Imperialist War and the International Communist Movement

Jun 6, 2025

The KKE is in the process of preparing for its 22nd Congress, due to take place at the end of 2025.

In this context, the Central Committee of the KKE has elaborated and published a series of Resolutions addressing key issues in the activities of the KKE. These resolutions were published in the journal “Communist Review”, a theoretical and political organ of the CC of the KKE, and are currently being discussed throughout the organs and organisations of the Party and KNE. They are listed below in the order in which they were published:

On the escalation of the imperialist war, the sharpening of the imperialist competition and the preparation of the Party.
On the course of Party building from the 21st to the 22nd Party Congress. Results - conclusions - remarks, as elements that strengthen the preconditions for the Party to become the political guider of the workers’ movement, organizer of the anti-capitalist and anti-monopoly alliance.
On the course of ideological work from the 21st to the 22nd Congress. Results, conclusions and plans to improve the political guidance work.
On the labour - trade union movement, and questions of ideological and political struggle.

Below, we present an extensive excerpt from the Resolution of the CC of the KKE (December 2024) on imperialist war, imperialist competition and the preparation of the KKE. The extract, which concerns developments in the International Communist Movement against the backdrop of the imperialist war, reads as follows:

Β. IMPERIALIST WAR AND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNIST MOVEMENT

The imperialist war in Ukraine has provoked new and has deepened old ideological–political divisions in the ranks of what we call the International Communist Movement (ICM), which, as we have assessed at the 21st Congress, is in a deep crisis: “A fierce ideological–political struggle is being waged among the ranks of the ICM on a number of issues, such as the analysis–interpretation of contemporary phenomena of capitalism and the international imperialist system”.

Thus, in addition to the debate that has been going on for the past few years on:

- what imperialism is,

- the attitude towards inter-imperialist contradictions,

- the attitude towards social democratic forces and “progressive” governments,

- the character of our times,

- the character and the role of the working class,

- the principles of socialist construction,

the questions of the imperialist war and the attitude of the CPs towards the bourgeoisie of their country and its imperialist alliances have been raised more insistently.

Of course, the above ideological–political questions are also directly related to the debate that has arisen around the issues of war.

This is because the CPs that identified imperialism with the aggressive foreign policy of the USA and some powerful European capitalist states while embellishing the role of other capitalist states, now see in Russia, China and Iran some “anti-imperialist powers” or even an “anti-imperialist axis”. Such forces, which arbitrarily and unscientifically disregard the inter-imperialist contradictions and competition, which are the root cause of imperialist wars, estimate that sooner or later a “just” and “peaceful” “multi-polar world” will emerge. Some of them support the capitalist EU or capitalist China and Russia as “new poles” and “counterweights” to the USA, more or less identifying their interests with the interests of the working class and the popular strata of their countries.

Two points are of great importance:

α) The character of China. Those CPs that have not come to a conclusion about the capitalist character of China, misinterpret its conflict with the USA for supremacy in the international capitalist system as a “conflict between socialism and capitalism”.

b) Those parties that have not overcome the rationale of stages, i.e. a supposed intermediate stage towards socialism, and see fascism as a “diversion from bourgeois democracy” rather than the child of capitalism, are prone to “anti-fascist” rhetoric, which translates into notions of “anti-fascist fronts” and an “anti-fascist war” utilized by bourgeois forces and governments to promote their anti-people objectives, political alliances and even war. It is crucial that a number of CPs have not studied history and reproduce the notion that has prevailed for many decades in the International Communist Movement that the Second World War was “anti-fascist” and just (not imperialist) on the part of the entire anti-Hitler alliance (and not only on the part of the USSR and the partisan movements).

A few days after the outbreak of the imperialist war in Ukraine, the KKE, together with the Communist Party of Mexico, the Communist Party of the Workers of Spain and the Communist Party of Turkey, took the initiative and adopted an important joint document on the nature and causes of the imperialist war, the orientation of the struggle of the CPs and the attitude towards the bourgeoisie, which was signed by dozens of CPs and Communist Youth Organizations from all over the world, with a positive influence on the general ideological–political struggle.

These questions were also opened up in the contributions of the CPs at the International Meetings of Communist and Workers’ Parties (IMCWPs) held in Cuba (2022) and Izmir (2023) and were expressed in the different resolutions that were tabled.

The situation in the IMCWP is very problematic, as also demonstrated by the veto (…) on an Extraordinary IMCWP in Istanbul in solidarity with the peoples of Palestine and Lebanon, which would be hosted by the Communist Party of Turkey.

