The Young Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh emerged from the world created by the Age of Revolution and demanded that republican ideals apply beyond Europe.
14 Article(s) by: Ian Birchall
Ian Birchall is the author of Sartre Against Stalinism and many articles and essays on the twentieth-century French left.
Victor Serge Was One of the Great Revolutionary Writers
Victor Serge lived through a remarkable sequence of revolutionary upheavals before dying in Mexican exile at the age of 56. Serge’s life and work, caught between hope and despair, can help us understand Europe’s turbulent 20th century.
Pierre Naville Carved Out a Surrealist Path to Marxism
The unconventional artistic rebellion of surrealism may seem a long way removed from the sober, disciplined work of Marxist revolutionaries. But French writer Pierre Naville brought surrealism and Marxism together amid the turmoil of interwar Europe.
Jean-François Lyotard and the Algerian Revolution
Jean-François Lyotard is best remembered today as a theorist of postmodernism. During the 1950s, Lyotard was actively involved in supporting Algeria’s freedom struggle, while realistically identifying the problems that would come after independence.
The Vichy Conspiracy
In 1940, did French elites roll out the welcome mat for Nazi Germany?
Marceau Pivert Was a Key Figure in the History of French Socialism
Socialist leader Marceau Pivert played a central role in the turbulent history of French politics during the 1930s. Pivert’s inside-outside strategy toward the established workers’ movement is an important case study in how to win mass support for socialism.
Daniel Guérin Showed Us What a Socialist Writer Should Be
French socialist thinker Daniel Guérin lived a life of extraordinary political commitment, from anti-fascist and anti-colonial struggles to his pioneering advocacy of gay liberation. Guérin’s writings and record should be a touchstone for the modern left.
On This Day in 1961, French Police Murdered Dozens of Pro-independence Algerians
Sixty years ago today, French police under the command of a former Nazi collaborator massacred anti-imperialist Algerian demonstrators. For decades, the French authorities concealed the evidence of one of the worst atrocities in postwar Europe.
How Jean-Paul Sartre and Les Temps Modernes Supported Algeria’s Struggle for Freedom
France waged a brutal colonial war in Algeria during the 1950s. But a group of writers clustered around Jean-Paul Sartre’s journal Les Temps modernes played a courageous role, exposing French war crimes and supporting the right of the Algerian people to self-determination.
The First Step on Vietnam’s Long Walk to Freedom
Seventy-five years ago today, Vietnam launched a bid for national freedom with its Declaration of Independence. The French colonial regime answered with brutal repression, kick-starting thirty years of destructive conflict.
The Outrageous Optimism of Jean-Paul Sartre
The French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre died forty years ago today. Sartre’s philosophy and political values can still inspire struggles for freedom today.
Mitterrand’s War
For François Mitterrand, France's atrocities in Algeria were stepping-stones to power.
The Wrong Kind of Secularism
The French secular ideal of laïcité is not a misused noble idea — it is deeply flawed at its roots.
The Young Ho Chi Minh
As a young man in Paris, Ho Chi Minh embraced a radical internationalism.