France rises up in the night
A wave of nightly demonstrations have spread rapidly across France under the slogan “Nuit Debout” (Up All Night). The protests are targeting horrific new employment laws that will destroy social gains won over decades of struggle. We reprint below an article by Olivier Besançenot and François Sabado, members of France’s New Anticapitalist Party (NPA). The translation is by Todd Chretien […]
Remembering the riots of spring 1976 in China
It’s 40 years since workers, students and school-students broke the oppressive regime that had come out of the Cultural Revolution in China and forced a change of direction on their rulers with mass protests in the spring of 1976. Charlie Hore looks back. 1976 was a pivotal year for China. In September Mao Zedong, the […]
EU referendum: A crisis of the right, not an opportunity for the left
Rob Owen continues our debate on the EU referendum by arguing the left can abstain from the vote without abstaining from the politics. How to respond to a referendum is a tactical question that requires careful consideration of the political context it takes place in, the questions at stake and whether it presents a chance to […]
Ireland’s greatest revolutionary
For the centenary of the Easter Rising of 1916 we republish Shaun Harkin‘s account of the life of Irish Marxist and revolutionary James Connolly. James Connolly was executed by a British firing squad on May 12, 1916, in Dublin City along with other leaders of what became known as the Irish Easter Rising. At his […]
Revolutionary socialists and the EU referendum campaign: sorting out the real issues
The EU referendum offers no clear route for socialists; instead, John Walker argues, our focus should be on organising against the attack on migrants and workers which will intensify no matter the outcome.
The First Workers’ Government
145 years ago today a disastrous war among European capitalists produced the first workers’ government in Paris. James B introduces Marx’s analysis on the Commune. Today marks the 145th anniversary of the foundation of the Paris Commune. In 1870 Emperor Napoleon III led France into a disastrous war with Prussia. Paris, defended by the citizens’ militia of […]
On cultural appropriation, from American Spirit to Palmyra
While symbols and their deployment undoubtedly structure our experience, Charlie Jarsve argues that power relations have a materiality that an uncritical understanding of ‘cultural appropriation’ can obscure. I still remember the first time I came across American Spirit tobacco. I was in Berlin roughly two years ago and I saw a Swiss friend rolling a cigarette. Even […]
Turkey’s endless war
Phil Buyum Jackson discusses the latest bombing in Ankara, Turkey’s endless war against the Kurds, and the hypocrisy of the EU’s refugee deal.
James Connolly: ‘Socialism and Irish Nationalism’
Connolly’s 1897 article from an issue of L’Irlande Libre addresses socialism versus the chauvinist conception of Irish nationalism. Marking the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising, we are republishing this from the Marxist Internet Archive. It was transcribed by the James Connolly Society in 1997. The public life of Ireland has been generally so much identified with the struggle for political […]
Why are the Tories divided over Europe?
David Renton argues that the argument within the Tory party lies in Thatcherite politics, despite changes to the EU over the last 30 years. The way I see it, Europe is the unfinished business of the 1980s. By 1990, there was an emerging Thatcherite critique of the EU. The EU was led by a social democrat […]
Syria: #TheRevolutionContinues
On the fifth anniversary of the Syrian revolution, Mark Boothroyd discusses the how people have recently returned to the streets, once again voicing their commitment to overthrowing the regime Protest in Kafranbel, Idlib With the lull in the fighting brought on by the ceasefire, Syria’s popular revolution has returned to the streets. Demonstrators have […]
Voices against Trident – video from CND demonstration in London
On Saturday tens of thousands of people protested in central London to oppose the renewal of the Trident nuclear weapons system.
