Bulletin de la Fédération jurassienne

The Bulletin de la Fédération jurassienne (English: Bulletin of the Jura Federation) was an anarchist newspaper published between February 1872 and March 1878 in Sonvilier, Le Locle, and later La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. It was one of the first anarchist periodicals in history, serving as the official organ for the Jura Federation and the Anti-Authoritarian International during the foundational years of the anarchist movement. Although the Bulletin never exceeded a circulation of 600 copies per issue, some historians argue that it played 'a very important role' from both a theoretical and historical perspective.

Following the schism of the First International, defined by the split between anarchists and Marxists who clashed at the Hague and Saint-Imier congresses, the Bulletin de la Fédération jurassienne became the primary forum for exchange among the Federation's anarchists. Many notable figures from the movement's first generation, such as Carlo Cafiero, James Guillaume, Peter Kropotkin, and Adhémar Schwitzguébel, gathered there to write.

Spanning 283 issues over six years, the journal served as a platform for debating core aspects of anarchist theory and ideology. It focused on anarchist collectivism and syndicalism, and, starting in 1877, it began theorizing propaganda by the deed. Following its dissolution, it was succeeded by L'Avant-Garde.

The International Workingmen's Association (IWA), or the First International, was a workers' association founded in London in 1864. It is a foundational organization in the history of the labour movement, quickly bringing together numerous figures associated with its history, such as Mikhail Bakunin, Karl Marx, James Guillaume, Friedrich Engels, Errico Malatesta, and Carlo Cafiero.^[1] Various political movements were represented within it, ranging from Marxism to anarchism, as well as more moderate socialists and Proudhonists.^[1]

In 1872, shortly after the episode of the revolutionary Communes in France, the International split; the Marxists allied with the Blanquists to expel Bakunin at the Hague Congress.^[1] Bakunin and his allies then met at the Saint-Imier Congress in Switzerland, where they held significant influence, to expel Marx from the International and reform it under statutes guaranteeing the autonomy of member federations.^[2] These two congresses marked the schism within the First International, which was henceforth divided into two: the Anti-Authoritarian International (1872–1880s) and the Marxist International (1872–1876).^[2]

The Anti-Authoritarian International, of which the Jura Federation was one of the primary federations, is a fundamental organization in the history of anarchism, becoming, though it was not initially intended as such, the first anarchist organization.^[3] It influenced anarchism on many points of theory and practice, to the extent that it is often considered the central organization in the birth of the anarchist movement.^[3][4]

In parallel with this general framework, the Jura Federation began publishing a Bulletin in February 1872, prior to the Hague and Saint-Imier congresses.^[5] James Guillaume, whom historian Marianne Enckell describes as 'unquestionably the primary figure in the history of the Jura Federation', was its chief organizer.^[5][6]

The journal had a very limited circulation; even Peter Kropotkin noted that its print run never exceeded 600 copies.^[5][7] While no articles were signed, it is possible to identify the authors through manuscripts preserved at the International Institute of Social History (IISG).^[5][7] The principal contributors throughout the journal's lifespan were:^[5][7]

Paul Brousse, Carlo Cafiero, James Guillaume, Andrea Costa, B. Hubert, Peter Kropotkin, Gustave Lefrançais, Benoît Malon, Paul Robin, Adhémar Schwitzguébel, and Auguste Spichiger.

The journal served as the public voice for a number of notable anarchists from the movement's first and second generations.^[8][9] Despite its small circulation, the internationalism of the burgeoning anarchist movement was reflected in its distribution area, which spanned over a dozen countries; in fact, half of the published copies were sent abroad.^[8][10]

The journal, which was published until 25 March 1878, and moved its operations between Sonvilier, Le Locle, and La Chaux-de-Fonds, eventually ceased publication and gave way to the next anarchist periodical, L'Avant-Garde.^[5][11] In total, it spanned 283 issues.^[7]

According to Bianco, the journal 'played a very important role'.^[5] Indeed, beyond being one of the first anarchist periodicals in history, it was the platform where central tenets of anarchist and socialist political theory were first developed.^[10] Between 1873 and 1875, the journal championed anarchist collectivism and the involvement of anarchists in labor unions (syndicats). Enckell cites an article by Guillaume that is indicative of this orientation:^[10]

As we have often said, the utility of a strike lies not so much in the small material advantages gained today only to be lost tomorrow; it lies, above all, in the agitation it creates, which facilitates the grouping of workers, in the sense of solidarity it awakens, and finally, in the consciousness it fosters among workers—who until then remained indifferent—of the opposition between their interests and those of the employer.

The Bulletin was also one of the first publications to theorize propaganda by the deed in an article published on 5 August 1877, which stated, among other things:^[12][13]

Revolutionary socialists seek, through riots whose outcome they perfectly foresee, to stir the popular consciousness, and they succeed. Opportunist socialists blame these riots, calling them Putschs; they laugh at them and ridicule them to the great joy of the bourgeoisie—who fears them—at the very moment when those who took part are leaving for Siberia or appearing before courts to be sentenced, sometimes to life imprisonment. [...] Let us ask ourselves the meaning to be attributed to these acts: Kazan, Benevento, Bern. Did the men who took part in these movements hope to start a revolution? Were they under enough of an illusion to believe in success? No, obviously. To say that such was their thought would be to misunderstand them, or, knowing them, to slander them. The events of Kazan, Benevento, and Bern are quite simply acts of propaganda.

Enckell describes the journal as particularly important for grasping both anarchist thought, then in the process of formation and constitution, and for providing information on the later periods of the Anti-Authoritarian International, which are generally less studied.^[6]

• The Bulletin on Wikisource (in French)
• Full collection on the Archives Autonomies website

• Baker, Zoe (2023), Means and Ends: The Revolutionary Practice of Anarchism in Europe and the United States, Edinburgh: AK Press, ISBN 978-1-84935-498-1
• Berthier, René (2015), La fin de la première Internationale [The end of the First Internationale] (in French), Paris: Le Monde Libertaire, ISBN 978-2915514636
• Enckell, Marianne (2012), La Fédération jurassienne, Genève - Paris: Entremonde, ISBN 978-2-940426-16-4
• Levy, Carl (2019), The Palgrave Handbook of Anarchism, Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN 978-3-319-75619-6