The Left

Yearbook

    transform! yearbook 2022
  • transform! yearbook 2022 looks at how left politics has been challenged by the Covid pandemic and asks what a programme of left demands for pandemic research, prevention, and treatment might look like.
    Klasse, Partei und die Herausforderung der Transformation des Staates
  • Für alle Parteien, die einen grundlegenden gesellschaftlichen Wandel anstrebten – sei es in Form einer gewaltsamen Revolution, sei es in Form von schrittweisen Reformen –, stand noch im Jahr 1917 fest, dass dies die Konsequenz hatte, den Kapitalismus zu überwinden. Bereits ein halbes Jahrhundert...
    Towards the League of the Balkan Left
  • The Balkan Peninsula has played a special role in Europe’s political imagination. For the greater part of contemporary history this region figured as a kind of barbaric wasteland. Barbaric in the original sense of the word, that is, of people speaking incomprehensible languages. Beyond this...
    New Municipalism in Barcelona: A First Attempt at a Balance Sheet
  • To undertake a full appraisal of a government one needs more time than just a third of a mandate, but given the speed of political events in Spain since 2008, it is worth having a first look at the experience of the municipal government in Barcelona in the first third of its term. The relevance of...
    The Corbyn Moment: A Dialectic of Defeats
  • I. Defeat is an under-rated experience in political life. During the US Civil War, Charles Eliot Norton wrote on the ‘advantages of defeat’, noting that an early setback at Bull Run was not only deserved but needed: it corrected a bad strategy early enough for it to be rectified. As Enzo...
    Back to the Roots?
  • How left movements and parties see themselves in society and how they behave towards people outside of them has been continually changing in the last 150 years. As a result, they have been able to reach specific social groups more successfully while others have tended to elude their reach. Left...
    Europe’s Old and New Left and Its Constituencies (1)
  • The aim of this general reflection on the transformations undergone by Europe’s social and political left is to suggest strategies and tools for promoting a more just economic and social system. For analytical purposes I see three historical steps: The first stage, is from 1989 to the present. It...
    The Left Alternative – The Search for a Subject of History
  • Globalisation is increasingly influencing us. On the one side, it opens up new forms of a networked internet civilisation; on the other side, it entails irresolvable contradictions. The events of the recent period show that today, both for the West and for Russian society, it is not the challenge of...
    The Left, the People, Populism
  • The right-left divide seems to be breaking down in current political representation. In fact this goes back some thirty years when the right turn of European socialism began to blur the boundaries between left-wing and right-wing government management. It is true that the extreme right has always...
    Euclid Tsakalotos – interviewed by Haris Golemis
  • Haris Golemis: At the time of this interview (12 December 2016), the Greek government is close to completing its second review of the third painful Memorandum of Understanding, which it was forced to agree to on July 2015. I understand that the government’s but also your view is that this evaluation...
    Europe – Quo vadis? The Left and European Integration
  • After the Brexit vote, there is a sense of cluelessness, or at least irritation, in Germany, that is, in the newspapers, in political journals, in the parties represented in the Bundestag, and certainly also in the federal government. Pre-referendum polls appeared to indicate that it was alarmingly...
    Rekindling Hope: Syriza’s Challenges and Prospects
  • Before turning to the main theme of this article it would be very useful to come to terms with at least the following preliminary observations: The left in government and especially the radical left in government has never been the subject of easy discussion among leftists. As the project of...
    When Winter Came in July: The Left Has to Rethink Europe
  • After the Paris attacks, Europe froze into a winter of icy fear. But contrary to the media’s image, the threat, which is exploited to enforce surveillance and tightened border controls, is at least as internal as it is external. The arrested terrorists’ papers were all in order, they moved about...
    More Than Ever: For Another Europe! August 2015 Theses [1]
  • The general impression one has today is of an impasse in the structure of the European Union as a democratic project benefiting its populations and contributing to a better world. As an adherent of ‘left-wing Europeanism’ [2], I want to emphasise in what follows that today, more than ever, there are...
    The Italian Vote and the Problem of a New Left Political Entity
  • The results of the recent European Parliament elections raise more questions than they answer. Almost all opinion polls and forecasts, even those based on refined socio-political analyses, have shown that people in Italy feel extremely alienated from political reality. The Italian vote is...
    The Left in the Storm: The Radical Left and the Elections in Spain
  • Six years after the beginning of the 2008 economic crisis, the 2014 European Parliament (EP) elections resulted in enlarged representation for the parties integrated in the group of the United European Left-Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL). This increase was very significant in a few countries where a...
    Some Notes on the Socialist Alternative in Post-Yugoslav Space
  • What if nobody attacks you? Stane Dolanc (1925-1999) was one of the most important Slovenian politicians in former Yugoslavia and among a few of the close trusted friends of President Josip Broz Tito. During his political career he held various high posts and argued for a strong, authoritarian...
