Syndicalism and strikes, leadership and influence: Britain, Ireland, France, Italy, Spain and the United States

Darlington, RR

Abstract

The explosion of industrial and political militancy that swept the world during the early years of the twentieth century gave the revolutionary syndicalist movement a prominence and notoriety it would not otherwise have possessed, while at the same time providing a context for syndicalist ideas to be broadcast and for syndicalists to assume the leadership of major strikes in a number of countries. This article sheds new light on the complex nature of the relationship between syndicalism and strikes by means of an international comparative analysis of the revolutionary syndicalist movements in France, Spain, Italy, Britain, Ireland and United States. It presents evidence to suggest ideological/organizational initiative and leadership was of immense importance in understanding how syndicalist movements could be simultaneously a contributory cause, a symptom, and a beneficiary of workers' militancy.

Citation

Darlington, R. (2013). Syndicalism and strikes, leadership and influence: Britain, Ireland, France, Italy, Spain and the United States. International Labor and Working-Class History, 83(Spring), 37-53. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0147547913000136

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2013
• Deposit Date: Apr 4, 2014
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 4, 2014
• Journal: International Labor and Working Class History
• Print ISSN: 0147-5479
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 83
• Issue: Spring
• Pages: 37-53
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0147547913000136
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0147547913000136
• Related Public URLs: http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=ILW