Left Radical Internationalism, the Fracturing of the Second International, and Founding of the Third International, 1910-1920

Between 1910 and 1920, an international faction of revolutionary Marxists organized itself first inside and against the Second International, and then outside of it, with the aim of finding a new revolutionary International. This dissertation explores the origins, development, and the dissolution of this movement, which is defined as “Left Radical Internationalism” Although the historiography has approached different national groups that were a part of this radical movement (like the Dutch Tribunists, Russian Bolsheviks, or German left-radical groups), this is the first work that analyzes the movement’s evolution as an international faction beyond the limits of nar- row national settings. The dissertation reveals the international organizational structure of the Left Radical Internationalist movement, as well as the global scope, content, and shape of its intellectual development as a collective. Left Radical Internationalism formed its initial organizational center (the Zimmerwald Left Bureau) in 1915 as a radical anti-war group. The dissertation compares this structure with its political counterparts, most importantly the International Socialist Bureau (ISB) of the Second International and the Bern International Socialist Commission of the Zimmerwald Movement, to illuminate its organizational originality. In addition, it analyzes the evolution of the Left Radical Internationalist tendency’s organizational structure at various key moments, most importantly, the establishment of the Communist International and its Bureaus in 1919 and the dissolution of the original Left Radical Internationalist organizational structure immediately before the Second Congress of the Communist International in 1920. Throughout, the dissertation ex- plores the evolution of intellectual and political positions of this unique revolutionary group. One of the most important findings of the dissertation is the centrality of the “Mass Action Debate” in the evolution of left-radical positions. Starting from 1910, the mass action debate informed and determined the Left Radical Internationalist perspective and strategy on vital political and organi- zational questions, including war, imperialism, trade unions, parliaments, and organization. Until the founding of the Communist International, the Left Radical Internationalists’ defense of mass action tactics constituted the key impulse for their distinctive politics. Title Page Abstract Preface Table of Contents List of Tables List of Figures I. Introduction II. Insurrectionary Internationalism and the Nineteenth Century European Origins of Communist Internationalism A. Eighteenth Century Civil Society and the Emergence of Secret Societies in Europe B. The Nineteenth Century: Transition From Conspiracy to Revolution 1. Development of the Underground Organizational Model in the Early 19th Century 2. Blanquists, the Communist League and the First International Communist Society: “The International Society of Revolutionary Communists” 3. The First International C. The Formation of the Second International III. The Second International and Its Central Organ: The Composition, Culture and Function of the International Socialist Bureau (ISB) 1900-1914 A. The Organizational Evolution of the ISB 1. Functions of the ISB 2. The Composition and the Culture of the ISB 3. Bourgeois Pacifist Movements in the Early Twentieth Century and the ISB's Peace Strategy B. Crisis of Bourgeois Pacifism and the Collapse of the ISB IV. The Mass Strike Debate inside the Second International: Theoretical Foundations of the Left- Radical Internationalism A. The Birth of the Modern Working-Class Masses B. The Mass Action Debate in Germany 1. The First Stage: 1904-1906 The Mass Strike Debate Begins 2. The Second Stage: 1910 as a Turning Point 3. The Third Stage: 1910-1914 C. The Mass Action Debate in the Russian Social Democratic Movement V. Towards a Left-Radical Internationalist Theory A. The Left-Radical Internationalists’ Analysis of the War 1. War and Imperialism 2. Left-Radical Internationalists on the “Collapse of the Second International” 3. Left-Radical Internationalists for a “New Revolutionary International” B. The Organizational Formation of the Left-Radical Internationalist Nucleus in the Second International before the War 1. Towards an LRI Faction Inside the Second International (1908-1914) 2. The Turning Point: The Radek Affair (1911-1914) VI. The First Steps towards LRI Reorganization: August 1914 to Fall 1915 A. The Shock of War and the Dissolution of the ISB B. The first LRI Reactions and socialist Anti-war Meetings in Switzerland in 1915 C. The International Peace Conferences in Bern in 1915 1. International Socialist Anti-War Women’s Conference 2. International Socialist Youth Conference in Bern, 1915 D. The Zimmerwald Moment VII. The Zimmerwald Left Fraction A. Formation of the Zimmerwald Left B. The Test of Strength for the Zimmerwald Left: Towards a Second Conference 1. The Kienthal Conference, 24-30 April 1916 C. The Growth of the Zimmerwald Left Fraction in 1916 1. The Youth International and the New Generation of Militants 2. LRI Growth in the Neutral Countries and the Role of the Emigres Militants 3. Some Brief Reflections on the Historical Roots of the Comintern VIII. The Zimmerwald Left Fraction at an Impasse, From March 1917 to March 1919 A. March Revolution and the Question of Socialist (re-)Unification 1. The Zimmerwald Left Between March and September 1917 B. The Seizure of Power by the Soviets in Russia and the Question of Dictatorship 1. The Question of Timing: When to Seize Power? 2. The Question of Form: Soviets and Proletarian Dictatorship IX. The Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty and the Isolation of the Revolution in the East A. The International Disorganization of the Zimmerwald Left and Reorganization Attempts, November 1917 to March 1919 1. East and East-Central Europe in 1918: LRI Organizational Consolidation Around the Soviet Power 2. The First Soviet Attempts to Forge Links with Western European Left Radical Internationalists: London, Berlin, and the Swiss Soviet Diplomatic Missions in 1918 X. The First Comintern Congress in Moscow, March 1919 A. On the Timing and Location of the Founding Congress: Why Moscow and Why March 1919 1. Why March 1919? 2. Why Moscow? B. The Congress’ Composition 1. Who Was Invited and Why? 2. Composition of the Congress C. The Agenda of the Congress 1. The Assessment of the Post-War Situation 2. Soviet Dictatorship versus Parliamentary Democracy 3. Founding of the International D. Conclusion XI. The First Year of the Comintern: The Creation of the Comintern Bureaus, 1919 A. Asynchronic Development of the Global Class Conflict and the First Stage of the Bureau System: Summer-Spring, 1919 1. The Comintern’s Response to the Asynchrony 2. The System of Bureaus as an Internationally Centralized Network a) The Southern or the Ukrainian Bureau b) The Scandinavian Bureau B. The Reorganization of International Centers and the Formation of the Amsterdam Bureau C. The Amsterdam Conference and the North Atlantic LRI Scene 1. The Challenge of Centrist Social Democracy 2. Parliamentarism 3. Trade Unions 4. The Question of Party Unity 5. International Action D. Conclusion XII. The Splits in the Central and West European Communist Parties and the Collapse of the Comintern Bureau System, 1919-1920 A. Defeat of the Global Workers’ Movement and Divisions in the LRI Movement B. The Splintering of the KPD and Formation of the Communist Workers Party of Germany (KAPD) C. The Fractional Struggle inside Germany turns into a Fractional Struggle inside the Communist International: the KPD Zentrale versus the Amsterdam Bureau of the Comintern D. The ECCI Position: Moscow between Berlin and Amsterdam 1. Lenin's “Left-Wing Communism: An Infantile Disorder” E. Conclusion XIII. The Second Comintern Congress (1920) and the Split in the Comintern A. The Tendencies Represented in the Congress B. The Second Congress Debates 1. The Bolsheviks’ Approach C. The Source of Discord: The Meridian Thesis and the Question of the Tempo of the World Revolution 1. The Parliamentary Question 2. Trade Unions 3. Party and Unity D. Conclusion: The Gradual Tripartite Dissolution of the LRI Movement XIV. Conclusion Bibliography