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Публикувана на 03 Март 2013

Sofia, 8 Madrid. blvd New Left Perspectives: Lecture by Michael Burawoy
What is the fate of Marxism after Communism? Death? Resurrection? Appropriation? As a scientific research program that evolves in response to historical challenges and internal contradictions, Marxism is a living tradition. Its roots can be found in the canonical works of Marx and Engels. Its trunk is formed from the continually-revised theory of capitalism’s dynamics. Its different branches reflect the particular exigencies under which they grow or shrink, progress or regress. Recognizing this tradition – with its foundations, its trunk and its branches – leads us to situate contemporary Marxism as a response to the global expansion of the market, and as such we can talk of a “sociological Marxism,” based in a distinctive notion of socialism.
Is it the Fall of the Great Mediator?
от Stefan Krastev-
Публикувана на 24 Февруари 2013

In the bestiary of east European political monsters Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov is a peculiarly elusive species. When he first came to power in 2009 both the remains of the 1990s liberal anticommunist concert (think tanks-media-the old right wing parties), and the ordinary people were thrusting contradictory hopes on Borisov’s shoulders. The liberal elite was seeing in him a handy populist tool that could be skillfully used to further the perpetually unfinished neoliberal reform package and stabilize its shaking ideological hegemony. Ordinary people on the other hand voted Borisov hoping to put a halt to the enchanted spirals of the never ending transition and to take revenge over its masterminds. Borisov delivered to these contradictory hopes – but in such ways that left both elites and people surprised with the results, while he managed to get an ever more firm grip over Bulgarian society.
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The Bulgarian winter: between the devil and the deep blue sea
от Mariya Ivancheva-
Публикувана на 20 Февруари 2013

On Wednesday, 20th of February 2013, the Bulgarian government headed by Boyko Borissov has deposited its resignation. What happened? What comes next?
Over the last week, Bulgarians in most big cities have been out in the streets, protesting against the increased electricity and heating bills. While the increase has happened gradually throughout 2012, the bills that were delivered to the post-boxes of the population in January 2013 were often times bigger than they would normally get. The wave of contention in response to the rise of electricity prices spread throughout the country, resulting in blockades of roads, barricades, increasing popular rage and police violence. An old man cut his veins in a village in North Bulgaria in a feat of desperation over his bill. One of the organizers of the protests in Varna was stabbed with a knife. The boss of the police force in traditionally rebellious city of Pernik was beaten up by angry protesters. In Sofia over ten people were arrested, and further twenty five beaten by the police. A team of journalists were shot upon with private weapon from a building in the center of Sofia. Police cars and barrels of rubbish were turned upside down after the protests on Sunday and Monday night. Bills, flags, and cars were burnt, and windows broken before offices of the few power distributing companies and their local representatives. The protesters were mostly rank-and-file Bulgarians fed up with the political system of the last 23 years that has lead to their full impoverishment and total alienation from the political process. Middle-aged men and women, young couples with children and students all went out on the streets to protest the deadlock which successive governments had installed on them. The protests were also joined and partly hijacked by a number of right-extreme groups. Mobilized around the neo-Nazi march this Saturday, commemorating interwar General Hristo Lukov, the Hitlerite leader of the Bulgarian Legions, who and introduced anti-Semitic laws, they were ready to provoke and loot. Their reactions jeopardized the energy of the protests which peaked on Sunday, and resurged on Tuesday. Tuesday night saw bloody clashes with the police in Sofia on the even of the commemoration of Vassil Levski, the only uncontested hero and political martyr of the Bulgarian national liberation. When Boyko Borissov said he would resign on Wensday morning, it was this blood on his hands, he said he could not tolerate. Yet, most people see his resignation as a way to desert the sinking ship of the Bulgarian state amidst the crisis previous cabinets started and he deepened. Пълният текст ...
Seminar with Sean Homer: On the ‘Critique of Violence’ and the Mis-uses of Revolutionary Violence
от Sean Homer-
Публикувана на 07 Февруари 2013
New Left Perspectives:
Seminar with Prof. Sean Homer
Associate Professor in Writing and Literature at American University in Bulgaria.
In this talk I will reflect upon two loosely converging trends within the present conjuncture in Greece. First, Slavoj Žižek’s deployment of Walter Benjamin’s essay ‘Critique of Violence’ in his recent work calling the European radical Left back to the “Idea” of communism. For Žižek, Benjamin’s distinction between mythical and divine violence, the objective, systemic, violence of the state and the divine violence of the revolutionary, as a subjective reaction to systemic violence violence, is crucial in his demand for a new strict egalitarian justice, an emancipatory terror and revolutionary discipline. This is not a rallying call I have found very convincing or helpful in rebuilding the Left today. Secondly, therefore, I will consider the rise of revolutionary violence in Greece today. Greece has a long tradition of resistance and struggle and we can trace the most recent manifestations of revolutionary violence – November 17, Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire, Revolutionary Struggle - back to the fall of the military Junta in 1974. The rise of revolutionary violence is creating something of a political dilemma for the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA), of which Žižek is a very prominent supporter. SYRIZA can neither condemn the violence nor support it as some of it comes from the more radical fringes of SYRIZA itself.
Leart Kola, Artan Sadiku, Agon Hamza: Is anti-capitalism an alternative for the Left today?
от Leart Kola, Artan Sadiku, Agon Hamza-
Публикувана на 25 Януари 2013

