• 7. Activism & Organization

For a Long-term Struggle Rooted in Society

Times of structural crises always contain the possibility of democratic offensives, but also reactionary developments. There is undoubtedly a great deal of potential for a democratic awakening in times of capitalist crisis. Democratic forces and militants of progressive, revolutionary and system-critical movements can take initiative to impulse and organize social struggles in a short time that will determine the future in the long term.

Yet the organizational crisis of the democratic forces in Europe in this context is a key reason why we are unable to respond adequately to the attacks of capitalist modernity on societies and use the existing opportunities to expand democracy against the state. What distinguishes us from the rulers and what gives them the power to take initiative is the degree of our organisation and our consciousness. To resist against imperialism, militarism, the rise of fascism, ecocide, femicides, genocide and to build autonomy, we need collective self-empowerment and organisation of the people. Organisation enables us to form a realistic picture of the actual situation, to understand the world in order to change it. Organisation gives us the strength to consciously and decisively take action with courage and initiative. However, it only becomes reality through the conscious action of people themselves.

Even though these are well known truths, we see a different picture in reality. The organizational image of democratic forces sheds light on the different kinds of limits that democratic forces face in Europe. We see groups that remain at a theoretical, ideological level, while others pursue political work rooted in society, without ideological and theoretical foresight. Others try to be the voice of society in parliaments by resorting to left-wing populism, which often ends fatally in state integration or isolation. We are witnessing effective, singular, particularist struggles and campaigns that lack a holistic perspective and therefore long-termism. The NGO-ization of resistance has various facets. A process of progressive “self-sufficiency of militant groups” can be observed, while it can be said that militants do not exist if they do not work with society. And a “specialization of militancy” can also be seen, where everyone delves into one topic without organization and without linking it to other subejcts.

It is therefore time to put our strategies and tactics, our forms of organisation, and our everyday practice to the test. We need to examine together our understanding and practice of organisation and militancy. Because the exit from chaos will be determined by the force that has the most effective organisation, the correct analysis of the objective conditions, a goal-oriented strategy and the right tactics, as well as the courage and initiative to take decisive action at the necessary moment.

The 50-year experience of the Kurdistan Freedom Movement provides a source of inspiration showing how effective, long-term values and methods can be developed under the most difficult circumstances, but also how changes can be brought about. These experiences from theory and practice with regard to the question of avant-garde, party, organization, comradeship, personality, education, etc. should be discussed as concrete perspectives for overcoming the organizational crisis. Given that capitalist modernity is highly systematized on an international level, the question of building a transnational organisational framework within the Peoples Platform Europe is also a central strategic concern.

Some key points that we want to discuss together:

• What is our understanding of organization and militancy? What does it mean to be organized and to be an activist/militant?
• What is the connection between paradigm, theory, program, strategy, tactics, action and organisation?
• How can we assess the current organizational situation of anti-systemic forces in Europe? What are the prevailing methods and cultures of organizing?
• What are the obstacles and the problematic approaches to the question of organization and militancy/activism?
• What are perspectives for overcoming the organizational crisis and developing an active interventionist struggle?
• What is needed for a transnational European framework – the Peoples’ Platform Europe – to develop common strategies and tactics? How can we form an organised force in Europe?
• What does internationalism mean in an organizational sense? How can the platform connect local, regional, national and international struggles and achieve more than just an exchange of experiences?

Join the group and the work to reclaim the initiative in building the right way of organization and militancy!