The Freedom in the World 2021 report has unveiled 2020 to be the 15th consecutive year of decline in democracy across the world.
Category: Civil Liberties/Repression
Beyond Tragedy: Postscript on Kronstadt at 100
To avoid repeating the Kronstadt tragedy, and to build toward principled world revolution, we can commit to organizing transnational solidarity and speaking out against all forms of authoritarian repression.
The Kronstadt Revolt of 1921 as a part of the Great Russian Revolution
The March revolution of 1921, initiated by “Red Kronstadt”, had to complete the cause of the February and October revolutions of 1917. In this context, the Kronstadt revolt of 1921 appears as an integral part of the revolutionary process that took several years.
Kronstadt at 100
On the 100th anniversary of the Kronstadt events, New Politics is hosting a symposium on the historic tragedy, its meaning and significance, and its implications for today’s socialists.
Socialists and Free Speech Revisited
How should socialists who support democratic rights approach current controversies regarding the practical application of the right to free speech? This review essay explores this question discussing David Renton’s recent book.
Learning about Prisons
A Personal Reflection
Even before I’d been inside a prison, I was sympathetic to the circumstances of some people who are incarcerated.
I’d twice interviewed former professional boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, who spent almost twenty years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. . . .
Social Explosion in Cuba: The Ignored Signals
In my opinion, there are two determining factors that have led to this moment of malaise. On the one hand, the inability of our rulers to channel a successful reform path…On the other hand, there is the ability of citizens to submit this incapacity to public judgment, which is something new.
From Cuba: A Description of the Protests
On Sunday 11 July, Cuba experienced a series of social outbreaks that encompassed at least six of the 14 provinces that make up the country. In the 62 years since the triumph of the revolution, Cuba had not faced a situation like this.
Nigeria: #EndSARS, Workers’ Power, and War
In October 2020, millions in Nigeria marched for two weeks in a revolt that shook the world. From Badagry to Yola, youth and workers rose in unity against the barbarism of police brutality and bad governance. Raising radical slogans and . . .
Assad’s Pyrrhic Victory
It’s difficult to recollect the euphoria of the early days of the 2011 uprising in Syria against the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Reflecting on that time, Syrians speak of the breaking of the “fear barrier”—the suffocating authoritarianism and repression that . . .
Deplatforming: The Risk of Success
Deplatforming has deep flaws, and reliance on it tends to reinforce unhealthy top-down dynamics within the left.
Right Campaigns to End Abortion in America
White Evangelical churches, which are the driving force of the anti-abortion movement, are also a core constituency of the Republican Party and the most fervent supporters of former president Trump.
Call for the Release of Detainees in Cuba
The Comunistas blog calls for the release of Frank García Hernández and other leftists detained in Cuba for protesting against the government.
Where Should Socialists Stand on Cuba Today?
International socialists should oppose the US embargo and US military intervention in Cuba, but should also support the right of Cubans to demonstrate on any issue that they choose.
Nicaragua: Ortega Arrests Opposition Candidates Ahead of November 2021 Election
We should reject the argument made by some on the left that we have to support the dictator Ortega and his government because the U.S. is now opposed to it.
The Lausan Collective on Colonialism in Hong Kong
This is an original translation into English of an interview conducted with Lausan, a collective of writers, translators, artists, and organizers, that appeared in German in IZ3W, a left German publication.
Navalny and the protests: some clarification
This is a mobilization of very diverse discontent and aspirations that are expressed for the moment in a surge of solidarity from a people recovering their dignity. Navalny is not the leader but the detonator— the Navalny who risked his life to show that we could resist.
Against the Global Police State
It is not only in the US that we see the fusion of Big Tech with militarized police forces and the slide into anti-democratic and authoritarian political systems. These are worldwide trends rooted in the structural contradictions of contemporary global capitalism.
The Techniques of Justice
Orwell and Camus on a Hanging and the Guillotine
Camus and Orwell both understood that the justification for state violence depends on describing it in such a way as to not convey too specific an image of the actual event.
Belarus: The People’s Fight Continues
More than ever, the organized popular classes in Belarus must take the initiative in favor of political and social change in order to prevent the frustration of this genuinely popular movement by forces opposed to their interests, whether pro-Russian or pro-Western.
Race, Crisis, and Resistance in the United States
An Interview with Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor discusses the significance of the struggle against racism and police violence.
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