This book analyses the processes of revolution and state reconstruction that took place in the Republican zone during the Spanish civil war. It focuses on the radical anarchists who sought to advance the revolutionary agenda. Their activity came into conflict with the leaders of their own organizations, who had joined the coalition government in order to reconstruct the state, following its near collapse in July 1936. This process implied participation not only in the organs of governance but also in the ideological reconstitution of the Republic as a patriarchal and national entity. Using original sources, Evans shows that the opposition to this process was both broader and more ideologically consistent than has hitherto been assumed, and that, in spite of its heterogeneity, it united around a common revolutionary programme. This resistance to state reconstruction was informed by the essential insight of anarchism: that the function and purpose of the modern state cannot be transformed from within. By situating the struggles of the radical anarchists within the contested process of state reconstruction, the book affirms the continued relevance of this insight to the study of the Spanish revolution.

“Danny Evans has written a lucid and incisive account of anarchism’s relationship with the state from the point of view of the radicals who resisted what they perceived as the anti-revolutionary drift of their movement.” George Esenwein, author of The Spanish Civil War: A Modern Tragedy

“An example of solid radical scholarship, making abundant use of archival records and first-person accounts to elucidate the life and work of Voltairine de Cleyre, her numerous recognizable associates, and the circles in which she was involved.... I highly recommend An American Anarchist to any reader who has an interest in nineteenth-century American and trans-Atlantic radicalism. In fact, I would also highly recommend ordering AK Press’s recent reprint of Selected Works of Voltairine de Cleyre as a companion volume. Both volumes together will leave an indelible mark on the intellectual and idealistic imaginations of their readers.” Michelle M. Campbell, Anarchist Studies

“Danny Evans has written a lucid and incisive account of anarchism’s relationship with the state from the point of view of the radicals who resisted what they perceived as the anti-revolutionary drift of their movement.” George Esenwein, author of The Spanish Civil War: A Modern Tragedy

"This is an important contribution to the history of the Spanish Civil War and of the anarchist movement." —Kate Sharpley Library.

Danny Evans is a Lecturer in Modern European History at Liverpool Hope University. He has published on anarchism and anti-fascism in a special issue of the International Journal of Iberian Studies that he co-edited with James Michael Yeoman on "New Approaches to Spanish Anarchism" (2016). His interests include the anarchist commitment to internationalism and gender equality in Spain, and the post-revolutionary experiences of defeat and exile.