As Middle East goes nuclear, global warming goes critical. Part 1: Iran
Over the next three days we will be publishing a major new article by Brian Parkin exploring the inextricable links between climate catastrophe, capitalist crisis and imperial competition. The three parts taken together form a single argument with serious ramifications for our approach to the international climate talks this autumn, and to the continuing bloody […]
Migrant workers’ victory in Korea
Sam MacDonald reports from Seoul on migrants’ successful struggle to win legal recognition for their trade union. Over the past 50 years, few countries have experienced such a dramatic economic rise as South Korea. A country once known for sweatshops and cheap manufactured goods now produces some of the world’s most advanced ships, cars and electronics. An […]
What’s happened since 2013 in Eastern Ghouta?
The town of Douma in Eastern Ghouta was the site of another regime massacre on Sunday 16 August 2015, when four missiles were shot at a marketplace, killing over 100 and injuring over 500 more. Mark Boothroyd writes. Please join Saturday’s protest to mark the 2nd anniversary of the Ghouta massacre. Details below, and on […]
Seventy years after Hiroshima
On 6 August 1945 the first nuclear weapon destroyed Hiroshima. Amy Gilligan recalls travelling to Japan ten years ago to mark sixty years since the horror of the atomic bombs. This week marks the 70th anniversary of the devastation of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the US. In 1945 two atomic bombs were dropped, three […]
Now More Than Ever: The Story of Greater Manchester CND
As the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki approaches, Philip Gilligan reports on the inaugural screening of a film celebrating decades of anti-nuclear campaigning. Now More Than Ever: The Story of Greater Manchester CND by Hannah Ellul and Leanne Green (approx. 33 mins) had its inaugural screening at the Three Minute Theatre in Manchester’s Affleck’s […]
EU debate: In, out, or shake it all about?
Adam DC puts forward a radical abstentionist point of view in the debate about what position socialists should take about the upcoming referendum on Britain’s membership to the EU The starting point for any discussion regarding the UK’s European Union (EU) referendum must be that the issue is one between different factions of capital and […]
The fear of Islamism and the terror of the state
Peter Hill on the ‘power of nightmares’ from Syria to India and the UK. The ‘war on terror’ has seen a revival since the rise of ISIS, aka Da’esh, in Iraq and Syria, and now beyond. Like the original ‘war on terror’ against al-Qaeda several years ago, it has also provided a pretext for authoritarian […]
Solidarity with Greece: round-up
Yesterday there were protests in cities across Europe in solidarity with the people of Greece. Here are reports from some of them. London Around 150 people attended the London demonstration, outside the German Embassy, organised by the Greek Solidarity Campaign. The mood was subdued, with a series of speeches to a static crowd. People were […]
Tear-gas in Syntagma Square
The capitulation of Syriza’s leadership to the demands of the Troika is not the end of Greece’s struggle, but the start of a new phase. Social confrontation and workers’ militancy might still succeed where parliamentarianism failed, write Matt Myers and Barnaby Raine. In Athens last night, Molotov cocktails and tear-gas flowed. The SYRIZA government, which […]
Celebrations on the streets of Tehran
Hanif Leylabi analyses what the nuclear deal means for politics inside Iran. After two years of nuclear negotiations, the US, European powers, Russia, China and Iran have finally reached an agreement. At the heart of the agreement lies a trade-off between limits on Iran’s nuclear programme in return for the abolition of sanctions. Key points […]
Bubbles, bounces and soft landings – China’s stock-market implodes
Charlie Hore discusses the dramatic recent crash on the Chinese stock market Even by Chinese standards, the figures are eye-watering – from a high point in early June, Chinese stock markets have lost over 3.5 trillion dollars to date, almost fifteen times the value of Greece’s GDP, and there is no end in sight to […]
Greece: the fight goes on, and we can all support it
The news from Greece has gone from the inspiring referendum result to the collapse of the government into implementing austerity. Colin Wilson asks how this happened, and looks at the prospects for future struggles. The last ten days have seen historic developments in Greece. First, we saw the unexpected and inspiring “No” vote in the […]
The Labour right: smearing Corbyn, not fighting racism
The Labour right is trying to smear Jeremy Corbyn as an associate of anti-Semites – when they should be looking at their own lousy record on racism and war.
EU debate: “the EU is simply conforming to the neoliberal architecture of its DNA”
Brian Parkin continues the debate on the EU, arguing for a vote to leave the EU. This is an edited version of an article that appeared in the lasted issue of the Leeds publication Northern Star. For many socialists the issue of a forthcoming referendum on the EU poses some dilemmas. On the one hand […]
Saying OXI to the bogeymen
In the face of relentless blackmail from international institutions and the Greek establishment, Greece’s NO vote to austerity has sent shock-waves through Europe and the wider world. Vanessa Patta, a member of DEA, a revolutionary socialist group in SYRIZA, writes on fear, defiance, and what comes next. In times of intense struggle, when there […]
Stopping Elbit’s death factory
Outside a small factory in Shepstone, we were acting at one with protestors outside other plants in the UK and in Melbourne, Australia.
