In April 1968, the members of the Situationist International (SI) began to prepare for an internal debate on the orientation of the group, that is to say, on its internal organization and its relationship with the "exterior" (the State, the spectacle, other autonomous groups, wildcat strikers, Leftists, etc). If 1957-1962 had been the SI's first period, its second period (1962-1967) had come or was coming to an end.
Significantly, the French occupations movement of May 1968, "which was obviously more pleasant and instructive than this debate, forced us to postpone it" (Guy Debord). The debate resumed in the Fall of 1968, but became a preoccupation in the wake of the disconcertingly boring meeting of the SI held in Venice, Italy, in September 1969. Under a variety of names (the question of organization, the orientation debate, the strategic debate), the discussion consisted of weekly meetings and texts written for them, mostly between March and November 1970. It doesn't appear that "minutes" were keep at these meetings; or, rather, none have ever circulated hand to hand as "pirated" copies.
The debate was accompanied by a slew of exclusions -- Alain Chevalier (French section, October 1969), Robert Chasse (American, January 1970), Bruce Elwell (American, January 1970), Claudio Pavan (Italian, Spring 1970), Eduardo Rothe (Italian, Spring 1970), Paolo Salvadori (Italian, Summer 1970) and Rene Riesel (French, September 1971) -- and resignations -- Francois de Beaulieu (French section, 1970), Patrick Cheval (French, 1970), Raoul Vaneigem (French, November 1970), Jon Horelick (American, December 1970), Christian Sebastiani (French, December 1970), Tony Verlaan (American, December 1970), and Rene Vienet (French, February 1971). The debate/carnage continued until April 1972, when the remaining members of the SI -- Guy Debord, Gianfranco Sanguinetti and J.V. Martin -- announced their decision to disband and tried to explain what had happened to the SI.
None of the situationists (18 in all) who were involved in this very pointed/pointless debate ever expressed the desire to assemble and publish a collection of the various statements and letters related to it. Indeed, when such a collection was finally put together by a fan of the situationists named Daniel Denevert and submitted to Editions Champ Libre, Guy Debord declined to help and Champ Libre turned the book down. Finally, in 1974, the Centre de recherche sur la question sociale (CRQS) started circulating a green-covered volume of mimeographed reproductions of mostly type-written pages called Debat de l'Orientation de l'Ex-Internationale Situationniste, 1969-1971. It wasn't until August 2004 that this entire "book" was finally translated into English.
Please note that this version of The Orientation Debate of the Situationist International is mostly based upon the French originals made available under the name Documents Situationnistes 1969-1970: Reedition 2000 by Franck Einstein, whom we hereby thank and salute for his remarkable efforts; includes several documents not found in either the "original" CRQS volume or Franck Einstein's on-line edition; appends as "Related" two texts that, to our knowledge, have never been translated into French; and is still not complete (several letters written between the Americans and the French are missing).
Note as well that, except when written in English to begin with, these documents have been rendered into English by at least seven different translators. Some of their names aren't known. All come from one of three countries (mostly the United States, but also Australia and England); all did their work anywhere between 1972 and 2004; and all were also involved in a "situationist" group or the production of a "situationist" journal of their own. There are, of course, many differences between their renderings (in terms of quality, style, cross-references, footnotes, etc), but we have done our best to standardize and hyper-text link them. In two cases (documents 1 and 5), we offer alternative translations to more commonly used ones. In two other cases (documents 25 and 39), we offer complete translations of texts that have long been available only as excerpts. Translations improve. The movement of time participates in this improvement. Plagiarism is necessary. Progress implies it. It takes the phrase of one translator, uses his expressions, effaces a false idea, replaces it with the right one.
Document 1: Guy Debord, April 1968. The Question of Organization for the SI and August 1969, Note added in August 1969. Published in L'International Situationniste #12, September 1969. Translated into English by Point Blank!
Document 2: Guy Debord, 21 February 1969. Letter to the Italian section of the SI. Published in Letters, vol IV, 1969-1972. Translated into English by NOT BORED.
Document 3: Rene Riesel, 26 August 1969. Propositions for the organization of our future publications. Translated into English by Reuben Keehan.
Document 4: Guy Debord, 1 September 1969. Notes on Rene Riesel's propositions concerning our publications. Published in Letters, vol IV, 1969-1972. Translated into English by NOT BORED.
Document 5: the French section of the SI, 15 October 1969. On the functioning of the French section after October 1969. Translated into English by NOT BORED.
Document 6: Guy Debord, 21 October 1969. The SI after the Conference at Venice. Published in Letters, vol IV, 1969-1972. Translated into English by NOT BORED.
Document 7: Raoul Vaneigem, March 1970. Notes on the orientation of the SI. Translated into English by Reuben Keehan.
Document 8: Guy Debord, 17 March 1970. Notes for the Communal Meeting of the French and Italian Sections. Translated into English by NOT BORED.
Document 9: Rene Riesel, March-April 1970. To the French Section of the SI, for discussion. Translated into English by Reuben Keehan.
Document 10: Tony Verlaan, no date. Several observations concerning the strategic debate. Translated into English by NOT BORED.