Leart Kola (Antonio Gramsci Institute/GAZETA, Tirana, Albania):

From 1998 till 2005 the socialist party was in power and then most of the state companies were privatized. They started the whole process of privatisation. They promoted very strong neoliberal policies. In 2005 we have again the right wing party in power. The SP still had this attitude that we should not stick in ideological debate, we should be more pragmatic, we should see case by case. The ideological debate between right and left doesn’t exist. This was going on till 2011. Now we have very interesting political situation. The SP is more and more on the left, still not as seriously as we would like. But we at least have a debate. The crisis helped to open this debate and now we more and more have the right-wingers going into nationalism, claiming for the unification. But from my point of view this is good, because these parties differentiate. This is the situation in the last 18 years in Albania. So me and Andi [Kananaj] were a part of the Mjaft! Movement from 2003 till 2008. This was, most of the people say, the most influential organisation at the time. Some say that we were the actors who brought the right-wing paradox into power, because we were protesting against the prime minister at the time. We saw that in this situation there was no ideological debate. The left wing was losing itself, people from the left were not represented by any organisation or political party. So we started the Antonio Gramsci Institute in 2008. We wanted to be called “Antonio Gramsci” not because we are specifically connected to him in some way, but because we wanted to put a communist’s name. Some communist that would leave no ambiguity at all. Because it was this situation with the left in Albania: “yes, we are left, but not as left as…”. So this way people would not ask “Are you in the Left?” or something like that. A lot of organisations in Albania are promoting these neoliberal ideas and they are very strong at the university. So we thought that we did not like that and that we should open a debate in Albanian society, so people can understand what is the left alternative. So we started this newspaper in 2008 and we were very active. People knew us from the Mjaft! Movement, so we had spaces in newspapers and in public TV and we decided to be very active there too. Some radical friends said to us: “You should not go to mainsteam media”, but we think it is important to be part of the debate and go into their field. And so we were very active and we are very active now also.
The Antonio Gramsci Institute deals mostly with translation, publishing, so it has this duty to open the debate and be part of it. Thus it could attack the right-wingers in the university and in the public sphere. And it is very hard nowadays, because we have all these money that are spent mostly to translate and write books and make them part of the curriculum. So we wanted to enter into this field.
Our other structure is [called] “Political Organisation”. This is an organisation that deals with workers so we are involved in these workers’ strikes for four years now. What we do is try to organise by going to the factories around Tirana and in most of the cities of Albania. We try to create a difference between the traditional syndicates that are mostly kidnapped by the state. We want to help workers organize horizontally, but in general to have some kind of organisation, because the situation of the workers is more and more difficult, specifically this of women. Most of the exploited workers are women. They work for 16 hours in textile factories, and this is the biggest industrial branch in Albania. Apparently, Italy uses Albanian workers as second-hand human beings, so to say. We have a lot of problems, but we spend most of the time in the villages.
The third structure is like a legal aid studio that mostly offers help to people who cannot pay for a lawyer for political trials. For instance, now we represent the families of the four people that were killed by the police last year during this big demonstration. Also, in 2008, there was this huge explosion when 26 people were killed. We represent their families too. We help people start syndicates in their working places.
Artan Sadiku (Leftist Movement Sodiarnost/Institute for Social Sciences and Humanities – Skopje, Macedonia):

Agon Hamza (Dialectical Materialism Collective, Prishtina, Kosovo):

