Lucien van der Walt
Lucien van der Walt is a South African writer, professor of sociology, and labour educator. Born on 8 September 1972 in Krugersdorp, he studies how anarchist and syndicalist ideas relate to trade unions, working-class history in southern Africa, and neoliberal state changes. He currently teaches at Rhodes University in the Eastern Cape and has previously worked at the University of the Witwatersrand.
Education and awards: Van der Walt earned a PhD in 2007 on anarchism and syndicalism in early 1900s South Africa. His dissertation won major prizes, including the international Labor History prize and the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) prize for the best African PhD thesis.
Work and activism: He is deeply involved in union and workers’ education. His work includes roles with DITSELA, the Global Labour University, and education programs at Rhodes University and the University of the Witwatersrand. He also contributed to the Anti-Privatisation Forum (APF) as a leader in media and communications.
Selected books and publications:
- Politics at a Distance from the State: Radical and African Perspectives (co-edited with Kirk Helliker), 2018
- Negro E Vermelho: Anarquismo, Sindicalismo Revolucionário e Pessoas de cor na África Meridional nas Décadas de 1880 a 1920 (Portuguese), 2014
- Anarchism and Syndicalism in the Colonial and Postcolonial World, 1870–1940: The Praxis of National Liberation, Internationalism, and Social Revolution (eds. with Steven J. Hirsch), 2010; paperback edition with new material, 2014
- Schwarze Flamme: Revolutionäre Klassenpolitik im Anarchismus und Syndikalismus (with Michael Schmidt), 2013
- Black Flame: The Revolutionary Class Politics of Anarchism and Syndicalism (with Michael Schmidt), 2009
- International Encyclopaedia of Revolution and Protest (editorial work), 2009
See also: Anarchism in South Africa.
This page was last edited on 1 February 2026, at 20:52 (CET).