International Socialists (Netherlands)

International Socialists
Leader Central Committee
Ideology Trotskyism
International affiliation International Socialist Tendency
Website
http://socialisme.nu/blog/
Kingdom of the Netherlands
Azure, billetty Or a lion with a coronet Or armed and langued Gules holding in his dexter paw a sword Argent hilted Or and in the sinister paw seven arrows Argent pointed and bound together Or. [The seven arrows stand for the seven provinces of the Union of Utrecht.] The shield is crowned with the (Dutch) royal crown and supported by two lions Or armed and langued gules. They stand on a scroll Azure with the text (Or) "Je Maintiendrai" (French for "I will maintain".)
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International Socialists (Dutch: Internationale Socialisten) is a revolutionary, Trotskyist organisation in the Netherlands. It is part of the International Socialist Tendency led by the British Socialist Workers Party.

2009 Marxism Festival, Amsterdam

Ideology

The IS believes that real change in the Netherlands can only come through revolution, although it is not opposed in principle to electoral work. It does not participate in such work at present, but believes in an activist party. The IS sees itself as standing in the tradition of people like Leon Trotsky, Vladimir Lenin and Rosa Luxemburg. It is anti-capitalist, anti-war and in general against "all ideas that put people against people", like racism, sexism and homophobia. Currently, the Internationale Socialisten are largely active in the anti-war and anti-racism movements, as well as in the resistance against the austerity measures of the rightwing minority government of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy of prime-minister Mark Rutte and the Christian Democratic Appeal, which is supported by the Party for Freedom of Geert Wilders and the Reformed Political Party.

Surrounding De Nederlandsche Bank, 2009

Politically, the IS is located on the left of more mainstream leftwing parties like the Socialistische Partij and GroenLinks. It is part of the International Socialist Tendency, which also includes the British Socialist Workers Party and the German Linksruck.

Activities

Anti-Fortuyn poster of the International Socialists with the slogan "Stop de Hollandse Haider" (English: "Stop the Dutch Haider") near the house of Pim Fortuyn in Rotterdam on 6 May 2002

The IS does not participate at present in parliamentary democracy and does not stand candidates at elections. Instead, it puts much of its energy in outreach, education and protest activities. It sees much value in the productions of its monthly magazine De Socialist, formatted on the example of the Socialist Workers Party's (SWP) Socialist Worker newspaper. De Socialist is sold at any protest meeting or demonstration at which the IS is present, as well as on the street. The IS also publishes a wide range of booklets, both translations of SWP books and original material.

Every year, the IS organises its own 'Marxism school', which is open to anybody interested, in which the more theoretical issues of socialism and activism are discussed. It also holds regular discussion meetings and is often present at political meetings organised by other groups, either invited or uninvited.

For its protest actions, the IS has a tradition of working in broad coalitions with other leftwing parties and pressure groups, rather than separately organising actions.

The IS has long worked together with the Socialist Party (SP) in protest actions as well as organisations like the Dutch Social Forum and at their party conference of November 2005, the IS decided to take things a step further by formally entering the party. The IS would still exist as an independent organisation, but its members were asked to join the SP as well and play an active role within that party. The IS sees the relationship between itself and the SP as similar to that of the British SWP with Respect. The SP however does not see the relationship in this way, and viewed the IS as a 'party within a party'. The SP responded by not allowing IS members to be a member of both the IS and the SP in fear of attempts to radicalize its membership by IS members. So far only two out of the nearly 170 local branches have allowed IS members to join the SP.

Internationally, the IS has taken part in the first two European Social Forums held in Florence and Paris, and is often active in international protests.

Influence

The exact membership figures are unknown, but an educated guess would put the amount of active members of the Internationale Socialisten at roughly a few hundred. Its members and sympathisers are largely found in the big Dutch cities and university towns and large parts of its members are students or former students.

See also

External links

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