The Norwegian Syndicalist Federation (Norsk Syndikalistisk Forbund, @nsf_iaa) was founded in 1916 during a period of growing syndicalist influence in Norway.
From its beginnings, the NSF emphasized workers’ self-management, direct action, and federalist organization. It stood apart from party-aligned and bureaucratic unions, seeking instead a movement built on solidarity, equality, and local control by the workers themselves. They reject party politics because such systems delegate power to representatives who inevitably betray workers' interests, turning struggle into electoral gamesmanship that sustains the state and capitalism.
Throughout the 20th century, the Federation remained small but active, maintaining publications (Alarm/Solidaritet), participating in strike, and sustaining membership with the International Workers’ Association (IWA-AIT). Their critique targets capitalism, wage labor exploitation, profit-driven markets, and hierarchical systems of governance, favoring collective control over production to meet human needs directly, without bosses or state interference.
Though its membership has never been large, its consistent activity has kept the principles of anarcho-syndicalism alive in Norway through agitation against reformism and propaganda for class struggle. As of 2025, the NSF-IAA continues to exist as a small but enduring organization within Norway’s radical labor movement, carrying forward more than a century of syndicalist thought and practice.
Of course, the NSF-IAA should always speak for themselves when it comes to their own history, but based on what I’ve read, and what I wrote, reflects my understanding of their role and legacy. Without their writings, historical newspapers, and publications, I wouldn’t be as politically radicalized as I am today.
I live in Bergen, while they’re based in Oslo.
#NorskTut #Norge #Oslo #Bergen #Anarchism #Syndicalism #AnarchoSyndicalism