    An Interview with Alexis Tsipras
  • Haris Golemis: Just three years ago, Syriza’s presence in Greece’s political landscape was quite small. Today, Syriza is predicted to be the frontrunner in the next elections – making you the next Prime Minister of Greece. What factors do you believe have led to Syriza’s meteoric rise in popularity,...
    The Radical Left in Europe: An Outline
  • Where does the radical left come from? To understand what unites the organisations of this new left and the nature of its radicalism we must go back to the years following the fall of the Berlin Wall. 

Focus

    Fifty Shades of Brown. Remarks on the Fight against the neo-fascist Right
  • Europe consists of about 50 states, 27 of which are members of the European Union. So, what we see on the far right are ‘50 shades of brown’, so to speak. It is doubtful that one and the same notion can be applied to such a wide range of phenomena. However, even more doubtful appears the notion of...
    Challenges for the European Left Party in 2020 — Five Theses
  • The Party of the European Left (PEL) — alongside the European United Left-Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) in the European Parliament (EP) — is one of the European left’s most prominent transnational organizations. What challenges does it face? What are ist potentials for future developments? On the...
    Left Party, Now What?
  • Apart from analysing the Left Party in Germany (DIE LINKE), the author's proposals could easily apply to many of our left parties in Europe.
    TWT 2019: The Left in the UK Aims for Transformation!
  • Supported by transform! europe once again, the fourth edition of The World Transformed (TWT), the most well-known and well-attended left-wing political festival in the UK, raised some very important questions for the left, acting as an example in terms of the methods applied. A report by Haris Golemis and Angelina Giannopoulou.
    Considerations on the European Elections
  • The GUE /NGL and EL suffered a defeat. Except for some notable exceptions – Portugal, Slovenia, and Belgium – and our having maintained significant electoral strength in Greece and Cyprus we lost across the board. Moreover, we must acknowledge that except for the Czech Republic we have no MEPs in the vast space of Central and Eastern Europe.
    Interactive Map
  • Through the interactive map, you get an overview of the left parties competing in the elections in each country and for the final results.
    Status Quo Of The Misery
  • The ruling party GERB won the European Parliament elections in Bulgaria with 31.07% of the votes. Second is the BSP (Bulgarian Socialist Party) with 24.26%, while the third is the Movement of rights and freedoms (DPS) with 16.55% (which candidate was Delyan Peevsky – the person that provoked huge...
    A first reaction on the results of the European Elections in the UK
  • The electoral system  The UK electoral system for the European election was the D’Hondt system of PR which traditionally rewards the party receiving the highest vote disproportionately and this has again become the case with the Brexit Party only receiving 33% of the vote but almost 50% of the...
    European elections in Romania
  • In Romania, the European elections come against the background of an upsurge in class struggle that has not been matched, though, by any significant left-wing option at the polls on Sunday. The past year or so has witnessed a wave of important strikes, mostly in the industrial sector. For example,...
    European elections in 2019 in Hungary
  • The list of nine registered Hungarian parties participating on 26 May 2019 in the EUP elections and their main campaign slogans, but also a political comment on the current political landscape in Hungary.
    Spanish Turmoil
  • Analysis from our member organisation ''Fundación por la Europa de los Ciudadanos'' for the European Elections in Spain, right after the national elections and the new framework that is being shaped.
    ¡No Pasaran!
  • In March, over four hundred people gathered in central London for the ¡NO PASARAN! conference - to confront the rise of the far right and plan for cooperation and coordinated action to meet the threats we face.
    The Italian Vote
  • Analysis from our member organisation "transform! italia" on the political landscape in Italy.
    The Greek Left before 2019 EU election
  • Analysis from our member organisation "Nicos Poulantzas Institute" on the political landscape in Greece, the efforts of the left government and the challenges towards the European Elections.
    The French Chessboard
  • Analysis from our member organisation "Espaces Marx" on the shaken political landscape in France prior to the European Elections.
    Final Declaration European Forum Bilbao
  • Our goal is to fight for a Europe that is a fully cooperative, solidary, equal and socially advanced democracy. We call for empowering popular sovereignty by launching a new charter for sovereign democracy in Europe.
    "The Laugh of the Medusa: The Left in Europe"
  • High quality debates among people from different starting points aiming to find a common ground for a Europe of the people. A seminar that tried not to give definitive answers, but to pose at least the right questions.
    “State of Affairs in Europe”
  • transform! europe and the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung staged a Workshop in Berlin under the title: “State of Affairs in Europe” in July 2016. Political scientists and actors were invited to debate the possibilities for common perspectives and action of the Left in Europe.
    Catalonia: The Left Faced with Secession
  • Identities are inseparable from political and social life, but we must learn to keep a short leash on sentiments that awaken identities and build barriers against reason in order to channel them towards an emancipatory sense of justice and solidarity.