At the same time, a number of CPs participating in the IMCWPs (…) are holding the so-called “International Anti-Fascist Forum” (for the second year).

In addition, while the 22nd IMCWP was taking place in Havana, the “World Anti-Imperialist Platform (WAP)” was founded in Paris, on the initiative of a South Korean party with the participation of parties that also take part in the IMCWPs (...) as well as the ruling party of Venezuela. In the two years of its activity, the WAP has openly and repeatedly attacked our Party with provocative arguments.

Moreover, the President of Venezuela, in the presence of representatives of the CPs of Latin America (...), announced the foundation of the “Anti-Fascist International”.

The imperialist war in Ukraine has affected both the International Communist Review (ICR) and the European Communist Initiative (ECI), which our Party founded together with other CPs.

Therefore, the ICR had to revise its Founding Declaration and tighten the criterion for the attitude of the CPs towards the imperialist war, which was approved by 6 parties (KKE, CP of Mexico, CP of the Workers of Spain, CP of Turkey, Union of Communists of Ukraine and CP of Venezuela) while three parties withdrew (...). Parties that agree with the basic direction of the revised Declaration (Party of Labour of Austria, New CP of the Netherlands, Socialist Movement of Kazakhstan, CP of Sweden) but do not participate in the ICR on a regular basis are also contributing to its efforts.

The European Communist Initiative (ECI), founded in 2013, experienced a crisis when the war broke out in Ukraine, as a group of CPs considered the war imperialist, another group considered it anti-fascist and a third group sat on the fence. Under these circumstances, our Party, together with the Communist Party of the Workers of Spain and the Communist Party of Turkey, contributed to the foundation of the European Communist Action (ECA), with a new Founding Declaration that also takes into account the questions of the imperialist war. Twelve CPs participate in the ECA, namely the Party of Labour of Austria, the Communist Workers’ Party for Peace and Socialism (Finland), the Communist Revolutionary Party of France, the Communist Party of Greece, the Workers Party of Ireland, the Communist Front (Italy), the New Communist Party of the Netherlands, the Communist Party of the Workers of Spain, the Communist Party of Sweden, the Swiss Communist Party, the Communist Party of Turkey and the Union of Communists of Ukraine.

In this difficult and complex situation, our Party works by supporting the CPs we co-operate with, by spreading its positions on the imperialist war and other important issues, with the aim of opening a meaningful discussion within the CPs and the Communist Youth Organizations.

ON THE COMMUNIST MOVEMENT IN GENERAL

Speaking of the CPs participating in the European Communist Action and the International Communist Review, and those that support these efforts, we must bear in mind that they have emerged from splits of parties that have been eroded by opportunism and co-opted into the system and the aspirations of capital.

Under conditions of hard ideological–political struggle, cadres or groups of cadres and members that had faith in Marxism–Leninism and communist principles, dissociated themselves, acquired a political guidance and organizational structure, and built party organizations. With few forces, no infrastructure and no financial means, they tried to lay the foundations for the elaboration of their strategic directions, to formulate political positions, to establish ties with the working class and to work among its ranks and among the youth, especially among the university students.

There is heterogeneity and a different pace in their ideological-political and organizational development, as well as among their members. To one degree or another, most of the parties have taken steps forward, trying to study capitalism in their country and the history of the communist movement, and to draw conclusions. They follow the ideological–political work of the KKE, its struggle in the workers’ and people’s movement and among the youth, and we exchange views. Some parties have elaborated and continue to elaborate their strategy, opposing and overcoming the concept of transitional stages, supporting that our era is an era of transition from capitalism to socialism and that the character of the revolution is socialist. They defend the October Socialist Revolution, the construction of socialism in the USSR and some of them try to study the causes and factors of the overthrows to the best of their ability. Although they are taking small steps, the efforts of these parties are of great importance, because they are communists who have opposed the opportunist erosion, have overcome to one degree or another the erroneous strategic conceptions that have dominated the International Communist Movement for decades, and are trying, together with the KKE, to form stronger revolutionary bases and support the goal of regrouping the communist movement. Today, they are making an important contribution in the fierce struggle that is being waged on the fundamental issues of the imperialist war and on other fronts.

(...)

The ideological–political support of these parties is a primary duty and priority of our Party, directed in the following manner:

- Consistent monitoring of their activities, systematic bilateral in-person communication or teleconferences to exchange views and experience.

