns ofLe Falot. By November 12, 1919, the newspaper had ceased publication entirely, ending its first editorial era.[45]
Nevertheless, the general strike marked a turning point for the Swiss left-wing. In the1919 Swiss federal election, the Social Democratic Party made massive gains, doubling their seats in the National Council, while in thesubsequent election they gained their first seat in theCouncil of States.[46] On March 6, 1921, theCommunist Party of Switzerland was founded by far-left dissidents that were expelled from the SDP,[47] one of which was the libertarian socialistFritz Brupbacher, although he would later also be expelled from the Communist Party due to his criticisms ofStalinism.[48]
In October 1922, theMarch on Rome resulted in theNational Fascist Party taking power and establishing afascist regime inItaly.Il Risveglio anarchico began to aim its Italian language edition at Italian anti-fascists, who were now part of a growing resistance movement. Many Italian anti-fascist refugees sought asylum in Switzerland, where they were able to continue agitation due to the democratic and libertarian political climate.
Fascism first spread to Switzerland not long after, as theanti-communistUnion de défense économique (UDE)[49] was established in 1923 by former members of theRadical andLiberal parties,[50] winning seats in theFederal Council andGrand Council of Geneva.[51] In 1932, it merged withGeorges Oltramare's fascist political party theOrdre politique nacional to establish theNational Union. The Union, known for itsantisemitism, organized amock trial of the socialist leadersLéon Nicole andJacques Dicker atPlainpalais in Geneva.[52] Acounter-demonstration was called by the Swiss left-wing, with anarchist protestors being organized byLucien Tronchet andAndré Bösiger, in order to shut down the meeting. Between 4,000 and 5,000 protestors gathered at Plainpalais, a few anarchists were among the demonstrators to breach the police cordon and briefly gain access to the building and attempt to disrupt the meeting, before being thrown out.[53] But the Swiss Army had been deployed in order to suppress the demonstration,[54] which was finally dispersed after 10 people were shot and killed by the armed forces.[55] Among the dead was the libertarian socialist militant Melchior Allemann, a close friend of Bösiger's. In the aftermath, theGruppe 33 was founded inBasel by a collective ofavant-garde andsurrealist artists, united out of a shared anti-fascist political ideology.
During theSpanish Civil War, Swiss anarchists sent arms, money and supplies to Spanish anarcho-syndicalists and coordinated links between Spanish agricultural collectives and Swiss consumer cooperatives. Some Swiss anarchists, likeClara Thalmann, even fought in theconfederal militias. With the outbreak ofWorld War II and Switzerland maintaining its neutrality, the fascist political parties dissolved[56] and the Communist Party was banned for its support of theMolotov–Ribbentrop Pact.[57] By 1943, the Federal Council made a decision to crack down on all groups linked to theAxis powers.[56][58]
In 1957, theCentre International de Recherches sur l'Anarchisme (CIRA) was founded inGeneva, moving toLausanne in 1965. It was established as an archive of anarchist works, functioning as aninfoshop and library of anarchist materials in various different languages.
During the 1970s, anarchism took a more militant turn in Switzerland. A small group of conscienscous objectors that had met in prison formed theFasel Gang in 1977 and committed a series of robberies, before being caught, and subsequently organizing a series of prison breaks.[59] In 1979, the environmentalist activistMarco Camenisch sabotaged a power station atBad Ragaz with explosives, himself being arrested not long after and also escaping from prison. It was later reported that he had killed a border guard when fleeing to Italy.[60] The Swiss anarchistWerner Sauber also took part in the2 June Movement, which carried out a number of attacks throughoutWest Germany.[61]
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In 1978, the Libertarian Federation of the Mountains (French:Fédération Libertaire des Montagnes) was founded, which published theBulletin de l’Agence de presse libertaire in 1978–1979, thenLe Réveil anarchiste from 1979 to 1983. In 1982, it came together with other anarchist organizations inVaud andBienne to establish theLibertarian Socialist Organisation (French:Organisation socialiste libertaire, OSL), which acted as a federation of libertarian socialist groups throughoutRomandy. The OSL published a quarterly reviewConfrontations from 1988 to 1996[62] and a newsletterRebellion from 1997.[63]
It was at this time that the Genevasquatters movement also began to take off. Throughout the 1980s a number of vacant properties were occupied, the most notable of which wasRHINO, a squat first occupied in 1988 that housed seventy people up until its eventual eviction in 2007.[64] From out of the squatters movement, the libertarian communist organizationAutonomous Action was founded in 2007, with local groups in Geneva, Valais and Vaud.
While Swiss anarchism has historically been a phenomenon in Romandy, in 2010 Libertarian Action Winterthur (LAW) was founded inZürich and has organized anarchist festivals and bookfairs inGerman-speaking Switzerland. Like the OSL, LAW contributes to the Anarkismo.net project.[65]
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