    The Future of European Integration
  • A number of Leftist conferences recently convened in Paris, Berlin and Madrid addressed the issue of an alternative plan for Europe. We as transform! were present in all the events as we believe that an open and comeradely debate without any taboos is necessary.
    The Radical Left at the 2014 EP Election
  • The publication of the final results of the 2014 European Parliament (EP) election of 22-25 May finally permits to draw a first assessment of the performance of the radical Left.[1]
    The European Radical Left in the Long Run
  • What is the current situation of the radical Left in Europe? What political and historical events have been shaping its evolutions over the last decades? How has it responded to the challenges of Europeanization?  What role does the European systemic crisis play in the emergence of new dividing lines across the Left? Where does its political project stand?

Blog

    Mixed Signals from Brazil
  • Lula’s first-round victory is encouraging, but Bolsonaro’s surprisingly strong result means four anxious weeks lie ahead.
    Enrico Berlinguer and 21st-Century Socialism
  • Secretary of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) from 1972 to 1984, Enrico Berlinguer has been long known for two broad political initiatives he introduced in the 1970s: at the level of domestic politics, the compromesso storico (the historical compromise); and, at the international level, Eurocommunism. On 25 May, we celebrate his 100th birthday.
    Manon Aubry: "We must overcome the blockages posed by certain European rules”
  • Some European provisions are opposed to the implementation of "an ecological and social programme of rupture", explains the La France Insoumise MEP and co-chair of The Left in the European Parliament in an article in "Le Monde", specifying that "disobeying" these rules does not mean contributing to the desintegration of the EU.
    The Left in Europe
  • Jean-Luc Mélenchon came a very close third behind Marine Le Pen in the first round of the presidential election in France, Sinn Féin became the strongest party in Northern Ireland, and Syriza is preparing to re-enter the Greek government. Barbara Steiner gives an overview of the strength of left parties in Europe.
    No Peace, No Justice
  • Finally, after two years of pandemic, the trade unions of many countries, and with them members of left parties, social movements, along with other citizens, can return to the streets on May Day.
    Campaign Diary: Look to the Left
  • The war in Ukraine, first and foremost, has decentred the general debate and, above all, has allowed Macron to reassert his presidential stature. On the left, the conflict has exacerbated already strong ideological divisions, and the gaps in the polls have widened.
    Security and the Left: Focus on Digitalisation
  • The ongoing digitalisation of our lives has been greatly accelerated during the pandemic. While it provides solutions to challenges of our times and has become part of EU states’ response to the pandemic, the risks and threats to fundamental rights, such as privacy and protection from discrimination are there and cannot be overlooked.
    What Strategy for the Left on Working From Home?
  • Being in favour and against a shift to working from home is not a strictly oppositional binary but should rest on a coherent theory of emancipatory politics. A politics which takes into account different costs and benefits of telework faced by workers per sector, strata and workers' demands, argues Giorgos Charalambous.
    Sira Rego (The Left): "¡Arriba las que luchan!"
  • ‘To those who fight!’ (”¡Arriba las que luchan!”), MEP Sira Rego (Izquierda Unida, Spain) said on 18 January in the plenary of the European Parliament (EP). Following the death of David Sassoli, the EP turned to the election of a new president. The Left’s candidate was Rego. Read her plenary speech in full.
    European Forum 2021 - Videos and Recordings
  • Get an overview on the discussions at the 2021 European Forum, a unique space where the left, greens and progressives can come together and discuss on ways to built another future for Europe.
    Final Declaration of the 5th European Forum of Left, Green and Progressive Forces
  • The crisis caused by the spread of COVID-19 across the planet, in fact, has revealed all the contradictions, limitations and deficiencies of a neoliberal, predatory and unsupportive model of society, which is unable to cope with such a profound challenge like the consequences of a Pandemic, which has ravaged the world for almost two years.
    Glasgow Greenwashed? Left MEPs at COP26 for Systemic Change
  • From 31 October, world leaders and experts will meet in Glasgow at the global climate talks, COP26. Over thirteen days, they will discuss and negotiate our future. While they bring their sponsors from big tech, big pharma and agribusiness, we’re getting organised to bring climate justice.
    Let’s Try Again!
  • This year we commemorate the twentieth anniversary of two crucial landmarks of the old, and now non-existent, anti-globalisation or alternative globalisation movement, which both took place in 2001: the first World Social Forum in Porto Alegre (Brazil) in January, and the “battle of Genoa” in July.
    Genoa. 20 Years After.
  • On 20 July 2001, 23-year-old protester Carlo Giuliani was shot dead by a policeman in the course of the demonstrations against the G8 Summit in Genoa. This summit went down in history for the enormous scale of police brutality. Greek MP Yiannis Bournous, who took part in the protests, reflects on their impact on left parties all across Europe.
