Against the State: A Study of War, Anarchism, and Anarchists at War

A book about those that cannot wait any longer for the world to change.

Young revolutionaries in Myanmar and Rojava, colloquially referred to by journalist James Stout as ＂anarchists＂ for their nonhierarchical forms of organization based on mutual aid and solidarity, face incredible danger to pursue their expression of freedom. Against the State seeks to understand these anarchists, to honor their struggles, and ask tough questions about confronting the state. Stout contrasts these contemporary movements with the Spanish Civil War and Revolution where workers in 1936 fought capitalism and fascism. Crucially, the book presents these movements as evolving and innovative, and centers the voices of those too often overlooked in conflict studies and misunderstood by Western radical movements.

James Stout is a journalist, historian, and anarchist with experience working in conflict zones and mutual aid projects around the world. His PhD research was on international antifascism in the Spanish Second Republic and Civil War. He is the author of The Popular Front and the Barcelona 1936 Popular Olympics: Playing as if the World Was Watching.