Spanish <i>Pistolerismo</i> and Labour Violence in Post-War Europe, 1917–1923

Abstract Political violence in Europe in 1917–23 has typically been associated with the destabilizing impact of the First World War. However, some forms of violence displayed continuities with the pre-1914 period and were not directly related to the war, as was the case with trade union violence. This article engages with debates about the character and causality of the convulsions that shook the continent in 1917–23 through the case study of labour violence in Spain. This country remained neutral throughout the conflagration but experienced episodes of intense social warfare connected to strikes that came to be known as pistolerismo (the rule of the gunman). Pistolerismo had a complex prehistory, but it crystallized in 1917–19 due to the economic fallout of the war and the radicalizing influence of the Russian Revolution. This study traces the evolution of labour violence in these years, exploring how neutrality shaped pistolerismo, the retaliatory logic of aggressions, the formation and professionalization of trade union armed detachments, and the entanglements between social and political violence. It does so by interweaving social and cultural approaches. Viewed through this prism, trade union violence stands out as an important driver of instability and polarization in post-war Europe.