On framing JNU for an imaginary crime
rs21 is pleased to republish Aditya Sarkar‘s article on the vicious attacks of the far right Indian government on students and academics at Jawahalal Nehru University in New Delhi. These attacks have met with growing protests by students and academics. This article was originally published on kafila.org. Some editorial explanations have been added to the original text. […]
From Slaveholders to Sanders: A Brief History of the US Democratic Party, for British Readers
American socialist Bill Crane provides a brief history of the Democratic Party from its inception to the present, and asks how revolutionaries might relate to the movement behind presidential nominee Bernie Sanders. The US Democratic Party is the oldest surviving modern political party.[1] In its longer than two centuries’ history, it has survived multiple political crises, […]
Syria: Peace talks collapse, Aleppo encircled, disaster looms for rebels
Mark Boothroyd puts the Syrian regime’s offensives in Aleppo into context and discusses what anti-war activists in Britain and internationally can do. The past week has seen major developments on the ground in Syria which imperil the entirety of rebel held Syria. The regime has launched an offensive in the north Aleppo countryside which has cut the […]
The slow death of Hong Kong
Sue Sparks reports from Hong Kong, where mainland China is tightening its grip Hong Kong rarely makes it to the international news, but the disappearance of five people, all connected with a publishing company and bookshop in the city which specialises in titles unwelcome in mainland China – many of them scurrilous accounts of the […]
The unofficial cult of Mao: instability in modern China
Charlie Hore places the recent construction and destruction of a giant statue of Mao Zedong in the context of the instability facing the Chinese ruling class Blink and you may have missed it, but there is already a contender for the strangest news story of 2016. In early January, pictures began circulating of a massive […]
Understanding Syria: resource page
Mark Boothroyd has gathered together news sites, analysis, cultural archives and links to a number of the best short films and documentaries to help in understanding the situation in Syria. The Syrian revolution has generated an immense amount of written coverage, analysis and culture. It can be hard to separate truth from propaganda given the competing world […]
Long read: What do Syrian and Lebanese activists think?
Miriyam Aouragh introduces interviews with activists Syrian and Lebanese that aim to cut through the confusion that has clouded much of the British left in recent months. The activists’ responses to questions about the nature of Daesh, the role of sectarianism and whether class can still be a source of analysis in the uprising, how we should regard the Kurdish […]
New radical website launched – Review of African Political Economy
A new website Review of African Political Economy has been launched and is a great resource for socialists says Leo Zeilig.
International statement: We fight dictatorships, imperialist aggression and Daesh. We reject the politics of “national security”, racism and austerity. It’s time to mobilise!
Over recent months, people across the Middle East have been hit by an intensification of conflict in Syria and Iraq. That escalation has been sponsored both by global imperialist powers – chiefly the USA, Russia and European countries – and regional imperialist actors including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and Iran. These conflicts are the product […]
Boris wants to team up with Assad and Putin to rain more bombs down on Syria
Ministers in the UK, France and Spain are now calling for the West to work with Bashar al-Assad in Syria. Anindya Bhattacharyya takes on Boris Johnson’s arguments Today’s Telegraph contains a thousand words from Boris Johnson about why Britain should ally with Bashar al-Assad and Vladimir Putin over Syria. Wade through his gollygosh prose if […]
Fascist success in the French elections: what will it mean for the refugees?
There has been a growing hostility to the refugees in the Calais camps, particularly since the Paris killings. Mitch Mitchell reflects on what the electoral success of the Front National in the French regional elections will mean for the refugees.
Festive action targets Israeli apartheid
Sherrl Yanowitz reports on the first of a series of festive pickets of the Israeli owned soap shop Sabon in London’s Covent Garden.
MPs vote for bombing – join the protests this weekend and the 12 December demo
Charlie Hore reports from the protest outside parliament on Wednesday night, as MPs voted to bomb Syria. “Tonight, as I put my seven year old to sleep, somewhere in Aleppo or Homs there is a seven year old, waking up to the sound of airplanes.” That Facebook comment from an American friend echoes the sense of […]
“Important Speech on why we should go to war, just released”
Michael Rosen reports on an “Important Speech on why we should go to war, just released”. “We can drop bombs through the eye of a needle. We can’t always find the needle. But we drop the bombs anyway. And they land very accurately. On..er…whatever’s there. Which is good, isn’t it? “There will be civilian casualties. That’s […]
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 […]
Don’t Bomb Syria
Cameron intends to take Britain to war – again – with the support of Labour MPs who would rather back him than Jeremy Corbyn. A recent rs21 leaflet argued against war, racism and repression following the killings in Paris. Huge numbers oppose the war. Every socialist should be piling pressure on MPs to vote against […]
Unite shifts left over Trident, opposes war on Syria and launches its industrial strategy
The Unite sector conferences were organised over three days this week. They give reps an opportunity to debate industrial issues relating to each sector with a view to developing industrial strategy for the next 2 years. This year the conferences took place against the backdrop of the Tories’ anti Trade Union Bill, the recent victory […]
What do we do about ISIS?
As Cameron tries to make the case for the UK bombing Syria, Rick Lighten argues that as well as arguing against bombing Syria we should build a vibrant anti-racist movement that is able to counter Islamophobia and provide ideological and practical solidarity to migrants and refugees. Protests against the bombing of Syria are taking place in towns […]