"The body remains on the ground, but the ideas remain standing" (Victor Hugo)

In yet another sudden and sharp event, highly characteristic of the period of history we are living through, a surprise offensive by Syrian Islamist militants is fast unravelling Syria. Israel’s western-backed wars against Gaza and Lebanon have upended the fragile equilibrium in the Middle East and pulled a thread that has begun unwinding the fabric of the region.

After four years of relative stasis, the Syrian civil war was reignited this week by a sudden rebel offensive on Aleppo. In order to answer the questions this raises from a Marxist perspective, we are republishing this reading guide.

This week has been full of sharp and sudden turns. The Syrian civil war has suddenly reignited due to the shock advance of a Turkey-backed rebel group. The French president was forced to resign after trying to force through an austerity budget. Joe Biden has used his last few weeks in power to pardon his corrupt son. And, to top things off, the president of South Korea declared martial law, only to be quickly defeated by opposition from the whole of parliament and mass mobilisations. 

On 30 November and 1 December, over 160 activists took part in the founding congress of the Revolutionary Communist Party (PCR), held in Ivry-sur-Seine. Comrades came from the Paris region, Toulouse, Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, Montpellier, Grenoble, Reims, Gap, Lyon, Rennes, Morlaix, Brest, Nantes, Lille, Bourges, Dax, Cherbourg and Val d'Ajol.

The Irish general election has returned the two main capitalist parties to the Dáil with enough seats to form the core of a new coalition. The establishment is forcing a weak smile and trying to celebrate. “The choice of the Irish people is clear,” The Irish Times attempted to convince itself, “they want more of the same”.

A spectacular political whirlwind has taken place in South Korea, where the President suddenly declared martial law in the name of “defending the country from pro-North Korean forces,” only to be forced to roll it back in a matter of hours. Why did this extraordinary move turn into a farce so quickly, and what forces has this unleashed in the crisis-ridden country?

Barring a dramatic turn of events, the Barnier government will fall tomorrow or Thursday. A new reprieve could only come from a last-minute retreat by the RN (National Rally) or the PS (Socialist Party). But these two parties would have nothing to gain – and a lot to lose.

Trotsky’s theory of the permanent revolution is one of the most important, but also amongst the most misunderstood ideas in the entire Marxist tradition. Does it really mean that revolution needs to happen everywhere, all at once? Does it ignore workers outside of the West? Is it contrary to Lenin’s views? Josh Holroyd, leading member of the Revolutionary Communist International, takes up these questions and explains the real essence of Trotsky’s remarkable contribution to our theoretical arsenal.

The weeks that follow a presidential election, when the outgoing President occupies himself with putting the finishing touches on his legacy while leaving it to the President-elect to put together the team that will take the reins of power, are usually a fallow period in US politics. Not this time.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Ethiopian Revolution, which began as an uprising against the semi-feudal despotism of Emperor Haile Selassie but would go much further, culminating in the abolition of capitalism in the country. In this article, Ben Curry, gives an account of these dramatic events, and explains the complex processes that shaped the revolution’s course.

85,000 students went on strike last week against Israel’s ongoing slaughter in Gaza. This was the largest student strike over international solidarity that Canada has ever seen.

French capitalism has entered a new period of massive job destruction. Announcements of closures and redundancy plans are multiplying: Michelin, Auchan, ArcelorMittal, and many others. According to the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), 150,000 industrial jobs are at risk in the short term. By closing down production, contractors are setting off a chain reaction, with suppliers and subcontractors filing for bankruptcy or laying off their own workers.

On 23 November, more than 500 comrades from across Italy filled the rooms of the Frentani Congress Centre in Rome for the launch of the Revolutionary Communist Party (PCR). This meeting was the culmination of a months-long political campaign, stretching from Trento to Messina; but, above all, it represented a new beginning and an appeal to anyone who wants to mobilise against inequality, war and the innumerable forms of oppression engendered by the capitalist system.

On Thursday 21 November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) finally issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, Israel’s prime minister and former defence minister respectively, for ‘war crimes’.