International Viewpoint - online socialist magazine

Nationalism and War Mongering Won the Election

Bertil Videt — 2015-11-09T06:47:50Z

The mood was tense as the election results came in to the local office of the progressive People's Democratic Party (HDP) in the town of Erzurum in eastern Turkey. This is a very conservative region on the invisible border between nationalist Turkish Anatolia and the Kurdish region. The HDP's office was filled with leaflets and banners that party activists did not dare to distribute due to fear of reprisals and violence. The party lost its single deputy from the area and saw a small nationwide decrease in votes. But after a nerve wracking evening of vote counting, it was clear that the party had just got above the ten percent threshold required to enter the Turkish parliament.

- IV490 - November 2015 / Turkey

Dutch Socialist defenders of welfare state leading polls

Alex de Jong, Bertil Videt — 2012-05-28T20:41:46Z

After having agreed to numerous austerity attacks, Geert Wilders' far right PVV suddenly withdrew its support to the right-wing coalition, and left the Netherlands without a government in April. The Socialist Party is doing remarkably well in polls and might become the biggest party after elections in September. In Netherlands, as elsewhere on the continent, traditional politics is being stirred by opposition to harsh austerity measures, which are being felt hard by ordinary people.

- IV448 - May 2012 / Netherlands

Bombs over Libya

Bertil Videt — 2011-03-21T17:20:07Z

Is the military action against Libya necessary and helpful in order to stop Gaddafi's regime's onslaught on its opponents or is it an imperialist aggression driven by strategical self-interest, which only will make things worse for the Libyan people? The international left is split on this question. And the question is truly complex and cannot be answered by ready made slogans about always being opposed to imperialist aggressions or unconditional support to the rebels. A serious response must be based on a concrete assessment of the situation in Libya, and not on abstract principles or revolutionary rhetoric.

- IV434 - March 2011 / Libya, Arab Revolutions

Dedicated socialist, workers' defender and respected Intellectual

Bertil Videt — 2009-11-09T11:11:00Z

The staff and friends of the IIRE were saddened to hear about the sudden death of Chris Harman on the evening of 6 November, in Cairo, where he was giving a talk.

- IV418 - November 2009

120 attend Gramsci conference

Bertil Videt, Sara R. Farris — 2007-12-10T22:41:04Z

Saturday's Gramsci conference in Amsterdam turned out to be a big success, both in terms of participation and discussions.

- News from around the world / Marxism