The Korean Communist movement

Abstract

The first full-scale war fought under the leadership of the United States after 1945 was that against the Korean people. The Korean War of 1950-53 remains, without the slightest doubt, the most important un-excavated event in modern imperialist and revolutionary history.     

The communist movement in India

Abstract

Non-aligned India has been the focal point of the super-power détente. The Soviet Union has been interested in fore-closing a revolution in India because it regards India as the very model of “national democracy” which lends itself to peaceful transition to socialism. Besides, the Soviet Union, like the United States, wants a stable, viable India to ensure a continuing Asian confrontation with China. Both the super powers have tried to underwrite India in order to ensure that it is not convulsed by revolution. As India has been drawn into the vortex of the superpower game to contain China, its non-alignment has lapsed into double alignment.     

The G.I. movement in Asia

Abstract

The War against Vietnam has done much to America. It has weakened the economy. It has aggravated social tensions. And it has opened the way for large numbers of Americans to see the racism, the imperialism and the genocide that is so pervasive and yet so deeply buried in American history. By fighting so successfully, the Vietnamese people have helped Americans make a space for revolutionary thought and revolutionary politics in America. While it is true that the American left has been largely unable to take advantage of the widespread discontent that the War has created, there has been a significant erosion in the effectiveness of many American institutions. Central among these institutions is the military. When the values and interests of a ruling class are seriously challenged, its political power does come out of the barrel of a gun; and so the fading effectiveness of the American military is of the deepest concern to America’s “leaders.”     

A Landlord's Notice to Quit: The May 2012 Municipal Elections in Italy

This article explores the significance of the local elections of May 2012 for the general direction of change in Italian politics. The forces of the centre-right were deserted en masse but without those of the centre-left effectively capitalising on the discontent, which was, instead, expressed by the spectacular advance of the ‘non-party’, the almost completely novel Five-Star Movement. As the last major contest on the political agenda before the next general election due in no more than a year, the May outcome revealed just how difficult it was likely to be for either of the two coalitions to obtain a clear victory on that occasion. The article discusses the extent and the nature of these difficulties – deriving from voters' clear rejection of ‘politics as usual’ – by analysing the run-up, the campaign, the outcome and the aftermath of the May elections.     

Parties and Change in the Post-Bailout Cyprus: The May 2016 Parliamentary Elections

The parliamentary elections of 2016, the first following Cyprus’ exit from the bailout programme, took place in a context of indifference on the part of the citizens. Characterised by a decline in bipartisanship, a rise in abstention and a more fragmented party system, the elections paved the way for the historical entry into parliament of the far right party, ELAM. This article sets these outcomes against the broader backdrop of the Great Recession while also paying attention to the reinvigoration of the cultural dimension of political conflict, with potentially significant constraints for future negotiations on the Cyprus problem.