From November 21–26 , International Socialist Alternative held its 14th World Congress. Held in Kiel, Germany — the site of the 1918 sailor’s mutiny that kicked off the German Revolution and ended the First World War — delegates and visitors from across the world met to discuss the analysis, programme and strategy necessary for building a revolutionary Marxist movement today.
The meeting took place against the backdrop of international turmoil for the capitalist system. The runup to the congress itself was testament to this, with Trump’s decisive election victory, the collapse of the German government and a new missile crisis taking the Ukraine war to a point of further escalation. The COP29 conference in Azerbaijan, which coincided with our World Congress, also illustrated how inter-imperialist rivalry, economic and political instability predominate while our planet burns.
This global turmoil has led to a number of challenges, debates and crises on the left, including within our own organisation. Learning from these debates and strengthening our work through these lessons was a key feature of this congress.
Inter-imperialist conflict
Developing International Socialist Alternative’s analysis of the world we live in has been a key focus of our work from the outset of this new epoch. It is only on the basis of a clear understanding of the world that we can plot an equally clear way forward for working-class struggle. Our perspectives inform our tactics, priorities and the programme we put forward in a given period.
International Socialist Alternative has, over the past few years, elaborated in detail the dynamics of the growing inter-imperialist conflict between Chinese imperialism and its allies, and the rival US-dominated bloc. Most groups on the left have failed to grasp the significance of this conflict, and the new stage it represents for world capitalism. While some have been disoriented by the idea of a ‘multipolar’ world order, or failed to recognize the imperialist nature of the Chinese or Russian regimes, we have explained the ‘bipolar’, imperialist nature of this conflict — and put forward an independent working-class and internationalist approach in opposition to it.
The opening discussion on World Perspectives highlighted the ways in which the inter-imperialist conflict between the world’s two major blocs has only escalated further since our previous 2023 World Congress. This can be seen in the genocidal war on Gaza, which has been spilling over into a regional war throughout the Middle East, as well as the war in Ukraine, which has continued to escalate with the use of British and American long-range missiles, even as thousands of North Korean troops enter the conflict.
The congress outlined and reaffirmed ISA’s understanding of a new epoch characterised by this imperialist bloc conflict. It also analysed the economic backdrop of this conflict — of sluggish growth in the world economy, dragged down by massive levels of debt, and further hampered by protectionism and trade wars.
Particular focus was given to the crisis of Chinese capitalism, where the debt-saddled economy has entered a period of stagnation and decline, which we have previously described as ‘Japanification’ (in reference to Japan’s lengthy deflationary crisis). This will have a profound effect on the rest of the world economy, which will be unable to rely on Chinese debt-fuelled growth to escape future economic downturns as it did after the 2008 ‘Great Recession’.
These processes propel capitalist politics further into crisis and polarisation, as dramatically shown by the return of Donald Trump to the White House, whose hawkish approach to China, and threats of major tariffs will in turn sow the seeds of further conflict and economic crisis.
In this new period of crisis and instability, the ruling class has been forced to rely on nationalism, anti-migrant hatred, state repression, a doubling-down on ‘traditional’ gender roles, and attacks on democratic rights. Italy’s right-wing government has passed new rounds of restrictions on the right to protest, while in Britain, dozens of climate activists sit in prison cells. In the current era, bonapartist methods of “rule by the sword”, and all the ugliest features of this system come increasingly to the fore.
Fighting the right & building a new left
One of these features has been the rise of the right, which has won electoral victories or otherwise made gains in a number of countries, from the US, to Germany, Argentina, India, Romania and beyond. In many cases, these victories represent a backlash against the capitalist establishment, but alongside this is a dangerous hardening of right-wing ideas among some sections of society, reflected in the support base for figures such as Trump in the US and Bolsonaro in Brazil. In this sense, there is a difference between the electoral victory of Trump in 2016 and in 2024, with the latter reflecting a more dangerous shift to the right. Analysing and understanding these trends, as well as how we can fight back against them, was a theme throughout the week, including a commission on fighting the right as well as running through our broader perspectives.
The rise of the right comes in the context of the ongoing weakness of the left and labour movement, which is still in the early stages of recovery following decades of neoliberalism and the collapse of Stalinism. Many young people are drawing radical anti-capitalist conclusions, identifying with the ideas of socialism and communism, and an even wider section of society are willing to take to the streets in protest — as seen in the movement against the genocidal war on Gaza, as well as the massive outpouring of solidarity against the far-right cut across the wave of riots in the UK in August.
At the same time, a lack of leadership, clear strategy, and confused ideas in movements, has often limited their ability to win concrete victories and point a way forward against the false promises of right-wing politicians. Despite many mass movements since the financial crisis of 2008, often finding an expression in new left formations, the working class has not yet scored a decisive victory against the ruling class, allowing reaction to gain the upper hand in the recent period. However, neither have the rising right-wing forces that embody the decay of this system been able to decisively defeat the working masses. To break out of this relative impasse and turn the tide against the right, the rebuilding of powerful organisations of the working class, based on the lessons of recent struggles will be necessary.
Labour & trade union movement
The congress saw discussion around the ongoing reassertion of the trade union movement internationally, such as the wave of unionisation and workers’ action in the US, the impact of the 2022–23 strike wave in Britain, and other struggles in Germany, Argentina and India,and elsewhere. A special commission on our work in the labour movement highlighted the increased preparedness of workers to struggle in many countries, and to reject bad deals put forward by bureaucratic trade union leaders.
