A review of Osip Mandelstam: A Biography by Ralph Dutli, translated by Ben Fowkes (Verso, 2023), £25 In November 1933, in the midst of the Stalinist counter-revolution, the Russian poet Osip Mandelstam (1891-1938) began to recite a poem in the… Continue Reading
In the previous issue of International Socialism, John Mullen wrote a reply to my article.1 I had criticised the strategy of the Nouveau Front Populaire (New Popular Front; NFP) in light of the history of the original Popular Front in… Continue Reading
In 1919, the Communist International, or Comintern, was founded in high hopes that the Russian Revolution would spread globally.1 The focus was on western Europe with its mass working-class movement. Given the wave of revolutionary fervour, it seemed little was… Continue Reading
In our previous issue, we reflected on the growing political instability, shaped by a multidimensional crisis of capitalism and encompassing shifts in the imperial order and a breakdown of elements of the neoliberal political centre.1 That was written a month… Continue Reading
Zuerst erschienen in International Socialism Journal 181 (Winter 2023/24) Aus dem Englischen von Rosemarie Nünning Während ich diesen Artikel verfasse, legt Israel den Gazastreifen in Schutt und Asche.1 Die Krankenhäuser funktionieren nicht mehr und die medizinische Versorgung ist insgesamt zusammengebrochen.… Continue Reading
A review of Why Men? A Human History of Violence and Inequality, Nancy Lindisfarne and Jonathan Neale (Oxford University Press, 2023), £25 Anthropology, since its inception, has been an ideologically contested discipline, and the same is true of both primatology… Continue Reading
Twenty years ago, amid the seemingly diminishing shadow of Stalinism, qualitative rightward shifts by social-democratic parties and the emergence of new left-wing parties, there was a lively debate about these new formations and how revolutionaries should relate to them.1 History… Continue Reading
In our previous issue we noted the furore created by Robert Brenner and Dylan Riley’s “Seven theses on American politics”, published in New Left Review at the end of 2022. In the July-August issue of New Left Review, Lola Seaton… Continue Reading
Race is once more central to British politics—from Black Lives Matter to the ethnically diverse Tory government’s obsession with deporting refugees, and the rise of a far right claiming that white people are being oppressed by “wokeness”. Several new books… Continue Reading
A review of The Wrath to Come—Gone with the Wind and the Lies America Tells, Sarah Churchwell (Head of Bloomsbury, 2023), £10.99 Sarah Churchwell’s new book could hardly be timelier. According to a recent YouGov and Economist poll, “More than… Continue Reading