Review | A Brief History of Commercial Capitalism
Nick Evans reviews a new book that calls for a radical rethinking of the history of capitalism.
May’s last dance
Theresa May has announced that she will finally be leaving on 7 June. She has epitomised the ‘nasty party’ she once criticised.
Some deadlines can’t be extended…
Theresa May’s deal has been rejected again and the Brexit deadlock continues. Meanwhile, the entire ruling class is running down the clock on an even more important issue.
Review: Ukraine and the Empire of Capital
Nick Evans finds much of interest in Yuliya Yurchenko’s analysis of Ukraine’s recent history.
Review: Student Revolt by Matt Myers
Nick Evans reviews a new oral history of Britain’s 2010 youth uprising against fees and EMA cuts. “It’s just a point in a line of history, but for me it’s absolutely the beginning. It’s point zero.” Charlotte Gray “For me, Millbank was about collective power.” Natalie Graham “Look. Tomorrow and the day after a lot […]
Exposing the far-right in Austria’s Freedom Party
Austria prepares for elections on 15 October which are likely to result in the far-right Freedom Party helping to form the next government. Nick Evans reviews a new book documenting the extremist groups that now dominate the party. Review of: Hans-Henning Scharsach (with Christa Eveline Spitzbart), Stille Machtergreifung: Hofer, Strache und die Burschenschaften [Silent Coup: […]
#M18: Vienna protests against racism and attacks on the right to protest
Report and photos by Nick Evans. “Stop instrumentalising us. Muslim women are fed up with being told what to wear. We want freedom to wear what we want.” The #M18 demonstration in Vienna began with speeches by Muslim women, Afghan and Syrian refugees and socialists, condemning the recent ban on the full-face ban and attacks […]
Interview: on the resistible rise of Norbert Hofer
Today (4 December), Austrians go to the polls again to elect their president. Earlier this year, the candidate of the far-right Freedom Party, Norbert Hofer, was narrowly defeated by the former Green candidate Alexander Van der Bellen. However, the Freedom Party successfully challenged the vote in the courts, and there is now a re-run. The […]
BMA votes against charges for migrants
On the day of the EU Referendum, doctors voted against borders. Report by Nick Evans The British Medical Association voted to denounce charges for migrants trying to access NHS services on Thursday. Delegates at the Annual Representatives Meeting voted on a motion, initially brought by medical students, to run training workshops, commission a report and […]
The democratic wager: why the Left must support the Syrian Revolution
Nick Evans Reviews Jules Alford and Andy Wilson (eds.) Khiyana. Daesh, the Left and the Unmaking of the Syrian Revolution. Essays by Muhhamad Idrees Ahmad, Javaad Alipoor, Leila Al-Shami, Mark Boothroyd, Joseph Daher and Shiar Neyo, Sam Charles Hamad, Bodour Hassan, Michael Karadjis, Louis Proyect, Eyal Zisser. London: Unkant, 2016. 278 pp. £9.99. The title of this book means “betrayal”: […]
Don’t mention trade: leaked document reveals EU plans for the COP21
A leak from the EU’s shadowy Trade Policy Committee reveals officials charged with determining EU’s climate policy vowing to keep trade regulations out of the COP21 climate change talks, reports Nick Evans. A recent article on this website argued we need to pay attention to the arcane world of international trade law. Cloaked in bureaucratic […]
Thousands protest against Cameron’s War, solidarity needed with Assad’s victims
Nick Evans reports from last night’s protest in London against the bombing of Syria Today, the House of Commons will be asked again to vote on bombing Syria. The UK is already bombing Iraq, and Syrians are already being bombed by the Assad regime, by Russia, by the US, by France. The UK has also […]
Whose security? Climate protests in France during the state of emergency
The French government has called a ‘State of Emergency’ and banned all demonstrations for 3 months following the tragic events in Paris. Nick Evans explains why, despite the bans, the protests during the Paris climate talks (COP21) must, and will, go ahead. Riot police in the Calais camp earlier this month. Photo: London2Calais The French government has announced […]
American protests challenge anti-migrant racism
Many politicians have been using the attacks in Paris to whip up prejudice against migrants – in Europe and also the US. But there have also been protests in America calling for solidarity with refugees, report Lauren Nickell, Sofia Arias and Akunna Eneh. This article originally appeared in the American newspaper Socialist Worker. Defying a tide of […]
Migration FAQ: why now?
Nick Evans answers some common questions around the migration crisis Why now? More people around the world were forcibly displaced in 2014 than ever before in recorded history. Of those 59.5 million people, 19.5 million were classed by the UN as refugees. The overwhelming majority of those refugees were hosted in developing regions, but unprecedented numbers have […]
EDL prevented from breaking through in Oxford
Anti-fascist demonstrators significantly outnumbered the fascist English Defence League in Oxford on Saturday, and prevented them from marching through the centre of the city.
Climate catastrophe in the South Pacific
Cyclone Pam has caused devastation on the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu. Struggling with the legacies of British and French colonialism and current forms of neo-colonialism, the people of Vanuatu are now faced with the consequences of catastrophic climate change, writes Nick Evans. “We see the level of sea rise … The cyclone seasons, […]
“I will continue serenading happiness.” Arab revolutions four years on
The conference Arab revolutions four years on: Revolution, repression and resistance was held at the School of Oriental and African Studies on 13 -14 February.
Autonomy! Autonomy! Autonomy! – Students occupy in the Republic of Macedonia
Over a thousand students have occupied university faculties in the Republic of Macedonia in protest against planned education reforms, reports Nick Evans Students took over SS Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje yesterday (11 February), declaring it an ‘autonomous zone’ under ‘student control’. This is the latest phase in a growing student movement: there have […]
Historical Materialism 2014: Getting somewhere better?
The winners of the 2013 Isaac and Tamara Deutscher Prize, Sam Gindin and Leo Panitch, gave their award lecture on 7 November, as part of the Historical Materialism conference. They had been awarded the prize for their book The Making of Global Capitalism and the title of their lecture was ‘Marxist theory and strategy: getting […]
“Our demand is quite simple. We want our freedom.” Protests in UK migration prisons spread
A wave of protests in migration prisons across the UK began on Friday 2nd May.
Debate: What should socialists say about the EU?
As UKIP’s popularity continues to rise, we asked Nick Evans and Hanif to discuss what arguments socialists should be making in the run up to the European elections this month. Continue the discussion in the comments section. If you’d like to write a longer piece on the debate, please email us at rs21.submissions@gmail.com Nick: NO […]
Ukraine, Russia and the miners of the Donbass
Miners in the Donbass region have played a crucial role in Ukrainian politics since 1989, and are key today, argues Nick Evans The situation in eastern Ukraine is becoming more and more dangerous. It is over a week since pro-Russian forces seized government buildings in the region. Attempts by the Ukrainian government to retake control […]
rs21 Political Weekend: How do we organise to change the world?
At the rs21 political weekend, one session followed the format of the BBC’s Question Time. Panellists addressed the role of the revolutionary organisation and international politics.
Syria: The people still want the fall of the regime
Over a thousand people marched through London to Downing Street on Saturday, to mark the third anniversary of the start of the Syrian Revolution.
Oxfordshire activists set up Climate and Flooding Alliance
Nick Evans reports on the Oxfordshire Climate and Flooding Alliance.
All out student strike in Kiev
(picture via direct-action.org.ua) Ukrainian students are on strike against the police and for workers rights. Nick Evans reports. Since 10am on Monday 20 January, students at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy have been on indefinite strike. This adds an important dimension to the protests against the Ukrainian government. The “Euromaidan” protests were triggered by the decision of the […]