In the centre of the city of Manchester, there is a place called Lincoln Square, named for the statue of Abraham Lincoln which stands there. The story of how that statue came to be there is a fascinating part of . . .
Place: Western Europe
Greece’s Struggle Over Academic Asylum
The restriction of academic asylum in Greece under the new right-wing government has become – again – the epicenter of an intense debate. The debate over academic asylum has both a pretense and a rationale. The pretense is about “safety . . .
200 years after Peterloo, do we face a new wave of repression?
Over a hundred events are taking place around Manchester to mark the 200th anniversary of the Peterloo massacre, when the yeomanry cut down a peaceful crowd demanding democracy. Ian Allinson argues that the right are pressing Boris Johnson to ramp up surveillance and repression of the left under the guise of counter-terrorism, just when the Prevent strategy is being reviewed.
Boris Johnson and Cynical Optimism
It’s easy to be pessimistic. Since 1979 the key industrial battles have all been lost by the left, resulting in the imposition of the economic settlement we now groan under. And while it looked like social liberalism was all-conquering and . . .
Director Stéphane Brizé Depicts Class Struggle With Dark Realism in “At War”
Although New Politics has already run Steve Early’s review of this movie, we think this film fills a gap in radical cinematography so well that we’re also running a second, somewhat different review.
A Plant Closing War, Viewed From Inside
Last winter, protesters wearing yellow vests commanded center stage in France. Their grassroots challenge to the neoliberal regime of President Emmanuel Macron drew on a long tradition of labor militancy, including factory closing fights. When these protesters still had blue . . .
Reactionary Populism, meet Great Britain
If you’ve had the displeasure of tuning in to Fox News at any point over the last ten years, you’ll know that they’ve played no small part in turning the U.S. into a right-wing hellscape. A place where male political . . .
Trump, Syria, and Counter-Revolution
Much has transpired since Donald Trump’s announcement last December that the United States was to withdraw its 2,000 troops from Syria. While the “rapid” withdrawal initially suggested by Trump’s tweet has not come about, discussion among U.S. rulers ultimately points . . .
The Yellow Vests: A Social Insurrection
On May 7, 2017, the property-owning classes of France had smiles on their lips. Emmanuel Macron had been elected president with 63.90 percent of the vote against the extreme-right candidate Marine Le Pen, who had won 36.10 percent. Given his . . .
Beyond Brexiternity?
The British Crisis and the Left
None of the Brexit three options will achieve any kind of consensus; any of them could happen.
The Endless Brexit Crisis: Interview with Neil Davidson
The British political system has been thrown into turmoil since the summer of 2016, when a narrow majority of voters supported a referendum in favor of Britain leaving the European Union (EU). The Conservative Party government headed by Prime Minister . . .
On the Istanbul Municipal Elections and Ekrem İmamoğlu’s Victory
In Istanbul the joy was expressed along the two extremes of the Bosphorus, from the district of Besiktas to Kadiköy, through Sisli, Esenler, Beylikdüzü. Klaxons blowing, songs, flags being waved in cars running the avenues — the city has voted . . .
Ada Colau Remains Mayor of Barcelona
Ada Colau of Barcelona en Comú (BComú) remains mayor of Barcelona thanks to the promise of a pact with the PSC (Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya) whose content is not yet known but which will involve a distribution of power . . .
Stonewall and the Early Days
The “Stonewall riots,” which began on June 28, 1969 in New York, marked the start of the modern lesbian and gay rights movement.
Will German Social Democrats expel youth leader for socialist ideas?
The SPD — the Social Democratic Party of Germany — is Germany’s oldest political party. Its history includes both revolutionary struggle against capitalism and the betrayal of revolution. Many still consider it a socialist party, and its youth organization identifies as Young Socialists.
An open letter to Extinction Rebellion
This letter was collaboratively written with dozens of aligned groups. As the weeks of action called by Extinction Rebellion were coming to an end, our groups came together to reflect on the narrative, strategies, tactics and demands of a reinvigorated . . .
PSOE gains from useful vote against the reactionary right
With a turnout of more than 75%, the PSOE (Partido Socialista Obrero Español – Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party) was the main winner (28.70% of votes, with 123 seats, as against 2016 when it obtained 85) against the PP (Partido Popular . . .
Yellow Vest Movement Struggles to Reinvent Democracy as Macron Cranks Up Propaganda and Repression
(Montpellier, April 10) After five months of constant presence at traffic circles, toll-booths and hazardous Saturday marches, the massive, self-organized social movement known as the Yellow Vests has just held its second nationwide “Assembly of Assemblies.” Hundreds of autonomous Yellow . . .
Yet Another Turkish Election
In February of 2019, districts in the Turkish cities of Ankara and Istanbul began selling produce directly to consumers at local markets in an effort to bypass retailers, who had been characterized by President Recep Tayyip Erdoǧan as “terrorizing” society . . .
Open Letter to Costas Lapavitsas and Grace Blakeley
Stories have a life of their own. Merriam-Webster describes a meme as “an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture”. It doesn’t matter who the carrier of the meme is or the way that they pass it on: all that matters is that the story is reproduced and given new life with each telling.
The British Labour Party – The Largest Sect in the World
Jeremy Corbyn and the UK Labour Party leadership have dragged their feet on taking a clear oppositional stance on Brexit. While the Party has shifted slowly towards a position of, perhaps, supporting a People’s Vote, its entire approach since the 2016 referendum result has been one of feet dragging and equivocation.
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