The labour upsurge in the US was an important focus of several discussions. Boeing workers won a 38% pay rise this autumn after rejecting a deal negotiated by the union leadership. In turn, some unions have seen new left union leaders emerge, based on a more militant section of union members and leaders, a trend also reflected in Britain’s two largest unions. At the same time, new rank-and-file opposition groups have grown among some sections of workers, such as in the US letter carriers union, where Socialist Alternative has played an important role. A willingness to take action in the workplace mixes with support for figures like Donald Trump, providing new challenges for socialists in the unions.
Delegates and visitors discussed our role in the unions and how we relate to these developments, including the building of a support base for Marxists in the workplaces and among rank-and-file workers, as well as the task of transforming the unions into fighting organisations of the working-class.
Middle East
The mass movement against the genocidal onslaught in Gaza, and the wider escalation of war in the Middle East, is one of the most significant theatres of conflict in the world, and has led to the largest international mass movement in years. International Socialist Alternative has taken a turn toward this movement over the last year, joining massive demonstrations internationally, as well as student encampments and raising the call for workers’ action against the war in the trade unions.
A commission on the situation in the Middle East, the anti-war movement, and our interventions discussed how we can take this work forward over the next period, as well as the work of our section in Israel/Palestine, which is on the ground fighting for socialist change and an end to the slaughter.
Transitional program
A crucial part of the congress was a clear restatement of, and a sharpening of our understanding of the method of connecting today’s struggles with the need for the socialist transformation of society — as outlined in Trotsky’s Transitional Program. Discussions within ISA over the last period have highlighted the importance of a clear understanding of a transitional method to putting forward a clear Marxist, revolutionary approach to advance the struggles of workers, young and oppressed people. To do so, socialists must be prepared to intervene boldly in broader struggles while also clearly demarcating our own profile and strategy in order to convince a wider layer of a Marxist program.
As comrades pointed out, our programme is rooted in our understanding of the ‘objective situation’ — the wider developments in working class organisation, the economy, the political context etc. While the way we raise our demands must be based on the struggles and demands of working-class and oppressed people today, our program is a ‘scientific’ one, grounded in a concrete analysis of what is necessary in the current period, not based merely on what ideas are popular at a given time. More material will be produced over the coming period looking into the importance of a transitional programme, and developing such a programme for the movements of today.
A Marxist approach to fighting oppression
Another feature that ran through our congress, and through many of the discussions and debates in ISA, was our understanding of the struggle against all forms of oppression. It was agreed that we must continue to deepen our Marxist understanding of gender oppression, including on the struggle for trans liberation, as part of a dedicated session on socialist feminism.
Important struggles for bodily autonomy and against gender-based violence have taken place globally — including mass strikes and protests in India following the rape and murder of a young woman doctor, thousands-strong protests in Kenya against femicide, and mass feminist protests in Argentina against Milei’s reactionary government. But now, the feminist wave also finds itself confronted with a right-wing backlash. In this context, a clear socialist feminist approach to fighting back is more essential than ever.
In this context, congress discussed preparation for International Women’s Day on 8 March 2025, as we prepare an international campaign including joint statements and materials to build a socialist feminist struggle against the right-wing backlash against women’s and LGBTQ+ oppression.
However, socialist feminism is also only one pillar of our revolutionary socialist programme to end all forms of oppression rooted in this system, which is a crucial and integrated part of our wider programme. The need to deepen our understanding of racial oppression, as part of preparing for the struggles of this period, was also highlighted.
We also discussed how we can strengthen ISA’s struggle against oppression in practice. Safeguarding within our movement has been an important part of discussions in ISA over the past period, and having a strong approach to the fight against all manifestations of oppression within the labour and socialist movement, as part of our struggle to unite the working class in all its diversity, is a crucial priority for us. This involves drawing up a balance sheet of this work, including identifying mistakes and striving to improve our practice, which was a key task for this World Congress. Stemming out of these discussions, congress approved a number of important updates to our international code of conduct, and elected a new team of safeguarding officers to handle this area of work.
Building a revolutionary international
Coming out of the World Congress, ISA will work tirelessly to strengthen its sections around the world, as well as their integration as part of a genuinely international organisation, fighting for a socialist world. We agreed to deepen coordination around anti-militarism campaigning in the context of the escalating imperialist bloc conflict, and to continue the important work of our Nigeria Solidarity Campaign. A new International Committee (which leads ISA between World Congresses) was also elected, incorporating a new generation of leaders.
A crucial priority for us will be sharpening our Marxist understanding of world events, and the necessary methods to change society. This includes the relaunch of our international political journal, as well as continuing discussions over the coming year. This congress was, in many ways, ‘part one’ of a broader process of discussion, including international events in 2025, and another world congress in the summer of 2026. Coming out of these discussions, we strive for a renewed political clarity and unity, on the basis of open, clear and democratic discussion at every level of our organisation. Part of this process will be the elaboration and agreement of an international programme for the current era, rooted in the key tasks facing revolutionaries and the working masses as a whole.
Our forces are much smaller than what is required to fight for the revolutionary change we need. However, on the basis of a clear, common understanding and approach, we are confident we can take new strides forward as the working class rearms itself in the face of this new era of crisis and imperialist war.
We will publish more materials and reports in due course. If you want to help build an international revolutionary force against capitalist crisis, war and oppression — join us!