Eastern Europe

The recently formed Central Eastern European Green Left Alliance includes political parties and civil society organisations that advocate for a just, left-wing and social Europe, as well as corresponding policies in their countries.

Hanna Perekhoda reflects on the mix of positions taken by European lefts on Ukraine.

Simon Pirani — Israel’s murderous onslaught on civilians is something that Israel’s war on the Palestinians and Russia’s war on Ukraine have in common. This is what empires do in the 21st century: the western empire that supports Israel and the weaker Russian empire.

An interview with the Slovak left collective Karmína.

Szymon Martys — Poland held elections on October 15 that ended the eight-year, two-term rule of the incumbent Law and Justice party and the United Right political alliance centred on it.

Áron Rossman-Kiss — In Hungary, a fledging New Left is rebuilding amidst the ruins of Orbánism

Jerry Harris — Independence and self-determination have been a guiding socialist principle for more than 100 years. Understanding these long-held principles is essential in the discussion regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Volodymyr Artiukh — It is worth studying the mass labour unrest in Belarus of August 2020 with a view of determining the weaknesses and strength of labour in opposing authoritarian regimes.

Murray Smith — The war in Ukraine has cast a harsh light on the radical left in Europe, revealing the best and the worst.

Daria Krivonos — The move to build solidarities and to seek connections between postsocialism and postcolonialism, Europe’s East and the “Global South”, has been unidirectional and has predominantly, if not exclusively, come from those located in the East of Europe.

Should the Left support the division of the world into imperialist spheres of influence? A year ago, the very posing of such a question would have surprised me, since the answer seems obvious: of course not. Unfortunately, the apparent sympathy with Russian aggression against Ukraine by many on the Western left has shown that this is not so obvious.