EU debate: “Leaving the EU won’t get rid of neoliberalism”
Bettina Trabant, originally from Germany, currently living in London, continues the discussion on which side to support in the vote on EU membership. We will be continuing this debate with another article from Brian Parkin tomorrow. Socialists have been debating the upcoming EU referendum ever since the general election in May and can be […]
Greece says Oxi! Reaction roundup
Dan Swain rounds up initial online reaction to Greece’s momentous vote.
EU debate: “We will have to be making strong and principled arguments against immigration controls and for open borders whichever side we end up on”
Luke Evans discusses some of the term of debates that revolutionary socialist should hold in mind when debating the EU referendum There will be a referendum on EU membership, as a consequence of the Tory majority victory in the UK general election. This referendum is going to be staged as a direct vote between choosing […]
EU debate: “The road to defending the right to migrate cannot go through restricting migration rights”
Charlie Hore kicks off debate and analysis on the rs21 site in advance of the referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU, set to take place before the end of 2017. Charlie argues for support for a yes position in the referendum, and tomorrow we will be publishing an article that argues for supporting a […]
Solidarity from Carlisle to Greece: eyewitness report
Stephen, Hazel and their two year-old daughter, left the UK back in April in order to travel to Greece on a three-month solidarity trip. Stephen resigned from his permanent job in order to travel to Greece; Hazel took an unpaid sabbatical from work. They doubled the length of their mortgage term so that they could […]
Block the Factory! Shut down the Elbit Systems Factory on 6 July
It is a year since Israel’s war on Gaza that killed thousands of Palestinians. The Israeli owned Elbit Systems factory in Shenstone near Birmingham manufactures the drones used to murder them. On 6 July last year campaigners occupied the factory.
No to austerity in Greece – support the protests
Statement by rs21 on the situation in Greece. The Greek government has called a referendum next Sunday: the Greek people will be able to vote yes or no to the latest round of austerity proposed by Greece’s international creditors. Austerity has been a disaster for Greece. 1 in 4 people are unemployed. Half of people […]
Five things you should know about what’s happening in Greece
While the Greek crisis can appear confusing, it boils down to a few fundamental points which suggest both great possibility and danger, writes Roderick C. It has been five years since the Greek banking system was bailed out by international financial institutions after the outbreak of the sovereign debt crisis. During that time, Greece has […]
After Dylann Roof: What is fascism?
After Dylann Roof’s racist massacre in Charleston, we republish an article by Anindya Bhattacharyya written in response to Anders Behring Breivik’s massacre on 22 July 2011. The following article was originally a contribution to the ebook On Utøya edited by Elizabeth Humphrys, Guy Rundle and Tad Tietze. The reporting of Anders Behring Breivik’s massacre on […]
Lessons from Europe – Marina Prentoulis, Shane Fitzgerald, Cat Boyd
Video from the ‘Lessons from Europe’ session at They Don’t Represent Us featuring activists from Greece, Scotland and Ireland.
Britain and Europe after the general election: An interview with John Palmer
John Palmer was a leading member of the International Socialists from 1959 until 1975. He later worked in Brussels as the European editor of the Guardian. With a referendum on the EU looming, we interviewed him on its history, institutions, and the truth behind the Tory bluster. rs21: Could you say something about the terms […]
Five reasons why Hillary Clinton won’t be good for women
With the launch of Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid last Sunday, Estelle Cooch argues that Hillary’s “feminist family values” will not lead to a breakthrough for the vast majority of women. Standing on a pavement in a generic looking suburb of America, Hillary Clinton launched her candidacy for the 2016 US presidency. “Americans have fought their way […]
Report from the Free University of Lahore
The Free University of Lahore reports on the continued censorship about the thousands of Baloch who have gone missing or been brutally murdered in southwest Pakistan. Recently, the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) in Pakistan came under immense state pressure to suppress free speech. The School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) at LUMS organized a […]
The Syrian Revolution struggles on
Following a demonstration to mark the fourth anniversary of the Syrian Revolution, Mark Boothroyd argues the reputation of socialist organisations has been seriously damaged by their failure to stand alongside Syrians who have continued fighting for freedom in terrible conditions. Mark Boothroyd was a founder of the Syria Solidarity Movement. 15 March 2015 marked the fourth anniversary of the Syrian Revolution. On […]