Fanning the Flames of War: Further reflections on Ukraine.

On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. Two and a half years on, the war rages on unabated. Instead of focusing on negotiating a ceasefire and ultimately peace agreement, Ukraine requests permission to use Western long-range missiles to attack locations on Russian territory, supposedly as a way of bringing about an end to the war. The USA and UK have not given their permission yet (BBC, 14 September 2024), but a further round of escalation is clearly on the horizon. The left in Europe has struggled to find a coherent position on the war and the divisions between different positions are deepening. In this blog post, I will further reflect on what is at stake in the Ukraine war from a left perspective.

 

Exiting the Factor: Review of Alexander Gallas’ book on strikes and class formation beyond the industrial sector.

In his major, two-volume publication Exiting the Factory: Strikes and Class Formation beyond the Industrial Sector (Bristol University Press, 2024), Alexander Gallas asks ‘what are the class effects of non-industrial strikes – or in how far do they contribute to working class formation?’ (Vol.1, P.12). He successfully demonstrates that collective action in non-industrial sectors too results in class consciousness. Work may change in certain parts of the world towards non-industrial sectors, but workers will always struggle collectively to defend themselves against capitalist exploitation. In this review, I will highlight some of the key achievements of Gallas’ publication.