    The Porto Social Counter-Summit: towards a truly social European Union
  • On 7/8 May, while the Heads of State and Government of all EU Member States attended the Social Summit, Left Bloc (Portugal) held a counter-summit that brought together politicians, trade unionists, activists and representatives of civil society organisations to discuss the social agenda that is needed to respond to the economic crisis.
    Conference on the Future of Europe – Considerations from the Left Perspective
  • An opportunity for a profound and broad debate on the future development of the EU including the Treaties? Read here the position of the Party of the European Left on the "Conference of the Future of Europe", a joint initiative of the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission to create a space for debate for European citizens.
    Lenin150 (Samizdat): 2nd expanded edition
  • On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Lenin's birth, Lenin150 (Samizdat) seeks to contribute to the re-kindling of the communist attractor by engaging, in the spirit of critical solidarity, with Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov in the year of his 150th anniversary. Conceived out of the former...
    Growing crackdown on Turkey’s left-wing opposition
  • While the discontent of relevant sections of the Turkish population with current government policies is growing, Turkish government has escalated its campaign of repression against the left-wing opposition party HDP. At this point, the reaction of moderate Turkish civil society actors will be crucial.
    Congratulations Compañero Lula
  • The Party of the European Left congratulates former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in light of the Supreme Courts ruling to overturn all the charges related to the Lava Jato Curitiba trial - paving the way to callenge Bolsonaro.
    The Birth of Marxism in France: Remembering the Paris Commune and Jules Guesde
  • The French political and social situation – with its many strikes, social movements, and highly ideologised political currents – often fascinates observers outside France. The life of a central figure in the French socialist movement, Jules Guesde, who is little known outside France provides insights into the specificities of the French left.
    At the Polar Circle Turn Left
  • Thinking of unpronounceable volcanoes or brute football fan chants Iceland will pop up in many minds. In contrast it is much less known that a new established socialist party is causing quite a stir. Klemens Herzog (Vienna) was talking to Reykjavík’s socialist city councilor Sanna Magdalena Mörtudóttir about the left potential at the polar circle.
    Slovak Left at the Crossroads
  • The parliamentary elections in March 2020 have redrawn the political map of Slovakia. It will undoubtedly have an impact on the left spectrum as well. What is the current state of the Slovak left and what are the challenges?
    transform! europe Podcasts
  • transform! europe's online interview series "The Left Reflects" with Luciana Castellina, Alex Demirović, Nancy Fraser, Leo Panitch, Gayatri Spivak, and Hilary Wainwright now available as podcast – in cooperation with Austrian left-wing platform Mosaik.
    Jeremy Corbyn is suspended from the Labour Party!
  • In the face of misreadings or wilful distortions of Corbyn’s response to the EHRC’s report on anti-Semitism in the Labour Party, Hilary Wainwright sets out the accurate facts and argues that to implement the EHRC’s recommendations in a concerted manner and to be a united alternative to a Tory government, Corbyn’s suspension must be lifted.
    Czech communist party set for shake-up
  • KSČM politician Jiří Dolejš on the crisis facing the Czech left and his party’s renewal after the October regional elections. Dolejš is one of the protagonists in the debate on the party‘s future orientation before the upcoming party congress, which will be held in the runup to next year’s parliamentary elections.
    On the situation of the Czech left after the elections
  • The results of the Czech left in the regional elections are poor, for both the Communist KSČM and the social-democratic ČSSD. In regional councils, left-wing voices will be heard even less than in the past. A commentary by transform! europe's Board member Jiří Málek.
    Regional Elections in the Czech Republic
  • Regional elections were held in 13 regions (October 2/3 2020). They did not take place in Prague as the capital has a special statute. An overview from a left perspective.
    transform! europe: Election of Co-Presidents
  • Last Friday the 25th of September, transform! europe, the think tank associated with the Party of the European Left (EL), elected Cornelia Hildebrandt, social scientist and representative of the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung in the Board of transform!, and Marga Ferré, representative of the FEC, the...
    Principled Pragmatism
  • Li Andersson, Chair of the Finnish Left Alliance, has continued to make her mark as Minister of Education during the pandemic.
    "Party of the Radical Left" founded in Serbia
  • The new party resulted from the transformation of the Social Democratic Union (SDU) – a process in which student movement activists participated as well as members of the Left Summit of Serbia and DiEM25 – which led to the most significant unification of Serbian left forces in the last thirty years.
    Why Universal Basic Income?
  • Let me start by showing where the problem lies: right now, across the EU, there are over 14 million people unemployed, and millions who have been furloughed or who are working precarious jobs. And yet we are only at the start of a global economic crisis, the extent and duration of which no one can...
    Luka Mesec: 'We need a strong European left-wing alternative.'
  • Luka Mesec, MP and Coordinator of the Slovenian Levica (The Left), was the guest in the ninth edition of transform! europe's webinar series ‘Meeting the Left’. He spoke of the pandemic’s exposure of many shortcomings of capitalist systems, and pointed to opportunities for left politics.
