National liberation

Robert Mugabe—how an anti-colonialist hero became an authoritarian nationalist

Robert Mugabe was a hero of the struggle against colonialism and first leader of independent Zimbabwe. He then became a compromiser with imperialism—and finally a dictator.

After Catalonia’s independence referendum - national struggles, Marxism and class

Some on the left see battles for independence as dividing workers, while others back them as fights for liberation. Dave Sewell looks at how to judge national struggles

Vietnam—a graveyard for the US’s imperial ambitions

A new ten-part documentary sets itself up as the definitive account of the Vietnam War. It brings out new voices and footage, but obscures the truth

Fury in Turkey after bombing

Strikes and protests gripped Turkey on Monday and Tuesday of this week in response to the bombing of a peace march last Saturday—and the government’s attempts to deflect blame.

Imperialism and struggles for national liberation

Tomáš Tengely-Evans explains how a socialist response to demands for ‘national liberation’ have to take into account the role of imperialism

The limits of Scottish nationalism

The Scottish National Party is making headway as the independence referendum nears, but, says Iain Ferguson, the party is trapped by its attempt to please both the rich and the poor at the same time

French Resistance: Did the ‘Army of Crime‘ die for France?

06 October 2009
The French Resistance is often presented as a national liberation struggle. Both Communists and the followers of right wing General de Gaulle saw it as a nationalist movement against German occupation. It is only relatively recently that historians have written about the non-French fighters.

Imperialism, nationalism and national liberation struggles

26 August 2008
The recent war in the Caucasus between Russia and Georgia has highlighted once again the complex question of national rights. National antagonisms and nationalism are often put forward as explanations for war. Nationality and nations are portrayed as age-old.

Mao Zedong and the Chinese Revolution

14 August 2007
In the first part of our new series on China Charlie Hore looks at the impact of the Communist Party’s victory

Rewards to imperialism

06 June 2007
By 1967 the US was losing its long and bitter war in Vietnam with the Viet Cong, the peasant-based guerrilla national liberation movement. It was terrified by the prospect of the anti?imperialist movement spreading to the Middle East.

Breathing new life into the struggle for change in Africa

03 February 2007
In the 1960s and 1970s, Africa was symbolised by both colonial devastation and the national liberation struggles that swept the colonisers' regimes away.

Indonesia's left comes together

27 January 2007
Up to 400 people attended the founding conference of the National Liberation Party of Unity (Papernas) last weekend.

Director Serge Le Péron on 'I Saw Ben Barka Get Killed'

28 October 2006
The socialist Mehdi Ben Barka was a leading figure in the national liberation movement which won Morocco independence from France in 1956. While in exile in the 1960s he continued to play a role in the anti-colonial movement internationally.

The Zapatistas launch their ‘Other Campaign’

24 September 2005
Eleven years and nine months have elapsed since the fateful New Year’s Day 1994 when the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) conquered San Cristobal de las Casas, the capital of the Mexican state of Chiapas.

The real liberators of Italy

30 April 2005
One of the greatest myths about the Second World War is that Allied armies liberated Europe from Nazism on their own. The truth is that many national liberation movements played a key role in driving the Nazis out of their own countries.