Vietnam’s independence was first proclaimed in August 1945, and we could soon be celebrating its 80th anniversary. De Gaulle decided otherwise, sending an expeditionary force to reconquer his lost colony. Indochina had to endure two devastating successive imperial wars, first French, then American. Washington mobilised all the means at its disposal to crush the Vietnamese revolution, certain that it would prevail - and was defeated. The image has gone down in history: the staff of the US (…)
Trump’s New Cuba Policy: Bad for Cuba and Migrants
24 April, byOn his return to the presidency on January 20, Donald Trump rescinded his predecessor Joe Biden’s short-lived removal of Cuba from the State Sponsor of Terrorism (SSOT) designation. The SSOT designation will further isolate Cuba diplomatically and economically.
The Carnation Revolution of Portugal Today: The New Challenge from the Far-Right
24 April, byFifty-one years after the Revolution, fifty years after the first elections by universal suffrage which saw a 92% turnout, what is the legacy of the Portuguese Revolution?
The Netherlands and the 1965 mass killings in Indonesia
24 April, byThe military coup d’état in Indonesia in 1965 was the beginning of one of the 20th century’s greatest crimes: the killing of over half a million of people and the torture and imprisonment of hundreds of thousands more. Much has been written about the involvement of Western powers such as the United States in the military coup. Less is known about the response of the Netherlands. Declassified documents show that Dutch authorities regarded the military coup with sympathy and sought to support it.
For a campaign against rearmament, wars and imperialism
15 April, byWe are entering a new era. Trump’s return to the White House is so disruptive that it is causing the historic crisis of transatlantic relations as they were constituted after the Second World War. The new Republican and reactionary administration aims to exploit the new situation of ‘geopolitical chaos’ to revive the role of the United States of America through an authoritarian turn, based on an alliance with the big hi-tech capitalists such as Elon Musk, and through a new foreign policy that focuses on imperialist national interests.
In support of “synchronized global disarmament”
13 April, byAt a time when everything is spiralling out of control in the East, when alliances as evil as the Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin duo are being forged, and when our leaders are advocating rearmament, we wanted to take some time to think about it. With Gilbert Achcar, a specialist in international relations and professor at the University of London, we discussed ways of supporting Ukraine while rejecting a generalized war.[Gaëlle Desnos-CQFD]
Europe in the Trump-Putin Axis Trap
12 April, by‘For the Left Bloc, there are various imperialisms and "none of them will have a progressive role because all act according to the interests of their capitalist elites". Therefore, "recognising this reality is vital in elaborating an internationalist proposal capable of offering a future to humanity and conceiving a democratic order of peoples."’
For an anti-capitalist and internationalist security policy, against the Trump-Musk-Putin axis and neoliberal authoritarian European governments:
10 April, by“In this context, the debate on security, military and defence issues has gripped all the countries of Europe. Putin’s regime poses a real threat to Eastern Europe and to democratic and social rights across the continent, through its alliances with the far right. Similarly, Trump, Musk and Vance, like the far right in Europe and elsewhere, are showing their willingness to attack head-on any social and progressive policy, however minimal, such as environmental regulations, the fight against discrimination or workers’ social and trade union rights.”
Ukraine: The left’s dilemma amid a crumbling world order: Prepare to fight or let others determine the outcome?
28 March, byWith a madman in the White House, all pretences have fallen away and raw power again reigns supreme. Trade wars, huge aid cuts, explicit demands to annex Greenland and depopulate Gaza — every new day brings forth another crisis that throws into question internationally recognised collective and individual rights and undermines global institutions that supposedly exist to defend them. Is this genuinely the world we were hoping for when we criticised the hypocrisy of the West? Is the internationalist left simply going to accept this new state of affairs?
Syria’s Economic Transition: From Kleptocracy to Islamic Neoliberalism in a War-Torn Economy
28 March, by ,In its first decade in power and before the conflict, Bashar al-Assad’s regime adopted neoliberal-oriented economic policies, such as price liberalisation for many essential goods, market deregulation, and a significant extension of the private sector. This was accompanied by austerity measures without genuine institutional reform, which resulted in greater social injustice, decreased productivity, and widening income disparity.