    "Lūžis" – New Left-Wing Magazine in Lithuania Out Now
  • DEMOS Institute of Critical Thought, supported by transform! europe, has launched the first issue of its magazine Lūžis (Fracture). Lūžis is one of the rare left-wing magazines in Lithuania edited by progressive academics, political activists and trade unionists from Vilnius and Kaunas.
    Good Bye, Julio.
  • The Collegiate Commission of Izquierda Unida (IU, United Left) remembers Julio Anguita, the former General Coordinator of IU, who passed away on 16 May.
    transform! europe Meeting the Left
  • The Corona-virus has hit the EU unprepared, but in different ways and with different effects depending on the countries. Most tragic were the effects on those countries whose healthcare and social systems have been emaciated by decades of austerity policies. Thus, the pandemic has increased...
    Covid-19 and the Western Working Classes
  • The Covid-19 Shock Meets an Impending Economic Recession As of March 2020, the world is back to the future. The global financial crisis of 2007-2008, which escalated into a global financial meltdown in September 2008, was supposed to be the big bang crisis, a once in a lifetime event. And yet, here...
    Campaign for Permanent Manolis Glezos Honour in EU Parliament
  • A campaign is underway by the left group in the European Parliament to honour the late, great resistance fighter and Greek MEP, Manolis Glezos. The veteran activist and former GUE/NGL member died earlier this week at the age of 97, and the group feels that an honour that befits a political figure...
    Anti-Communism – 'One of the Greatest Follies of Our Epoch'
  • On 19 September of last year the European Parliament - with the votes of the conservatives, liberals, social democrats, and greens - passed a resolution in which the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany were made equally responsible for the Second World War. Europe was, so the statement went, the victim of...
    4th International Marxist Feminist Conference 2021 in Bilbao
  • The 4th International Conference will be held in Bilbao, on 11-13 November 21. This Conference will be organized and funded by transform! europe and the University of the Basque Country, along with Iratzar Foundation, Bilbo-Barcelona Critical Theory Group, Berliner Institut für Kritische Theorie (Inkrit) and Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, among others.
    Give the struggles of our times
  • When I joined the Left Alliance 20 years ago 13% of the Finnish people said that they could vote for the Left and almost all of them actually did it since in the elections we had 11 or even 12% of votes. Most of those voters were very old so it looked inevitable that the party would shrink and...
    European Left Congress
  • The Party of the European Left (PEL) held its sixth congress in the Spanish town of Benalmádena, near Málaga. The event took place between 13 and 15 December 2019 and brought together over 400 delegates representing 25 political parties from more than twenty European countries. Izquierda Unida and the Spanish Communist Party hosted the conference.
    The Fine Old and the Poor New
  • (Not only) The Left justly criticizes that by signing the government agreement the Greens have facilitated a continuation of the conservative and right-wing extremist strategy regarding refugee and migration policies. This criticism will become louder and possibly also lead to the break-up of the coalition.
    No Mean Task
  • Speech by Walter Baier at the 6th Party Congress of the Party of the European Left, December 14th, 2019
    Summer University 2019: Report from Fiuggi
  • The Summer University was the European Left's first public appointment following the elections, and, despite the fatigue of the electoral campaign, participation was good. Over 220 people registered for the three days of plenary sessions and seminars. As always, the quality of the interventions...
    In the Great Transformation
  • The Red-Green Alliance/Enhedslisten (Denmark) adopted at its Annual Congress on 5 – 6 October a program on globalisation entitled A Green Earth With Peace and Room for Us All, thus becoming the first party providing a comprehensive analysis on the current stage of international capitalism. Read Walter Baier's review.
    Respect for Historical Memory in Europe
  • The board of transform! europe launches the following open letter regarding the resolution 'Europe must remember its past to build its future', adopted by the majority of the European Parliament – rejected by the GUE/NGL group.
    The Greek Left Since the 1940s. History Study Trip to Athens
  • For the third time already, present:history and transform! europe organize a history study trip to Greece. This time, we focused on Athens and the history of the Greek left since the 1940s for our main questions: Which role does history play for current political struggles? How can we talk about the...
    Asking you for solidarity
  • Kerem Schamberger, Vice-Chair of transform! europe’s member organisation ISW (Institute for Social, Ecological and Economic Studies) calls for solidarity and trial monitoring.
    Immanuel Wallerstein 1930 – 2019
  • One of the most astute thinkers of our time has left us. Immanuel Wallerstein died at the age of 88 on 31 August 2019. Read the obituary of Hannes Hofbauer for Promedia Verlag.
    Gysi will not run again as President of the Party of the European Left
  • The President of the European Left, Gregor Gysi, declared at the Executive-Board meeting in Berlin: The election results of the European elections are both a warning and an invitation to us to make the European Left more attractive and to improve the value of our policies through better...