Let’s talk about the Left in the country. It is extremely weak, practically it does not exist. There are some interesting groups here and there. Anarchists are very active in the country, but they divide the Left into two categories, refering to Lacan. The first is hysterics – the anarchists, they try to provoke the Master continuously, but yet unsuccessfully. And then you have this nostalgia which is nostalgia for good old Yugoslavian times. It is interesting to analyze them, because, in my point of view, it is a cling away from getting rid of the lost object. The situation is really desperate.
Transcribed by Madlen Nikolova
See also: The Exit for the Left: Return of the anti-capitalist alternatives agenda
Also: Audio from the event
The assault on Ahmed Dogan: a heroic salvation or a sad Bulgarian vaudeville
от Mariya Ivancheva-
Публикувана на 25 Януари 2013

The events in brief: at midday on Saturday Enimehmedov, a tall and strong young man, former box champion, walked freely up to the tribune of the Convention. At that time Dogan was making his speech at the rostrum. Enimehmedov pointed a gun at the white-haired small-built Dogan. DPS’s leader made an astounded mimic. He raised his left arm toward the offender. Instead of shooting, Enimehmedov started a fight with Dogan. At that point only, Dogan’s security and a number of male delegates at the Convention jumped at the stage. They disarmed Enimehmedov. They pushed him on the ground, crossed his arms behind his back, and then started physically abusing him. A number of delegates, among whom current and former MPs from the National Assembly, both Bulgarians and Turks, jumped up the stage. They started kicking and beating the young man with honest and brutal aggression. The offender was made to knee and trapped by two guards. While this happened, a young man pulled the pants of Enimehmedov down. He pushed his fingers into his pocket and took out a pocket knife; then the pants went down and the fingers into the behind of the young attacker. Тhe offender was taken out of the hall and beaten again, then put into an ambulance (surprisingly, not a police car) and taken away. The gun laid on the ground for a good half and hour. It was later revealed it was futile. It was a gas pistol. It had three bullets: two watch-fire bullets and a pepper-bullet that is used by shepherds to protect themselves against cattle. All three bullets could not have possibly caused any serious damage.
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Публикувана на 04 Януари 2013

Partly this is a generational shift. Young people who did not live through the era of Todor Zhivkov and Wojciech Jaruzelski don’t automatically associate socialism with massive human rights abuses and failed economic planning. Partly too it’s a thorough disenchantment with what liberalism has brought – austerity economics, a widening gap between rich and poor, hollow democratic institutions, a disregard for environmental issues. Many people in the region have come up against these shortcomings of liberalism and veered right, into nationalism. Another group has struck off in the opposite direction to create a new kind of progressive politics.
Georgi Medarov, soft-spoken and pony-tailed, is part of this new generation of activists. He works at an environmental NGO in Sofia and also participates in a group called New Left Perspectives. “We accept the liberal position on human rights, but we don’t think it’s enough,” he says. “We don’t accept the militarism and capitalism that a lot of liberal organizations accept.”
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Публикувана на 12 Декември 2012

Is anticapitalism only left? Do today’s leftist movements want to or should be related with the abticapitalist strategy? To what extent the left in the Balkans is identified today with alterglobalism, and concepts such as ParEcon and life after capitalism?
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Pussy Riot as a dream: Why I support Pussy Riot, but not the arguments in their defense
от Boryana Rossa-
Публикувана на 17 Септември 2012
However, differently to previous cases with Russian artists, this case is rapidly losing its critical and transformative potential and is becoming a commercial spectacle, empty of meaning. This senselessness is thus serving the very mechanisms of contemporary misogyny, against which the group was seemingly protesting at the beginning. What happened with these three women has been a perfectly orchestrated (intentionally or not) spectacle of contradictions. Often the actions taken by the different parties, pro or against them, did not lead to the intended effect, but rather to its opposite.
I won't discuss the ridiculousness of the “common sense” moralist preaching of the persecutors. Their weakness have been perfectly summarized on CNN by the director of the Russian think-thank for Democracy and Cooperation in New York - Andranik Migranyan. His arguments against Pussy Riot’s ideas and personas, were the ones of an illogical, authoritarian populist, a macho, who appeals to some not quite definable “moral” values of the “majority,” a majority that, according to him, wants the girls to be punished. For that purpose, as he says, the state has no other option but to punish the three women. Poor Pontius Pilate, so outdated.
However, I think more attention than the anti-Pussy statements, deserve the once in their defense. Those are arguments that actually promote highly conservative ideas. In longer term exactly these supportive opinions, can completely erase all possible transformative potential of Pussy Riot's ideology that initially seemed so progressive. Here are some of the main questionable arguments in Pussy Riot's defense, although the list can be extended: Пълният текст ...