- Organized discussions on various issues of the ideological–political struggle. We need to be more demanding in organizing ideological support.

- Strengthening the collective preparation for the ECA and ICR meetings and readiness, which will allow us to answer questions and address concerns, and contribute to the decisive fight against bourgeois and opportunist positions.

- Substantial cooperation in regional meetings and the International Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties and joint study of the experience of the ideological–political struggle.

In addition to the parties with which we cooperate closely, there are CPs on all continents with which we maintain good relations. These parties follow the elaborations and evaluate positively the activity of the KKE.

A separate category are the new forces that are trying to build CPs in their countries and to establish links with the KKE (Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, USA, Ecuador, Cyprus, Latvia, Moldova, Russia, etc.) Each case must be examined carefully and individually.

The work of our Party over the years has created a positive atmosphere among many communists, youth and workers in Europe and other regions. We have seen this in the support we received in the battle our Party fought with SYRIZA, the approval expressed in the principled stand and initiatives of the KKE in the imperialist war in Ukraine and the Middle East, the positive response to the rise in the elections, but also in the expression of solidarity with the struggles of the All Workers’ Militant Front (PAME), the workers’ and people’s struggles.

We are strengthening our internationalist solidarity and enriching our intervention in this crucial area, not only against imperialist aggression, repression and anti-communism, but with methodical support for initiatives, workers’ and people’s struggles to overcome problems faced by the CPs, trade unions, workers’ and people’s forces.

We safeguard and strengthen the cooperation with the CPs of the ECA and the ICR and formulate a plan for the development of joint action and cooperation with the CPs and communist forces that follow and evaluate positively the action of the KKE and the KNE and are concerned about the situation of the communist movement. A methodical and persistent work with these forces, with the support of the Party Organizations of the KKE abroad, will contribute to the efforts to regroup the communist movement in each country and internationally.

The framework that we formulated at the 21st Congress remains relevant. We enrich it further and seek joint action and cooperation with the CPs and communist forces that meet the following criteria:

a) Defend Marxism–Leninism and proletarian internationalism, the need to form a communist pole at an international level.

b) Fight against opportunism and reformism, reject the centre–left management, any king of bourgeois management of capitalism, the participation in or support of bourgeois governments and any other variant of the strategy of stages.

c) Defend the scientific laws of socialist revolution and construction, based on which they assess the course of socialist construction and seek to research and to draw lessons from the problems and mistakes, and reject market socialism.

d) Condemn the imperialist war and highlight the responsibilities of the bourgeois classes. Have a clear ideological front against erroneous views about imperialism, especially those that detach military aggression from the economic content of imperialism. They have a front against any imperialist alliance. They refuse to take sides in the imperialist conflict.

e) Establish ties with the working class, are active in the trade union movement and the movement of the popular sections of the middle strata, seeking to integrate the struggle for the rights of the workers and the people into a contemporary revolutionary strategy for workers’ power.

f) Do not detach the anti-war and anti-fascist struggle from the struggle against capitalism, which gives rise to war and fascism. They reject the phony “anti-fascism” and the various “anti-fascist fronts” that bourgeois and opportunist forces utilize to entrap the peoples in their plans.

The Party Organizations of the KKE abroad have contributed to the support and promotion of the KKE’s policy in the countries where they struggle. Today they can assume additional responsibilities, to pursue more substantially the objective of playing a more influential role in the development of the communist movement in each country through their action, in cooperation with the International Relations Section of the CC.

This task presupposes:

- The strengthening of independent ideological–political work and mass action in every country, in every big city, in big factories and enterprises, in education and health institutions, with planning, contact lists, with greater insistence on the local workers, taking into account the problems faced by the workers, the situation experienced by the attack of capital and the policies of the anti-people governments.

- The intensity of the struggle against the bourgeois parties, especially with social democracy, which works methodically to manipulate the workers, controls and has tied the trade union movement in Europe and other regions to the chariot of capital. Against opportunism which is working corrosively, utilizing mutated CPs, the Party of the European Left (EL), the so-called “World Anti-Imperialist Platform” and other political formations.

- Work in the direction of organizing communists and friends of the Party into the trade unions, with independent work and elaborate frameworks of action aimed at the formation of cells and struggle committees, by Greek and local workers. This effort should oppose the leaderships and mechanisms of the employer-led trade unions and social democracy. We must work in coordination with the CPs with which our Party cooperates, aiming to participate in the bodies of the trade union movement.

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