The Black Book of Communism has been hugely influential and sold millions of copies since its publication in 1997. Yet some of the dramatic claims made by its editor, Stéphane Courtois, were even rejected by his own contributors when the book came out.
After the Axis powers’ defeat in World War II, many former Nazis and Vichyites recycled themselves as anti-communists. Jean-Marie Le Pen sought to rally such forces with radicalized conservatives in a common front against the red peril.
It’s ten years since the death of Mike Marqusee, a brilliant socialist writer who tackled everything from the careers of Muhammad Ali and Bob Dylan to the politics of Zionism. Marqusee’s addictively readable work deserves to reach a new generation.
In the aftermath of the Gaza cease-fire, Ilan Pappé’s analysis of the enduring power of the Israel lobby feels more urgent than ever. His sweeping history traces its rise and the challenges it has faced as global criticism of Israel has intensified.
One of the most shocking features of Israel’s 15-month campaign of violence against Gaza’s population was the US political class’s refusal, even in the face of mounting evidence, to call what was happening a genocide.
In France, trade unionist Anasse Kazib faces prosecution for pro-Palestinian tweets. The overheated allegations of “apologia for terrorism” express a broader crackdown on civil liberties, today targeted at Palestine solidarity activists.
Although it ended in tragic defeat, the Communist International was one of the most ambitious exercises in transnational political activism ever conceived. Its rise and fall gives us a crucial window into the history of the 20th century.
Donald Trump’s plan to forcibly evict Palestinians from Gaza may have been the product of a sudden whim, but that doesn’t mean he’ll discard it easily. Determined resistance from Arab and European states will be needed to block this catastrophic scheme.
Sunday’s German election brought victory for Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democrats. Despite the fragile cease-fire in Gaza, the incoming government threatens even sharper repression against the pro-Palestinian movement.
For some liberals, Donald Trump’s decision to humiliate Volodymyr Zelensky showed that he’s a Russian stooge. But Trump’s crudeness is just a more striking illustration that Ukraine’s future is subject to US realpolitik.
The pending deportation of Columbia activist Mahmoud Khalil has also had echoes in France. Both establishment and far-right politicians are calling for Rima Hassan, a French Palestinian member of the European Parliament, to be stripped of her citizenship.
German right-wing tabloid Bild ran a smear campaign against civil servant Melanie Schweizer because of her solidarity with Palestine — and then she was fired. She told Jacobin what her case says about the reality of free speech in Germany.
Ukrainian Marxist Roman Rosdolsky survived the Nazi concentration camps and went on to write one of the most important books about the making of Karl Marx’s Capital, paving the way for a revival of Marxist economic theory from the 1960s.
Carnivals in Germany have long satirized the powerful. Calls to keep politics out of the festivities are now being used to silence dissent.
Of the 32 US states that forcibly sterilized people in the 20th century under the influence of eugenics, only three have taken accountability by compensating survivors. A group of researchers is trying to make Utah the next.
In Germany, public discussion of Victory Day has mostly revolved around the ban on Russian officials attending commemorations. The dispute risks losing sight of the real history of World War II — and how relevant it remains in an era of growing far-right threats.
Palestinians mark May 15 as Nakba Day, anniversary of the foundation of Israel. That state was born amid mass displacement and ethnic cleansing — and it’s getting even worse today.
The kind of Jewish identity on display in Jewish-led Palestine solidarity demonstrations organized by groups like Jewish Voice for Peace is part of a long history of Jewish identity being bound up in leftist politics.
Advocates of “military Keynesianism” present it as a boon for the working class. In reality, it diverts resources away from social provision while building up a military-industrial complex with a vested interest in aggressive wars that never cease.
Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner has sealed a $1.4 billion deal to redevelop Albania’s largest island. Long a protected area, now it’s set to be paved over to build a luxury resort.