Topic: Western Europe

Between Como and confinement: Gramsci’s early Leninism

Rjurik Davidson, winner of the Ditmar Award, author of Unwrapped Sky, The Stars Askew and other fiction, examines Antonio Gramsci’s political practice in his early years.

Kautsky: the abyss beyond parliament

Darren Roso contributes to debates about what kind of parties the revolutionary left needs and the role of Karl Kautsky, the leading theorist of the Second International before World War I.

The lost workers' revolution: Finland 1917-18

Duncan Hart contributes to an ongoing debate on the international left about the significance of the little known revolution in Finland in 1917-1918.

From revolutionary possibility to fascist defeat: The French Popular Front of 1936-38

Sandra Bloodworth draws on the French experience to refute reformist calls for a revival of Popular Front strategies.

Pandemic politics: 2020 in hindsight, and a perspective on 2021

Omar Hassan analyses the economic, political and social dynamics unleashed by the pandemic.

Celebrating the Paris Commune of 1871: “Glorious harbinger of a new society”

Marxist historian Sandra Bloodworth commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Commune, recounting the breathtaking events and providing an assessment of their ongoing political significance.

Diverging destinies in a global crisis

Omar Hassan assesses the uneven social and political impact of the pandemic, and presents some explanations for the faster than expected economic recovery.

Trotsky and the early years of the French Communist Party

Darren Roso explores the foundation of the French Communist Party, outlining Trotsky's political approach to winning over leading syndicalists to the Marxist movement.

The Italian left and the factory councils: 1919-1920

Luca Tavan reexamines the revolutionary upsurge in Italy following WW1, drawing out strategic errors made by Gramsci and the leadership of the Italian Communist Party.

Stalinism’s failure to fight fascism

Vashti Fox explains how Stalinism enabled and at times collaborated with fascist movements and states during the 1930s and ’40s, while the Stalinised Communist Parties undermined revolutionary working-class anti-fascism – a history that has important lessons for fighting the far right today.

Workerism and autonomism in Italy’s “Hot Autumn”

Luca Tavan revisits the explosive period of working-class struggle in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and critiques the autonomist ideas that led to the defeat of the movement, and continue to shape the left today.

Spanish left in transition: Interview with Anticapitalistas

Ánxel Testas of the Spanish organisation Anticapitalistas discusses recent developments in left-wing politics in Spain.

Review: The rise of the far right in Italy

Luca Tavan reviews a book tracing the alarming rise of Giorgia Meloni and the Fratelli d’Italia, an organisation with links to Mussolini’s fascists.

Socialist alternatives: The Portuguese Revolution

Joel Geier revisits the inspiring revolution that took place in Portugal 50 years ago, toppling a fascist regime, but ultimately missing an opportunity to progress to workers’ power and socialism. His eye-witness account provides valuable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the revolutionary movement.

Review: The 1848 revolutions

Rowan Cahill reviews an important new book on the 1848 revolutions. Along with providing a detailed and meticulously researched account of each uprising, the author argues that, far from being total failures, the combined effect of the revolutions was historically transformative.