Document 11: Francois de Beaulieu, April 1970. On the subject of the debate on the SI's orientation. Translated into English by NOT BORED.
Document 12: Christian Sebastiani, 13 April 1970. Notes for the Meeting of 13 April 1970. Translated into English by NOT BORED.
Document 13: Rene Riesel, 18 April 1970. Concerning the first texts of the discussion, the debates of 17 March, 7 April, and 14 April, and other questions of importance. Translated into English by NOT BORED.
Document 14: Raoul Vaneigem, 23 April 1970. Several precise points. Translated into English by NOT BORED.
Document 15: Guy Debord, 27 April 1970. For an Orientation Debate in Spring 1970. Notes on the first of a series of texts. Translated into English by NOT BORED.
Document 16: Christian Sebastiani, April 1970. Notes for the Meeting of 28 April 1970. Translated into English by NOT BORED.
Document 17: Rene-Donatien [Rene Vienet], April 1970. Notes for the Meeting of 28 April 1970. Translated into English by NOT BORED.
Document 18: Rene-Donatien [Rene Vienet], May 1970. Notes for the Meeting of 5 May 1970. Translated into English by NOT BORED.
Document 19: Paolo Salvadori, May 1970. Provisional Theses for the Discussion of New Theoretico-Practical Orientation in the SI (excerpts). Translated into English by Ken Knabb.
Document 20: Rene Riesel, May 1970. Notes for the meeting of 12 May 1970. Translated into English by NOT BORED!
Document 21: Christian Sebastiani, May 1970. Notes for the Meeting of 19 May 1970. Translated into English by NOT BORED!
Document 22: Raoul Vaneigem, May 1970. Note of synthesis for the meeting of 19 May 1970. Translated into English by NOT BORED.
Document 23: Francois de Beaulieu, May 1970. Notes for the meeting 19 May 1970. Translated into English by NOT BORED.
Document 24: Gianfranco Sanguinetti, June 1970. Notes on the Strategic Debate. Translated into English by NOT BORED.
Document 25: Guy Debord, 7 July 1970. Note on an urgent and concrete question. Translated into English by NOT BORED!
Document 26: Guy Debord, 27 July 1970. Remarks on the SI today. Excerpts translated into English by Ken Knabb. Full translation by NOT BORED.
Document 27: Jonathan Horelick and Tony Verlaan, 21 September 1970. To Guy Debord. Original (now missing) was written in English. French translation. Translation back into English by NOT BORED!
Document 28: Guy Debord, 28 October 1970. To Jonathan Horelick and Tony Verlaan. (Not included in the CRQS volume: found in the files of Tom Ward, New York City.) Translated into English.
Document 29: Guy Debord, Rene Riesel and Rene Vienet, 11 November 1970. Declaration. Translated into English by Ken Knabb.
Document 30: Raoul Vaneigem, 14 novembre 1970. Letter of Resignation from the SI. Translated into English by Chronos Publications.
Document 31: Tony Verlaan and Jonathan Horelick, 17 November 1970, To Guy Debord. Written in English.
Document 32: Tony Verlaan and Jonathan Horelick, 18 November 1970. To Guy Debord, Rene Vienet and Rene Riesel. Written in English.
Document 33: Christian Sebastiani, 19 November 1970. To the Tendancy constituted 11 November 1970. Translated into English by NOT BORED.
Document 34: Guy Debord, Rene Riesel, and Rene Vienet, 24 November 1970. To Christian Sebastiani. Published in Guy Debord: Letters, vol IV, 1969-1972. Translated into English by NOT BORED.
Document 35: Christian Sebastiani, 28 November 1970. To the tendancy of 11 November. Translated into English by NOT BORED.
Document 36: Gianfranco Sanguinetti, 8 December 1970. Untitled letter. Translated into English by NOT BORED.
Document 37: Guy Debord, Rene Riesel, Gianfranco Sanguinetti, and Rene Vienet, 29 December 1970. To Jonathan Horelick and Tony Verlaan. Published in Guy Debord: Letters, vol IV, 1969-1972. Translated into English by NOT BORED.
Document 38: Guy Debord, Rene Riesel, Gianfranco Sanguinetti, and Rene Vienet, 29 December 1970. To Christian Sebastiani. Published in Guy Debord: Letters, vol IV, 1969-1972. Translated by NOT BORED.
Document 39: Guy Debord, January 1971. To the Meeting of 28 January 1971. Excerpts translated into English by Ken Knabb. Translation of the complete text by NOT BORED.
Document 40: Jon Horelick and Tony Verlaan, 3 February 1971. Statement from the American SI with respect to the tendency formed on 11 November 1970 by Rene Riesel, Rene Vienet and Guy Debord. (Not included in the CRQS volume: found in the files of Tom Ward, New York City.) Written in English.
Related texts: Robert Chasse and Bruce Elwell, February/March 1970: A Field Study in the Dwindling Force of Cognition, Where it is Expected Least: A Critique of the Situationist International as a Revolutionary Organization; and Jon Horelick, published June 1973 (appears to have been written in 1971 or 1972): The Practice of Truth: The Crisis of the Situationist International.