    Demetris Christofias (1946-2019) – In Memoriam
  • Demetris Christofias passed away on 21 June 2019 at the age of 72. Christofias was the sixth president of the Republic of Cyprus (2008-2013), the first leftist to be elected at the highest office in Cyprus. Prior to that he was also the first communist president of the Cypriot House of Representatives (2001-2008).
    R-komplex
  • Recently, transform! europe could welcome R-komplex as new observer organization. Read about R-kompleX presenting itself.
    Reflections of An Accidental Politican - Interview With Costas Douzinas
  • Costas Douzinas is president of the Nikos Poulantzas Institute, Professor of Law and Head of the Humanities faculty at Birkbeck University. He is also member of the Greek parliament and Chair of the Standing Committee on National Defence and Foreign Relations, which submitted the Prespes...
    Building the Slovenian Left
  • Luka Mesec, the coordinator for the party Levica (“The Left”) in Slovenia, in conversation with the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung’s Wenke Christoph, on the political models that helped them succeed, and what challenges and chances come along with tolerating the government and building local structures.
    China and Central Europe – As the Left Sees It
  • Information on the proceedings and results of the international conference 'China and Central Europe. Political, Economic and Geopolitical Consequences - Standpoint of the Left', organised by the transform! europe member organisation SPED (Society for European Dialogue) with significant support from the RLS's Prague office.
    Centre for the Politics of Emancipation
  • In autumn 2018, transform! europe could welcome the Centre for the Politics of Emancipation (CPE) as new observer organization. Read about the CPE presenting itself.
    Poland and the Left After the Local Elections
  • The recent local elections in Poland have once again been dominated by the country’s two main right-wing parties: Law and Justice Party (PiS) and Citizens’ Platform (PO). They have also underlined the present weakness of the Polish left, which was further marginalised during these elections.
    The Communist Party of Austria – A European Case Study
  • On 3rd November 1918, the Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) was founded in Vienna. To mark this occasion, transform! europe is publishing an illustrated book in Vienna which documents the KPÖ’s development throughout the 20th century.
    Why it’s Worth Fighting for the Collective Movement
  • A new attempt from the left to challenge the neo-liberal ‘more-of-the-same’ status quo has emerged from the socio-political Left – the collective #aufstehen movement. There are many very valid reasons to stay away from it. Consider the words of poet Erich Fried: “Because I do not wish/ to get my...
    The Variable Geometry of the Left
  • Despite moderate growth rates, the EU isn’t well. While the social disparities within and between the individual states continue to grow, it has opted for an increase of its military expenditures and tries to make up its obvious lack of internal cohesion with an ever more aggressive policy against migrants and refugees.
    #Power to the People
  • The reconstruction process of the left in Italy has indicated a new benchmark. But to better understand the path, we must start out once again from the last European elections in 2014.
    A Question of Class. A New Class Politics – A Connective Antagonism
  • It’s not that the class question could ever be pushed aside totally. It preserved a shadowy Marxist existence. Sometimes, however, it surfaced surprisingly in the feature pages of newspapers, only then swiftly to disappear again. At this point, hardly anyone denies it: we are living in a class society (again).
    Polish Left: Mistakes of the Past and Challenges of the Future
  • When we observe the current political scene in Europe, we get the impression that something has gone very wrong. We can see that we – the left – have made many serious mistakes and that our weakness has given new opportunities to right-wing movements and parties.
    The Left Under Macron
  • An interview with Elsa Faucillon, the newly-elected Communist MP on France’s divided Left and the way forward in the fight against Macron.
    ‘Europe – what's left?’
  • A seminar in Rome provided space for discussing the numerous crises in Europe and their potential solutions. While the participants did not share all points of analysis put forward, they agreed on the need to break free of the existing framework and the necessity for a reinvention of the left on our continent.
    The Left: Dialogue and Identity
  • transform! is the think tank of the Party of the European Left (EL). Both EL and transform! are, in historical terms, relatively young organisations that were created to achieve something never before attempted: together and in our respective fields, using our individual methodologies, we aim to help create unity among the left in Europe as well as develop a common political culture of the left.
    Individual membership in the EL
  • I am an individual member of the Party of the European Left, of which I had already been a member as a Member of the European Parliament, and a PRC (Communist Refoundation Party) activist. It was the PRC, one of the founders of the European Left, that pushed this form of membership provided for by the Charter and, at the beginning of the 21st century, supported the creation of an association of individual members.
    Refoundation Means Discontinuity With the Past*
  • Nobody, of course, can deny the significance for Europe of Britain’s decision to leave the European Union. However, my view is that this historic event with its unknown consequences for the future of European integration is only a symptom of the general turmoil prevailing in Europe since the outbreak of the systemic crisis in 2008.
