Anarcho-Republicanism?: Arendt and the Federated Council System

A number of scholars have seen in Arendt's writing on council democracy a useful model for contemporary anarchist movements. While Arendt praises anarchists like Proudhon and Bakunin for their contribution to council politics, she surprisingly argues that these radicals were "singularly unequipped to deal with a phenomenon [which] aimed at the foundation of a new state and the establishment of a new form of government." This criticism - indeed, one of the only direct comments she makes about anarchism - is odd for a number of reasons, and it seems to say much more about her views of Proudhon and Bakunin than it does about the compatibility of her thought with anarchism, in general. Indeed, Arendt's thought is much more compatible with anarchism than her criticism suggests.