Abstract
This study considers the role of anarchism in the Czech punk scene during the decade 1985-1995, an era marked by perestroika, the dismantling of state socialism and the early postsocialist transformation. Drawing on testimonies in local punk fanzines, the anarchist press and edited anthologies as well as published interviews with Czech punks and related audio-visual material, I examine the intersections of this subculture with the anarchist movement.
By anchoring my research in this period of profound socioeconomic and political change, I establish a base from which to assess processes of politicization and de-politicization in the Czech punk scene over ensuing decades. From the very outset, an "anti-system" stance was integral to Czech adaptations of punk (sub)culture.
This was expressed not only in opposition to the Communist state, with its police, army, education and psychiatric facilities, but also in attacks on the "conformist" working class under late socialism and particularly on the Roma, who were seen as a Communist-protected minority. As such, some punks engaged in radically anti-social acts that resembled those of right-wing skinheads and hooligans.
Meanwhile, a new and more self-reflective group of Czech punks with ties to alternative culture was voicing its opposition to fascism and moving steadily towards anarchism. The punk-anarchist connection was, however, hardly obvious in the early postsocialist years, and openly anarchist and anarchist-sympathizing bands were only a small part of the flamboyant scene.
For their part, the anarchists embarked on near endless discussions about what to do about the punk participation. Ultimately my study seeks to chart the range of anarchist involvement among Czech punks at the levels of both ideology and practice.
To this end, I devise a scale with highly active "anarcho-punks" on one end and seemingly apolitical "pub punks" on the other.