    Hello, This is Capitalism
  • Talk at the Summer University of PCF. – The dilemma of Europe is real. On the one hand, it is clear that Europe cannot continue in the same track, something that Britain’s referendum has underscored; of course, the No targeted not only the EU but also Britain’s political class, thus demonstrating that the failure of the neoliberal model threatens not only the European Union but also its Member States.
    Fruitful discussions and renewed enthusiasm
  • This year, the European Left’s Summer University was held in Chianciano, in Italy, on July 20-24th. During the three days, the participants discussed three key issues: Europe, Work and Peace. Over 260 people from 31 countries signed up for this year’s particularly productive EL Summer University, with participants coming from across Europe and as far afield as the Middle East, North Africa and South America.
    The Radical Left in Slovakia: Possibilities of recovery at the national and European level
  • The radical left is not only witnessing the global strengthening of the free market imperative at the expense of human rights – it is also suffering from it. This is most evident in the countries of the Central and Eastern Europe region in which traditional political subjects professing the ideals of socialism keep failing, owing to a whole range of specific factors that are both external and internal.
    Will the Left revive themselves while facing the civilizational challenge?
  • The Left today is justifiably worried about their future. Currently there is an impression that the public debate is sliding on a left-right axis towards the political extremes. But we know that the world cannot be changed with the help of false prophets, this can be done only by the society-wide action. Hence The Left has to search together the way forward.
    Europe under scrutiny
  • It is true that the European Union, or rather its predecessors, the European Coal and Steel Community, the EEC and the EC, have never been the projects for peace and human rights as which they were introduced to us. Those have to be disappointed now who allowed themselves to be deceived.
    Summer University 2015
  • The 10th annual Summer University of the Party of the European Left in cooperation with transform! europe took place in Litoměřice, Czech Republic, 8-12 July. It was hostesd by KSČM (Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia), SDS (Party of Democratoc Socialism) and SPED (Society For European Dialogue). Find here the "Appeal of Litoměřice" and reports by the EL on the three main plenaries.
    transform! europe at the ATTAC Summer University
  • More than 2000 people from across Europe and beyond gathered in Paris, from the 19 to 23 August, on the occasion of the “European Summer University for Social Movements” – organized by the network Attac Europe. Transform! participated in the event as one of the co-organizers.
    The Radical Left at the 2014 EP Election
  • The publication of the final results of the 2014 European Parliament (EP) election of 22-25 May finally permits to draw a first assessment of the performance of the radical Left.[1]
    8th Summer University in Porto, July 2013
  • About 300 persons participated in the 8th Summer University of the European Left Party (EL) and transform! europe, which took place in the Estadio do Dragao in Porto, Portugal, from 3 to 6 July 2013.
    Report: 5th Summer University 2010, Kishinev, Moldava
  • The 5th Summer University, organized by the European Left Party (EL) and transform! europe, took place in Kishinev, the capital of the Republic of Moldova, from 14 to 19 July. The hosting party, the Communist Party of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM), member party of the EL, is facing harsh...
    Report: 4th Summer University 2009, Valencia, Spain
  • After four days of intensive discussions, accompanied by a cultural programme in Valencia, the 4th EL Summer University came to an end. A variety of speakers discussed with 150 participants from 17 countries about topics as the current crisis, new ways of development, the Euro-Mediterranean...

Publication

    The European Left in the 20s. Is there a strategy?
  • This eDossier provides the contributions of the speakers and the participants of the latest Strategic Seminar. Hosted by transform! europe together with the Rosa-Luxemburg-Foundation, the annual event aims to serve as a space of timely debates for the left in Europe. In Addition, find here the sessions' recordings.
    Living in Dark Times
  • This volume reflects on the dark side of our times, the negativity that radical political strategy must address, manage and transform. Negativity appears either as a dialectical moment of passage or as the return of evil in biopolitical governance.
    Radical in Diversity: Europe's Left 2010-2020
  • This volume reviews the full breadth of discussions around the left project from 2010 to 2020, tracking developments within the left across Europe – edited by Amieke Bouma and transform! europe's Cornelia Hildebrandt and Danai Koltsida.
    1969: The Year the Workers Shook the World
  • 1969 was the year of the workers' revolt, which involved a large part of the industrialised world: from Italy to Poland, from France to the U.S.A — a revolt that questioned the unacceptable conditions in which the working classes lived.
    Transport and Climate Crisis – Lessons for the Left
  • Jens Holm invites the European Left to discuss the transition to sustainable transport: how can topics as diverse as the digital revolution, the climate crisis, the future of our cities and global value chains be integrated in one discussion?
    Survey on the European Left Party III
  • The present survey on the Party of the European Left (EL) is based on the answers given to the questionnaires by the delegates on the 5th Congress of the EL, held in Berlin between 16 and 18 December 2016.
    The New Right and the Old Left in South-East Europe
  • In recent years Europe has experienced an unexpected rise in the power and influence of the far-right. At the same time, some of the traditionally most important left-wing parties experienced their demise. To shed a light on the interconnectedness of these two processes, transform! europe offers this eDossier.
