Review | Revolutionary Rehearsals in the Neoliberal Age
Andy N reviews Revolutionary Rehearsals in the Neoliberal Age, a new collection discussing political upheavals since 1989. He finds a wide ranging and insightful work, which will deepen both the theory and practice of the modern left. Colin Barker, Gareth Dale, and Neil Davidson, Revolutionary Rehearsals in the Neoliberal Age (Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2021) 410 […]
Review | Léo Frankel, life of a Communard
Ian Birchall reviews a new French biography of Paris Commune member Léo Frankel.
Review | Hope Against Hope: Cyborg thinking in disaster zones
Hope Against Hope contains some of the finest work of thinkers at the intersection of abolitionism, cyborg natures, and ecological revolutionary socialism
The Paris Commune: the Cry of the People
Over the coming three months rs21 will use articles from the Commune’s leading newspaper, Le Cri du Peuple to draw out the history of the Paris Commune.
Global fever
The Covid-19 pandemic is a foretaste of the approaching climate catastrophe. Andreas Malm’s electrifying new book looks at both these crises and asks what we’ll need to do to face them down.
Review: Who the hell is… Karl Marx?
Manus McGrogan’s new introduction to Marx and Marxism combines theory with a vision of a world free of exploitation and oppression.
Audio: Neil Davidson on 1968
Join comrades and friends in an online event to remember Neil Davidson (1957-2020). Here we remember him with a talk he gave on the revolutionary upheavals of 1968.
Ten Days That Shook the World
In the ten days since George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis, an anti-racist uprising has spread across the United States. Across the world, people are taking action in solidarity and mobilising against state racism.
Neil Davidson (1957-2020)
We are deeply saddened to announce the death of our comrade and friend, Neil Davidson. We send our condolences to his family, in particular to his partner Cathy Watkins. A full obituary will follow.
revolutionary reflections | Portugal’s revolution portrayed
Raquel Varela’s new history of the Portuguese revolution is essential reading for revolutionary socialists, argues Brian Parkin.
Hong Kong: the occupation of Poly U
Colin Sparks reports on the ongoing occupation of the Polytechnic University in Hong Kong.
revolutionary reflections | Class struggles in the 1989 revolution
For the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, we publish a translation of Volkhard Mosler’s analysis of the class composition of the East German regime and the opposition movement to it.
Lebanon’s ‘October Revolution’ must go on!
Lebanon has a golden opportunity for the formation of an alternative, we should not let the ruling class reproduce itself again. In this piece originally published on Open Democracy, Rima Majed reflects on the recent uprising.
Film review: For Sama
A documentary film charts the siege of Aleppo and represents a new addition to the depressingly growing genre of ‘genocide documentaries’.
The Making of a Revolution: Art from Sudan
Allan Struthers reflects on a recent exhibition co-hosted by rs21 and the Sudan Doctors’ Union.
Sudan’s revolutionary crisis
The revolution in Sudan gathers pace. Magdi el Gizouli analyses the contradictions at heart of the revolutionary crisis and what institutions and the social forces that will be necessary to resolve them.
Revolutionary organising in non-revolutionary periods #HM2018
Two sessions at Historical Materialism conference 2018 addressed questions of strategy for the left, each taking very different approaches.
The Social Reproduction of Neoliberalism
Listen to Neil Davidson and Mona Dohle discuss the social reproduction of neoliberalism, climate change, and the lingering effects of the Great Recession.
Syria and US intervention
Listen to Omar Sabbour on the real nature of the US intervention in Syria and the implications for anti-imperialists and the left.
‘It was like a rocket: a fantastic display’: Reflections on May ’68
In a speech to Manchester rs21, Colin Barker reflects on the “madness of May ‘68”, when, for a brief moment, everything seemed possible.
Syria is not exceptional: interview with Joseph Daher | Part 2
In part 2 of a new interview with rs21, Syrian-Swiss socialist Joseph Daher looks at the relationship between the Kurdish PYD and Arab Syrian movements
Syria is not exceptional: interview with Joseph Daher | Part 1
Syrian socialist author Joseph Daher discusses the nature of the Assad regime and the social basis of the uprising against it which began in 2011
There’s nothing so weird as a revolution
Ian Birchall reviews China Miéville’s October, a new history of the Russian Revolution. It seems an odd pairing: the Russian Revolution and China Miéville, whose reputation is based on fantasy fiction which he himself describes as “weird”. But one only needs to read a few pages to realise that this is not a forced marriage […]
If not Corbyn, then what?
Barnaby Raine offers a viewpoint on left-wing Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Reviewing BBC Radio 4’s coverage of the Russian revolution
Martin Crook analyses the presentation of the Russian revolution by the BBC, questioning the accuracy of a review that blames the revolution for the sins of Stalinism.
Video: Mike Haynes – dreams, utopias and messy realities of Russia in 1917
Watch Mike Haynes’ humorous and enlightening talk for Leicester rs21 on the dreams, utopias and messy realities of the Russian revolution.
Harmonies and dissonances: Russia in revolution
In a piece originally published in the rs21 magazine, Mike Haynes illuminates the contested histories of the Russian revolution The bookshelves creak. But does it matter? No-one who remembers the Russia Revolution is still alive. You would have to be at least in your 40s to even have much of a memory of what the USSR was. […]
Rethinking the Concept of Revolution Part 1
The centenary of the Russian Revolution provides an opportunity to reflect on what we mean by revolution, and reconsider its relevance today. In the first of a two-part exchange Chris Wright makes the case for a gradualist theory of revolution based on the emerging ‘solidarity economy’ and a repudiation of theories that focus on rupture and the taking of state […]
Re-reading Reed: Ten Days that Shook the World
Lisa Leak considers John Reed’s classic book on the Russian revolution, Ten Days That Shook the World. The centennial of the October Revolution later this year will be a windfall for booksellers. Possibly no other event in history has been written on so extensively, or from such a vast variety of ideological perspectives: there’ll be […]
The flight of the young eagles – art of the Russian revolution
Mike Thompson visits Revolution: Russian Art 1917-1932 at the Royal Academy and finds amazing art in an establishment exhibition. Photo: Tom Michaelson Artists under Russia’s Tsarist regime operated in a contradictory society. They had access to the most innovative ideas of the avant-garde, but within a context where the vast majority had no access to art. […]