Chapter I: The Rebellion is Brought to the North — Internationalism and National Liberation
To Preserve Their Freedom (1988) is one of 41 paintings by artist Jacob Lawrence (1917–2000), which look at the life of Haitian revolutionary Toussaint Louverture.
The Palestinian resistance has brought the national question back to the fore, casting a harsh light on the contradictions in the imperialist system, which is prepared to commit the greatest crimes against humanity to preserve its fading grip.
The relationship of internationalism and struggles for national liberation is as old as the tradition of internationalism. Modernity had delivered slavery, misery and humiliation to the colonies, while powering the unprecedented development of the European ruling classes. In seeking a rupture from that system, the anti-colonial movements of Asia, Africa and Latin America would mount a serious challenge to imperialism and capitalism itself.
How did the early engagement between Marxism and an insurgent anti-colonial movement reshape the trajectory of global political thought the 20th century? And why will the revolution not begin in the Global North, but be brought to the North by the militancy and resistance of the periphery?
In this Chapter:
- Unit 1: Internationalism and National Liberation
- Unit 2: The Epistemological Shift — Marxism Moves to the East and to the South
- Unit 3: The Cold War as Global Counterrevolution
- Unit 4: Palestine Brings the Rebellion to the North