    Thinking Europe as a Commons
  • As the German playwright Bertolt Brecht once noted, ‘Thought is something that follows from difficulties and precedes action’. The European Union is in difficulties. So too is the Left.
    Survey on the European Left Party II
  • The present survey on the Party of the European Left is based on the answers given to the questionnaires by the delegates on the 4th Congress of the party of the European Left, held in Madrid between 12 and 15 December 2013.

Calendar

    Athens European Forum 2022
  • The European Forum is a unique space where the left, greens and progressives can come together and share their struggles. We want to formulate — and fight for — alternative, fairer and greener solutions to the crises facing Europe. This year's Forum will be held in Athens on 21-23th of October 2022. Join us!
    Socialism in Our Time
  • Join Jacobin magazine and transform! europe in summery Berlin for two days of stimulating debates and conversations. Leading thinkers from Europe and North America will speak in English and German on what it means to be a socialist today.
    Feminist Forum 2022
  • The 2022 edition of the Feminist Forum of the Left in the European Parliament focuses on resistance and sisterhood. Watch the sessions' recordings.
    Between Two World Wars!
  • Die Zwischenkriegszeit, bis zur Übernahme der Macht durch die Dollfuß Regierung 1932, war eine selten fruchtbare Zeit für die sozialistische intellektuelle und künstlerische Bewegung in Österreich. Im Rahmen der Veranstaltung werden drei Referenzbücher zum Austromarxismus und Sozialismus in der Zwischenkriegszeit in Österreich präsentiert.
    European Forum 2021 – Online Workshops
  • Find here an overview on the workshops on various topical issues in the framework of the European Forum 2021, a unique space where the left, greens and progressives can come together and discuss on ways to built another future for Europe.
    A Century of Communism in Spain
  • On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE), transform! europe's Co-President Marga Ferré participates in the conference, organised by the PCE together with the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM).
    European Forum 2021
  • transform! europe will participate in the 2021 European Forum, a unique space where the left, greens and progressives can come together and discuss on ways to built another future for Europe.
    The World Transformed 2021
  • transform! europe's observer organisation The World Transformed (TWT) hosts an annual festival of politics, arts and music. TWT aims to create spaces for debate and exchange between grassroot activists, politicians, community groups, unionists and interested persons to address social movement’s most pressing issues.
    Left Populism: from the economic crisis to the pandemic
  • In the context of the economic crisis in 2008, political parties from the left such as Syriza, Podemos, and La France Insoumise as well as Corbynism within the Labour Party challenged the politics of austerity and aimed at channeling people’s discontent. These parties, with different orientations,...
    A Vital Labour Day
  • The European Forum of Left, Green and Progressive Forces organised this joint online seminar which aims at supporting trade union activities ahead of the mobilisations on Labour Day, and took place on 28 April, the World Day for Health and Safety at Work.
    150 Years Paris Commune
  • On 18 March, the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of the Paris Commune, the Fondation Gabriel Péri (Paris) and the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation (Berlin) are organising an online event where German and French historians and politicians will discuss their perspectives on the world-historical event. Watch the full video!
    Progressive Solutions for the Pandemic
  • For the first time, political foundations and centers for political training for have joined efforts to discuss left and progressive solutions and ways out of the crisis we live in.
    Where do we go now?
  • The Party of the European Left organises this event to understand the next steps of US politics and its potential consequences for the left.
    Protect the People! Not the System! Weekend of Debate and Exchange in Vienna
  • The Party of the European Left (EL), together with the Communist Party of Austria (CPA/KPÖ) is organizing a weekend of debate and exchange in Vienna, starting with a seminar on Friday, 4 Sept., which is supported by transform! europe. The main focus of the events will be left local politics and international exchange of experiences.
    The World Transformed 2020
  • transform! europe's observer organisation The World Transformed (UK), that hosts the major political festival of the British left every year in September, goes digital!
    Global Dialogue for Systemic Change
  • To share analysis, experiences, and alternatives in the face of growing health, social, economic, political, and environmental crises and to engage in national, continental, and worldwide discussions about the challenges we are facing, transform! europe supports the Global Dialogue for Systemic Change. We invite you to join in this process!

Webinars

    Genoa 2021 – The Struggle for Another World Continues
  • On the occasion of the anniversary of the 2001 Genoa protests against the G8 Summit, this series of events focuses on the political significance of the European Social Forums and the paths and prospects for alternative global movements. Watch the full recordings.
    Global Dialogue for Systemic Change
  • To share analysis, experiences, and alternatives in the face of growing health, social, economic, political, and environmental crises and to engage in national, continental, and worldwide discussions about the challenges we are facing, transform! europe supports the Global Dialogue for Systemic Change. We invite you to join in this process!